Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter

"A long wait... was it worth it?"

Graphics:

Not much improvement over the original aesthetically, but you can tell they worked on the overall framerate. All the ships look nice, from the Jedi Starfighter to Slave-1. The water effects look improved, and from the unlockable commentary you get after getting all Hidden Objectives, it must have been a pain in the rear.

The PLUS side:

Basically, if you liked the first Starfighter, you're getting more of the same. That's not a bad thing though, so I don't mean that as an insult. In fact, I loved the graphics in the first Starfighter, so I'm glad they kept it on par with that title. It helps to keep it identifiable as a series. it's a One look and you know it's Starfighter type thing.

The NEGATIVE side:

On the other hand, it doesn't show much innovation in that respective department. I was kind of hoping for the same WOW! factor that the first title gave me. Kind of like they rested on their laurels a bit. That seemingly lack of ingenuity is getting their grade reduced a bit.

7/10

Sound:

What are you expecting? Yup. Star Wars music and sound effects...BUT! This game has music from the yet-to-be-released Episode II: Attack Of The Clones! YEAH!

I don't recognize the songs that well, but I'm getting used to the new songs pretty fast. I predict the new soundtrack will kick some major butt at the Academy Awards, despite the Academy's apparent shun of Lucas.

The sound effects are right on par with the last game, but there's more differing sounds to hear at any given time, and I really appreciate that as a Star Wars junkie. Not as busy as Rogue Leader, but it's still VERY cool!

10/10

Controls:

The controls I grew to love in the last game somehow got even BETTER! The Control Pad now serves a dual function with the addition of multiple secondary weapons to go with Wingmate orders. All you have to do is hold down the easily accessible L1 button to switch between them. This particular addition is bigger than you'd think, and gets used so much, I can't believe they didn't use it in the last Starfighter. Seriously. Here's an example: I went back and played some Starfighter, and really wanted to switch to other secondary weapons. The role of those secondary weapons became so integrated into the game, it feels incomplete without them. You still have Nym's Scourge Weapon in the original game, but it's just not the same.
There's also the highly touted Jedi Force Powers, (Force Shield, Force Lightning, Force Reflex and Force Shock Wave), on board the Jedi Starfighter. These are cool, but not as cool as I thought they would be. Between the four, I found Force Reflex the most useful. It slows everything down except your lasers. Anyway, I found myself playing with the Republic Gunship and it's awe-inspiring Beam Weapon more. That thing ROCKS!

*daydreams* Mmm...Republic Gunship...

They added new stuff to the controls, without messing with the control setup too much, so I cannot fault them.

10/10

Gameplay:

The PLUS side:

First off, I must say I really enjoyed the individual levels in this game WAY more than Starfighter. I didn't think that would have been possible, because I'm a huge Starfighter fan, but the sequel has the goods. More weapons and ships, and a story more tightly interwoven. Every level in this game is more rememberable than the last game for me and they're all connected very closely to each other. Most of the levels, you'll be collecting and assembling a huge cannon to use against the Trade Federation while fighting off the threat of the new and highly catastrophic Hex weapons. A lot of people don't appreciate the stories in Star Wars video games, but I liked both Starfighter stories, and this one was the better of the two.
Gameplay switches between Nym and Adi Gallia, as the two stories start at one point, branch out into two different plots, and inevitably come round full circle. This was in my opinion, an excellent plot set against the back drop of the impending Star Wars movie. Gameplay can get real hectic while playing on the hard difficulty level, but it's nothing as complicated as Rogue Leader can get. Lots of fun stuff to shoot at and blow up.

The NEGATIVE side:

Making a return appearance are the brain dead enemies who attack in swarms. It's true, the AI in this game can get downright pathetic, but thankfully Boss characters like Bella on Level 14 are harder to target and hit. However, if every enemy in this game was as difficult as her and Toth from Level 15, it would be THE HARDEST GAME IN THE WORLD. There's still a lot of sniping going on, tagging ships from afar as they blindly move forward, oblivious of your barrage of deadly laser blasts and missiles, never thinking enough to change course to prevent their own deaths. They have kind of an Ah well. I'm just a pawn in a larger game, and there's plenty more where I came from... attitude going on. You'd think if the Trade Federation spent that much money on a huge robot army, they would have programmed in some kind of attack counter measures or self preservation. As it stands, these robots have one mission, and that's what they're going to do regardless of resistance.

Even though the AI of basic enemies did not get improved that much, there are plenty of bosses to test your mettle. Besides, it's SO MUCH FUN TO PLAY!!!!

9/10

Overall:

I really like the overall vibe that I get from this game. Definitely a must own if you're a Star Wars fan who happens to like the whole Space Flight Simulation thing...and it has plenty of Episode II stuff as an added extra! I like how the Episode II connection didn't need to get exploited outright to achieve such a wonderful game. Here's what I mean: If you took out all the Attack Of The Clones references and ships, this game would still be cool as all heck.

9/10

Yup! Yet another Star Wars flight game I truly enjoyed!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/29/02, Updated 03/29/02