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Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
It's 5pm on November 5th and I'm driving home from the movies. Having taken the afternoon off to watch the disappointing conclusion of an epic movie trilogy, I'm left thinking that this doesn't compare to what came before, that the directors have lost sight of what made the first film so special, and that the subsequent events they've dreamt up are largely superfluous and unfulfilling. I'm disappointed, but I did find the experience vaguely compelling, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.
24 hours later, it's 5pm on November 6th and I'm in the grip of dvu. As I sit on my couch reflecting on an afternoon with Rebel Strike, the third film-based shoot-'em-up of the Rogue Squadron series, I feel pretty much the same way I did the previous evening. It's been a week for hugely disappointing, yet occasionally compelling forms of third-generation entertainment.Size matters not
When Rogue Leader first appeared on the GameCube, there were very few who stood against it. From the fans, who loved the way it bound the feel of the original and best Star Wars films to a tough but gripping series of space combat missions, to its competitors at the system's launch, which largely turned out to be over-priced, under-appreciated or cynically rehashed. However as Rebel Strike arrives today, it's brushing shoulders with all manner of top Cube titles (Mario Kart is due out next week for goodness sake), and, as developer Factor 5 openly admits in an unlockable documentary on the game disc, when it started out it wasn't really sure what to do. Largely because, give or take a few standout moments in Rebel Strike, the series should have ended with the phenomenally complete Rogue Leader, as players dived into the core of the second Death Star and dealt the Empire a mortal wound from which it would never recover. Maybe someone should have borrowed an X-Wing and flown it into Factor 5 to stop it soiling its legacy.
The main problem with Rebel Strike is the shift in focus. In the period since Rogue Leader shipped, Factor 5 has rebuilt its graphical engine, which still looks absolutely stunning, and spent the remaining time labouring over what are largely ground-based missions. Over the course of the game, Luke Skywalker and buddy Wedge will spend the majority of their time on foot in a grossly under-developed third-person action game, occasionally piloting vehicles ranging from Luke's Tatooine hover car thing and the speeders from the forests of Endor to Imperial walkers and even those furry snow creatures from the beginning of Empire, but mostly pointing the analogue stick in the direction of the nearest incompetent enemy (of which there are loads) and mashing the A button for all it's worth. When Rebel Strike does occasionally deviate into space it is at its strongest, introducing some exciting new ships - a nippy Imperial model unlocked late on was our favourite, and one mission also lets you play around with the best weapon seen in Episode II, the sonic charges Jango Fett used to attack Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter - and throwing around some of the game's most impressive sights and sounds. It's just a shame that, for the most part, the developer seems happier to pad it out with the unexciting, unfamiliar and poorly put together ground-based missions.
It's also surprisingly easy. I was actually able to complete every single-player mission in the game - many to silver and even gold medal standard - in just one evening of relatively hardcore play. Although I've only returned to Rogue Leader a few times since the Cube's launch, I distinctly remember a lot more swearing, a lot more effort, and a lot more fun. Like the other big sequel I reviewed this week, fans of the series are going to zip through this like a lightsabre through Darth Maul.Mash the A button, Luke
Getting back to those groun
24 hours later, it's 5pm on November 6th and I'm in the grip of dvu. As I sit on my couch reflecting on an afternoon with Rebel Strike, the third film-based shoot-'em-up of the Rogue Squadron series, I feel pretty much the same way I did the previous evening. It's been a week for hugely disappointing, yet occasionally compelling forms of third-generation entertainment.Size matters not
When Rogue Leader first appeared on the GameCube, there were very few who stood against it. From the fans, who loved the way it bound the feel of the original and best Star Wars films to a tough but gripping series of space combat missions, to its competitors at the system's launch, which largely turned out to be over-priced, under-appreciated or cynically rehashed. However as Rebel Strike arrives today, it's brushing shoulders with all manner of top Cube titles (Mario Kart is due out next week for goodness sake), and, as developer Factor 5 openly admits in an unlockable documentary on the game disc, when it started out it wasn't really sure what to do. Largely because, give or take a few standout moments in Rebel Strike, the series should have ended with the phenomenally complete Rogue Leader, as players dived into the core of the second Death Star and dealt the Empire a mortal wound from which it would never recover. Maybe someone should have borrowed an X-Wing and flown it into Factor 5 to stop it soiling its legacy.
The main problem with Rebel Strike is the shift in focus. In the period since Rogue Leader shipped, Factor 5 has rebuilt its graphical engine, which still looks absolutely stunning, and spent the remaining time labouring over what are largely ground-based missions. Over the course of the game, Luke Skywalker and buddy Wedge will spend the majority of their time on foot in a grossly under-developed third-person action game, occasionally piloting vehicles ranging from Luke's Tatooine hover car thing and the speeders from the forests of Endor to Imperial walkers and even those furry snow creatures from the beginning of Empire, but mostly pointing the analogue stick in the direction of the nearest incompetent enemy (of which there are loads) and mashing the A button for all it's worth. When Rebel Strike does occasionally deviate into space it is at its strongest, introducing some exciting new ships - a nippy Imperial model unlocked late on was our favourite, and one mission also lets you play around with the best weapon seen in Episode II, the sonic charges Jango Fett used to attack Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter - and throwing around some of the game's most impressive sights and sounds. It's just a shame that, for the most part, the developer seems happier to pad it out with the unexciting, unfamiliar and poorly put together ground-based missions.
It's also surprisingly easy. I was actually able to complete every single-player mission in the game - many to silver and even gold medal standard - in just one evening of relatively hardcore play. Although I've only returned to Rogue Leader a few times since the Cube's launch, I distinctly remember a lot more swearing, a lot more effort, and a lot more fun. Like the other big sequel I reviewed this week, fans of the series are going to zip through this like a lightsabre through Darth Maul.Mash the A button, Luke
Getting back to those groun