Star Wars Starfighter

"Star Wars Shooting at it's Very Best"

Many Star Wars games go to Gamecube or even X-Box, but Starfighter is the first to appear on the Playstation 2. This was one of the few games released at the same time as the Playstation 2 was launched, and appears to be one of the classics that encouraged people to go out and buy a PS2.

The story for Star Wars Starfighter is set around the same time as The Phantom Menace movie. Only the characters you play will be unfamiliar for people that have watched the film. The plot slots in fairly well with the film, and fans will understand it very well. It is too hard to explain though, without spoiling too much of the game, so I won't bother.

The gameplay is a simple Arcade style space shooter, only with missions to help you understand the game better, and relate to a story if you follow the cut-scenes close enough. The game is far too easy though, as you can sweep through all the missions within a few hours of solid playing. The three difficulties differ slightly in time taken to complete, but still do not offer a great enough challenge. You can get easily frustrated when you fail objectives though, because the missions are relatively long and require you to restart the level if you mess up. You play as 3 different characters, all with different space ships and weapons. This does offer some variety to the game, but the ships control is very similar to each other.

The controls are easy enough to learn, and do not require much practice. The layout is fair enough, with both shooting buttons close to each other and the shoulder buttons used for cycling through the closet enemies. It can be awkward however, if you hit the right analogue stick, sending you spinning upside down. This ruins the action, as you must stop for a while to straighten yourself up before you can comfortably continue shooting. The 3 different ships have slightly different speeds and all have different weapons but it still tends to get a little bit repetitive. This doesn't stop it from being a great game though.

The enemy AI is not the smartest available, but they do try to dodge your shots, and can out-maneuver you in a chase. The enemies are considerably weaker than your ship, but come in much larger groups. You will end up facing off against a group of about 20 fighter ships at once, and still be able to fend all of them away without too much hassle. Ground enemies are the most annoying though, as they are considerably stronger and due to their size are a lot harder to hit. You cannot go too low to hit them easier either, as your ship will explode if you so much as graze the floor with your ship, which is very disappointing and should have been left out in development due to it spoiling the fun of the game. Overall gameplay is a strong point in Starfighter, even if it is far too short.

Being one of the first games out for the Playstation 2, the graphics have not been pushed anywhere near as far as they could have been. Having said that though, the graphics are good enough for you to enjoy and do the game a lot of credit. The backgrounds in Starfighter are excellent, and keep up with the speed of the ship well. The lasers and lights from the stars fit in very well with the action of the game. The real time cut scenes are a nice touch, but there is a delay between when they kick in, so you know when they are coming. The cut scenes between levels have been done well, and are a treat to look at. The ship's graphics show the light effect very well, as light shines off the metallic coat of the ship. Overall the graphics in Starfighter are simple compared to later games, but still very effective.

The music in Starfighter is amazing, like all Star Wars games. Music from the game such as ''Duel of the Fates'' features on the soundtrack for this game. It is overused though, and you do not get to hear the other great tunes very often because of this. Other than that though, the music is fine.

The sound effects on Starfighter do not disappoint either, with the famous engine roars from the ships as you travel at the speed of light. The same sounds from the films appear to be used for the sound of weapons being fired, but not enough variety has been used for different sounds. The voices in Starfighter are standard. The enemies voices lack variety, and struggle to say more than about 5 lines. The good guys in this game have their standard heroic voice, which is kind of funny. The sound in Starfighter is of high standard, and you really get a feel for it if you have your surround sound on.

There are plenty of things to unlock in Starfighter, even though the main game can be completed in a few hours. Whether you will bother going back to get medals by completing other objectives is your choice, but there is nothing much more to do once you finish. The two player mode will keep you happy for a while with the dog fight and race mode available, but it will not last anywhere near long enough.

Star Wars Starfighter is a short but sweet game, that will keep most fans of the Star Wars series satisfied for a while. Casual gamers will want to rent this game instead of buying it, but it is still worth it anyway. It is great fun, and one of the games that helped PS2 do so well.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/29/03, Updated 07/29/03