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by Lucas Arts
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It has been a
couple days since Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike hit shelves and in
those days I have spent a lot of time with the game. I have probably
spent more time with this game then any other in the last six months.
Yet after all that gameplay, hours of debating Rebel Strike with fellow
Gamesfirst! staffer Jeremy Kauffman, and several minutes of staring
blank faced at this computer monitor, debating with myself, I am still
unsure of how I feel about this game. Maybe that is because Rebel strike
is so many things. At least it tries to be many things. I think there in
lies the problem. There are parts of this game that are absolutely
beautiful. I am not just talking about the graphics or the music; I am
talking about the whole sum. The story, the gameplay, the set-up, all of
its parts are just beautiful. There are mediocre places, wherein trying
to give us more they give us less. No big deal right? This happens with
most, if not all, games. Then there is the worst of Rebel Strike. There
are parts of this game that are so bad that I can hardly reconcile the
notion that they could be part of the same experience as those parts of
the game that leave me in awe. This game contains some of the worst that
videogames have to offer. There are parts of this game that have zero
gaming value. I mean none whatsoever. So I am left confused, conflicted,
and down right flabbergasted. It would be so much easier if it were
three games, or even two.
I have such an
affinity for the Rogue Squadron series that I was ready to give it five
stars before I had even unwrapped it. I had played bits of it already
and was frothing by the time it was finally released. I was leery of the
new out-of-ship elements that they added, but that all melted away as I
held it in my hands for the first time and gazed upon the cover art.
Reading the back of the jacket, it would seem that Rebel Strike
contained everything you could ask formultiplayer gaming (not just your
average versus games but the entire Rogue Leader game available for
cooperative play), Game Boy Advance connectivity (Nintendos favorite
thing at the moment, no matter if its justified or not), all sorts of
new vehicles, and the ability to climb out of the cockpit as Luke, Han,
and more. Factor 5 and Lucas Arts seemed to have gone all out on this
one.
Having said what
I have so far I feel as if I have front loaded this review with a bit of
negativity. For that reason I want to start out by talking about the
truly brilliant parts of Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike. The
multiplayer portion is a five star game all the way. Ironically, the
best part of Rebel Strike is really Rogue Leader (Rogue Squadron II).
They have taken the entire game and transformed it into one of the
coolest co-op experiences thus far. The complete lack of a multiplayer
mode was one of my few quibbles with the otherwise near perfect Rogue
Leader. Not only did they fix that problem, they took it up a notch. It
is cool to beat down your friends every now and again in a good versus
battle, but nothing compares to beating the computer down along side
your friend. I can hardly convey just how much I appreciate that they
did this. It is only too bad that they didnt make the Rebel Strike
levels co-op as well.
That is only
the beginning of the multiplayer experience. There are four versus game
types: Dogfight (one on one), Rampage (destroy everything), Tag and
Defend (capture the base), and Special (which includes races). Each mode
offers a variety of options. You can use a personal profile, pick
between different ships, pick different weapons, and much more. That is
just the first of your options, you can pick from a large number of
scenarios, whether or not you want wingmen, power-ups, and/or additional
AI attackersnot to mention the usual options such as time limit, the
number of kills to win a match, and so on. I dont want to brag but I
played through each of the multiplayer levels and never lost a match (OK
I guess I did want to brag).
It is in the
multiplayer modes (except co-op) that the Game Boy Advance connectivity
comes in. Each player can have a regular controller and a GBA. With the
GBA you control your wingmen without alerting the other player of your
actions. To me it seemed a little silly. First off, the game is so fast
paced who has the time to look at the other players screen to see where
he is sending his wingmen? Secondly, does it matter to your overall
strategy that much? Third, and most importantly, how do you take your
hands off the controller long enough to grab the GBA and select an
action. On the other hand it is there if you want it, and there is no
harm in that.
The multiplayer
portion of the game offers a well-rounded gaming experience. It is full
of variety and special features and all of it is done very well. It
really is like an entire game in and of itself.
The single
player half of the games is truly a mixed bag. There really is the
equivalent of three types of gameplay in this part of the game. First
are the classic Rogue Squadronesque dogfight levels. These are all done
pretty well and are by far the best part of the single player
experience. Still it lacks something. It doesnt fill the player with
the awe that Rogue Leader did. I chock this up to a number of things.
The fact that this is the third game, the fact that these missions are
not a closely tied to the movies, and the fact that the action is
constantly broken up by cut scenes. It is hard to match the thrill that
one receives from playing Luke in the trenches of the first Death Star
or Lando flying into the second Death Star. But even the more original
levels in Rogue Leader where far more inspired than the new ones offered
up here. As for the cut scenes, they are pretty, but there is such thing
as too much. Just as the game is starting to develop a mood it is
interrupted by a long period of inaction. There are some levels that
feel as if they are divided equally between cut scene time and gameplay.
It is just too much and it keeps the player from even getting really
engrossed in the skirmishes. On the other hand, there is a great
diversity to Rebel Strike that Rogue Leader lacked. You can expect
different types of missions and lots of new vehicles including the AT-ST
(Chicken Walkers for the less geeky), speeder bikes, ships from the
prequels, and tauntauns (I know, not technically a vehicle). The speeder
bike levels are fast and furious. The tauntauns are well?kinda goofy
looking. Not too mention, every time I look at one I cant forget the
disgusted look on Hans face due to the smell as he shoves Luke inside
one of them Tauntaun guts, yuck! But hey its still got to be better
than riding around inside the R2D2 costume.
Then there are
the levels where you are forced to play part in the ship and part on
foot. Some places this works and some it does not. Mostly it depends on
how much time you actually have to spend out of your vehiclethe more
time on foot, the less fun. It really isnt bad and graphically it looks
real nice but it is all pretty basic and usually the ground stuff just
interrupts the flow of the vehicle battle. These first two parts of the
single player game I would have to give four stars. It is good but far
from the perfect (or near perfect) that five stars suggests.
The last part of
the single player game I would give a single star. That is only because
it mostly works (in other words, it didnt make my Gamecube blow up).
These are the levels that contain no piloting at all. How can this be?
This is supposed to be Rogue Squadron. There are a sea of titles out
there for all shades of Star Wars fans. The Jedi Knight series is for
the swashbucklers, Knights of the Old Republic is for the RPG fans,
Galaxies for the MMORPG fans, and Rogue Squadron was best of the vehicle
based games. If they would have just left it at that it would have been
great, but they have over extended themselves. I am all for trying
something new but this betrays the spirit of the game. Furthermore, it
is done poorly. Imagine the original Pitfall with better, but still not
impressive, graphics and a lightsaber. It is just lame. It lacks any
value, and it literally makes me angry. I have to stop and play through
this crap to get on with the game? Unbelievable! Even if this was just a
bonus feature it would lack value but as a part of the game it seriously
detracts from it. Just wait until you finally get to the end of this
abhorrent level and on one of the last jumps before the finish the
camera lags and Luke jumps smack into an invisible wall. Then you play
all the way through the level again, screaming and cursing, and finish
it only to find that the next level is more of the same. I just dont
know what they were thinking. The only thing that comes close to
redeeming this part of the game is the little sneak previews of what
Star Wars would look like on DVD. Damn gorgeous!
What is a
reviewer to do with this menagerie of gameplay? I took five stars, four
stars, and one star and added them up: Ten. Divided that by three and it
equals three point three three three and on into infinity. But I really
do like this game. So I round up a bit (a bunch), and come up with 4
stars. Is it worth picking up? For me, definitely. For you, maybe not.
Can you put up with a little garbage along with true greatness? If you
are a Rogue Squadron fan I think the answer is yes. The co-op mode is
worth it alone. If are willing to put up with a couple of levels of Luke
Skywalker as The Prince of Persia than I respect you. I am right there
with you, and may the Force be with you!
Matt James (10/24/2003) |
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Snapshot
Ups: :
Excellent Multiplayer modes, most especially the all-important
Cooperative mode.
Downs:
The run and jump stuff is a complete waste of
time, in fact why do you have to get out of your ship at all? It is a
really mean thing to show us how beautiful Star Wars looks on DVD when
we cant have it.
Platform:
GameCube
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