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November 14, 2003 | 10:00 PM PST
by: John Olin
If you haven't already purchased Star Wars Rouge Leader: Rouge Squadron II, then you are missing quite a bit. The game starts off simple enough much like a Star Wars movie. However the game is focused just on the galactic dogfights that take place during the movies.
You are Luke Skywalker, and later on Wedge Antilles. You are of course members of the Rebel Alliance, an organization trying to over throw the evil Imperial rule of the universe. The game play spans the original Star Wars trilogy as well. The first mission
begins with attempting to destroy the Death Star. Immediately you are immersed in the games sound. The music is in Dolby Pro Logic 2 surround sound, THX improved, and of the styles of John Williams. The music isn't the only perfection about what you are hearing. Every beep, shot, and explosion sounds as if though they where ripped straight from the movie. They have also remastered to take full advantage of the GameCube's sound processing ability. When you are in the Battle of Hoth the clanking of the AT-AT, and AT-ST walkers as you zoom by will send shivers down your spine. The speech in the game is very accurate as well. Much of the voice works such as Han Solo are taken straight from the movie. Some of it is originally and exclusive to the game such as Wedge Antilles (Denis Lawson). When all of this mixes in the heat of the battle your ears will feel as if they are on fire. You are trying to give orders, listening to your comrades' cries for help, and listening for the tie fighter zooms by. You can finally get your shot in, destroy and listen to the buzz of them twirling down to a fiery death.
The perfection doesn't end there either. The graphics are a sight to behold, and before I go into detail I will simply state they are the best on GameCube, no contest. When you begin the first mission you get the immediate feel that this has to be full motion video (FMV). The great thing is, it is not. Unlike the start up screen, which has a radical set-up with movie scenes in the background, these are the graphics you will behold through out the game in real-time. He beginning angle is that of a fleet of X-Wings flying by an orange planet. Many Star Wars fans will notice this, and in fact it is such good quality it looks better than the movie at times. When you make it to the Death Star trench your eyes are overloaded with detail. Who knew there where so many shades of gray? Who knew that they could all look so crisp and beautiful as well? The Factor 5 teams also went to such extremes as to go to Lucas and ask to see original models, and sketchbooks of all the ships and designs of the movies. This helps them to make sure they have every detail exact. The Battle of Hoth including most other levels is just bursting with detail! You can see all the snowfall in Hoth, along with each individual part moving on the robots moving about. If that is still not good enough for you then you may always go to the options and choose progressive scan (that is if your TV has that option) to maximize your visual experience.
The missions however may get quite complex at times fro newcomers. Despite the controls having a fairly simple layout you may still need to be reminded what to do. There is a Training mode on the planet Tatooine that may answer some but still is so hard that some may not be able to complete even that simple mission! Many missions it takes great practice just to get them right. Despite this being a rehash of Factor 5's N64 Rouge Squadron it has quite enough enhancements to make it nearly new game play. The most enjoyable to everyone will probably be Death Star, and Battle of Hoth since they are the most spread out, enjoyable and remember able from the movies. Some of the missions may also seem boring, or unexplained as well. Some aircrafts could have been spiced up for game play reasons such as the A-wing, or Y-wing but instead they stay true to movie specs, thus fairly boring. If you can get past how hard it may be to some then it should take you about five to ten hours to get through the few missions on the game. If you score well and get a certain amount of medals you can also unlock other stages that expand on the main stages. However even this may prove to be difficult because of how precise your scores must be. The veterans of games like this (PC games) will however find this to be no hassle at all.
Finally there is much replay after completing missions with certain medals, or a certain amount. You may get everything from audio commentary, a video documentary, or the ability to fly as ultra cool crafts, even a Naboo Starfighter. So if you haven't already bought this game, do yourself a favor you need this my friend.
You are Luke Skywalker, and later on Wedge Antilles. You are of course members of the Rebel Alliance, an organization trying to over throw the evil Imperial rule of the universe. The game play spans the original Star Wars trilogy as well. The first mission
begins with attempting to destroy the Death Star. Immediately you are immersed in the games sound. The music is in Dolby Pro Logic 2 surround sound, THX improved, and of the styles of John Williams. The music isn't the only perfection about what you are hearing. Every beep, shot, and explosion sounds as if though they where ripped straight from the movie. They have also remastered to take full advantage of the GameCube's sound processing ability. When you are in the Battle of Hoth the clanking of the AT-AT, and AT-ST walkers as you zoom by will send shivers down your spine. The speech in the game is very accurate as well. Much of the voice works such as Han Solo are taken straight from the movie. Some of it is originally and exclusive to the game such as Wedge Antilles (Denis Lawson). When all of this mixes in the heat of the battle your ears will feel as if they are on fire. You are trying to give orders, listening to your comrades' cries for help, and listening for the tie fighter zooms by. You can finally get your shot in, destroy and listen to the buzz of them twirling down to a fiery death.
The perfection doesn't end there either. The graphics are a sight to behold, and before I go into detail I will simply state they are the best on GameCube, no contest. When you begin the first mission you get the immediate feel that this has to be full motion video (FMV). The great thing is, it is not. Unlike the start up screen, which has a radical set-up with movie scenes in the background, these are the graphics you will behold through out the game in real-time. He beginning angle is that of a fleet of X-Wings flying by an orange planet. Many Star Wars fans will notice this, and in fact it is such good quality it looks better than the movie at times. When you make it to the Death Star trench your eyes are overloaded with detail. Who knew there where so many shades of gray? Who knew that they could all look so crisp and beautiful as well? The Factor 5 teams also went to such extremes as to go to Lucas and ask to see original models, and sketchbooks of all the ships and designs of the movies. This helps them to make sure they have every detail exact. The Battle of Hoth including most other levels is just bursting with detail! You can see all the snowfall in Hoth, along with each individual part moving on the robots moving about. If that is still not good enough for you then you may always go to the options and choose progressive scan (that is if your TV has that option) to maximize your visual experience.
The missions however may get quite complex at times fro newcomers. Despite the controls having a fairly simple layout you may still need to be reminded what to do. There is a Training mode on the planet Tatooine that may answer some but still is so hard that some may not be able to complete even that simple mission! Many missions it takes great practice just to get them right. Despite this being a rehash of Factor 5's N64 Rouge Squadron it has quite enough enhancements to make it nearly new game play. The most enjoyable to everyone will probably be Death Star, and Battle of Hoth since they are the most spread out, enjoyable and remember able from the movies. Some of the missions may also seem boring, or unexplained as well. Some aircrafts could have been spiced up for game play reasons such as the A-wing, or Y-wing but instead they stay true to movie specs, thus fairly boring. If you can get past how hard it may be to some then it should take you about five to ten hours to get through the few missions on the game. If you score well and get a certain amount of medals you can also unlock other stages that expand on the main stages. However even this may prove to be difficult because of how precise your scores must be. The veterans of games like this (PC games) will however find this to be no hassle at all.
Finally there is much replay after completing missions with certain medals, or a certain amount. You may get everything from audio commentary, a video documentary, or the ability to fly as ultra cool crafts, even a Naboo Starfighter. So if you haven't already bought this game, do yourself a favor you need this my friend.
November 20, 2009
