"The Star Wars franchise is
just that; a franchise. Seemingly collecting millions of
cult recruits, the appeal to Star Wars merchandise is
still as popular as it was in the early 80's. Proudly, I
hold my head up high and proclaim my love for the Star
Wars universe, and being one of those Borg-like
followers."
Not another Star Wars game!
I'll be the first to admit, that the SW franchise has
had its share of good and bad throughout the years. The
good being Tie Fighter on the PC and the horrible
being SW: Demolition on the Dreamcast. The
market has been plagued and flooded with mediocre titles
like Pod Racer for previous systems (PC, DC and
PS2) and Rogue Squadron for the Nintendo 64.
The original of the series released on the N64
was a respectable game with great control, average
graphics and gameplay that deserved game time. The
sequel Rogue Leader not only surpasses all
aspects of the original, but also meets the dogma of the
toughest critiques... myself included.
The Trilogy wrapped up in one nice shiny box.
The omniscient masterminds (tongue-in-cheek) at Lucas
Arts teamed up with Factor 5 to harness the
power of the GameCube while not losing the appeal
of the Star Wars based fans. The task seems quite easy,
but if you look at 20 years of "trying" few
have successfully accomplished this feat.
Gameplay is mission based, but combines the historics of
the movie with a few added touches making the storylines
seemingly flow from start to finish. You control the
young Jedi, Luke Skywalker; or his sidekick pilot, Wedge
Antilles. Rogue squadron is a group of aircraft assigned
to critical missions and is the best of the best.
Similar to the Green Berets of the Army.
The controls take full advantage of the GC's controller.
"Big Green" is used to fire your primary
weapon, but using it effectively is a key to victory.
Holding the button ("A") in shoots a continual
stream of lasers from your X-Wing although slightly a
weaker attack. If you tap the "A" button, it
will produce slower shots but much more powerful. To
produce a "linked attack" requires timing and
patience. This attack links all four cannons together to
make a "mega shot" which can easily destroy
most Ties’ with one blow.
All craft have a secondary weapon, which is either a
proton torpedo or ion cannon. This can be done by using
the smaller "B" button ("Little
Red"). Since you are limited to this secondary
weapon, use these sparingly. Controlling your high-tech
craft is maneuvered with your left analog stick. Using a
combination of your left shoulder button in conjunction
with the analog stick will bank your craft making it
easier to make a tight turn. The right shoulder button
gives your craft a boost of speed. The X-Folds (wings)
are brought together to make two wings, and leaves your
ship without the use of a primary weapon. Using this in
a dogfight leaves you wide open for attack, so use it
wisely.
The tiny "Z" trigger combined with a turn
makes your ship barrel roll like Top Gun. While its uses
are quite limited, it is more of a "feel good"
move more than anything. The quirky left D-Pad (digital
pad) gives your squadron orders. For example: pressing
up would tell your wingmen to stay in formation and
cover you. Or, pressing the d-pad right would order your
teammates to attack incoming Tie Fighters. Though it
might sound cheesy, and ineffective; it is quite helpful
and even fun. It's always nice to know someone has your
back...
Fire it up! Fire it up!
The game should appeal to wide variety of player types.
Sure Star Wars fanatics will get the most out of the
game; experienced gamers will easily come to love the
challenge and fun from Rogue Squadron. To get
things started, there is a very nice tutorial that will
show you the ropes of the gameplay. Probably the best
tutorial to date, it takes place on Tatooine and is
worth going through the motions. Taking the time to get
acquainted with the physics and options are very
helpful in the success of future mission.
I expected the game to have sickening sweet graphics and
candy-coated gameplay. I went in with pretense that this
game would be made to cater to the younger crowd and be
shallow and easily won. I was shocked when I kept dying
in the first level. The "Death Star run"
wasn't so much difficult but frustrating. Each level is
composed of set objectives and pre-based patterns. SW:RSII
goes much further into producing an in-depth meaty game.
The game can appeal to younger players, and they might
even succeed through many of the levels. But, what adds
to the intricacy of the game is the "medal
system". In order to receive medals you have to
meet certain criteria. Hit percentage, enemy fatalities
and ally loss all play in combination to either reward
you with a medal or simply nothing. This is very similar
to the Tie Fighter series; which gave it such an
appeal to players like myself. Acquiring these medals is
not as easy as I thought, and at times it is all I can
do to just finish the level meeting the
objectives.
To summarize up my feelings; the game plays wonderfully
and complex. The difficulty ranges from cakewalk to
tooth and nails. Even though the game has it's difficult
moments, it can still be beaten in less than 10 hours.
My first time around took me about 6 1/2 hours to
complete from start to finish. I think out of the 10+
missions; I might have had one medal though.
Receiving medals is as much, or more, rewarding than
actually finishing the mission.
Bow before the visual Mecca.
To write about the visuals in SW:RSII would be
like me trying to recreate a Picasso. The graphics are
nothing less than stellar, and performance issues are
nearly unnoticeable in the given ambush of flashing
projectiles. A near carbon copy of the movies, most of
the time the game actually puts the movie itself to
shame.
The character models and ships are nothing less than
eye-popping. Backgrounds and level designs is nothing
short of a miracle. Not only do the ships (playable and
otherwise) look better than real-life but also the
effects are mind blowing. The fog and lighting effects
will slap you in the face and scream NEXT GENERATION
Unless you actually play Rogue Squadron you truly
can't appreciate the visual superiority it produces. I
downloaded dozens of QuickTime videos and countless
screen shots; but nothing shook me more until I saw it
in all of its glory on my own TV.
SW:RSII is a multimedia cornucopia. The audio
track is nearly as stunning when compared to the
graphics. The soundtrack is classic Star Wars staple;
but remixed and remastered brilliantly. The sound
effects come straight from the Trilogy, and I still
get warm-fuzzies when I hear a Tie Fighter scream by me.
What makes the BGM (background music) superior to
most is the progressive changing audio model. To give
you a "movie sense" feel, the music
intensifies or retracts as the game continues. An
intense dogfight with a dozen ties will significantly
increase the tempo and pull you to the edge of your
seat. On the other hand, floating in space patrolling a
carrier will easy your tension and produce a slower
paced soundtrack putting you at ease. The effect is done
perfectly, and really makes you feel a part of
the game.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II has all of the
elements of making it a successful flagship release.
Overlooked by many, this title should not be missed by
anyone owing a GameCube. This is one of the few titles
that save this system from mediocrity. As great as the
game is, it isn't without flaws. A few other levels
could have easily propelled this to Game of the Year
status. If there was a way to incorporate a multiplayer
aspect to the game, it could also have helped the
longevity of the title. With few minor physics issues
(awkward turning at times, and leveling problems), this
is still a solid title from box cover to the zeros and
ones.
8.6
