Do you remember Rebel Assault 2? The graphics were good, the soundtrack was superb, but gameplay was terrible. It was what we call a "Railed Shooter" where all you can do is aim as you move around on a predefined track. I never felt like I was kicking Imperial butt, but then Shadows of the Empire was released to the N64 and the PC shortly after. That game was good, but past the first level I didn't enjoy it too much. The first level is where you got to scoot around in a snow speeder while destroying some Imperial walkers. Apparently a lot of people felt the same, because Star Wars: Rogue Squadron takes place in the air the whole time. The engine is very similar but is improved in many ways over Shadows of the Empire. Even though I am not a fan of the consoles, before I forget I should also note N64 owners will be able to play this too - but your not going to enjoy it at 60fps in 800x600 like you would on the PC.

Gameplay:
Using the first level of Shadows of the Empire as a comparison, Rogue Squadron seems like a quantum leap in terms of gameplay. In SOTE you were very restricted. The playing area was small and when you came close to the "end" of Hoth ( I remember it to be considerably bigger in the movie), the computer would turn you around and force you back into action. Rogue Squadron still has level restrictions but no where near as small. You can fly for quite some time in most levels before you come to the end where a canyon wall or something similar signals you to turn your ass around. None of the flying takes place in space which means no, you can't fly forever in one direction. All of the action takes place on terrestrial planets, everything from large, hilly grasslands to sky-scraping canyon's surround you as you make your way through this game. This is all good, but, there is a restriction which some people will really hate.

Controlling your ship is so easy to learn, even your grandma can do it. This is definitely a Joystick game, keyboards and gamepads are too restricting in a game like this. So if you do not own a Joystick you should consider getting a decent one (with a throttle!) before buying this game. Trying to harpoon an Imperial walker with a keyboard is just about down right impossible. In this game a throttle is essential because you have to speed up and slow down a lot if you want to win. Like I mentioned, the controls are very, very simple. With a joystick all you need is 2 buttons and the throttle basically. Fans of realistic flight sims will probably want to stay away.

As you make your way through Rogue Squadron there are a lot of ways to kill Imperial forces. Here's a look at each ship with a brief description:

The X-Wing:
Named for its unique double-layered wings, or S-foils, this ship is one of the most versatile weapons in the Rebel Alliance. In combat, its S-foils are opened to give it greater maneuverability. These S-foils are closed during normal flight, so it can fly faster while still pulling off advanced aerobatics such as rolls. The X-wing is formidably armed, with high-powered blaster cannons in its wing tips, plus proton torpedo launchers on its main space-frame. With its reinforced titanium alloy hull and high-powered shield generators, the X-wing can take a barrage of minor hits and still keep flying.

The A-Wing:
This is the fastest starfighter in the Rebel Alliance. The A-wing can outrun most ships in the Imperial Navy, making it ideal for Rogue Squadron’s hit-and-run missions. Its powerful armament includes twin wing-mounted pivoting blaster cannons and concussion missiles. Although the A-wing is highly maneuverable in dogfights, it cannot sustain much battle damage, and its cockpit design exposes its pilot to enemy fire.

The Y-Wing:
A cross between a fighter and a bomber, the Y-wing formed the backbone of the Rebel Alliance starfighter fleet prior to the introduction of the X-wing. The workhorse Y-wing is larger, slower, and less maneuverable than the X-wing, and has difficulty against the more agile Imperial craft. However, it is extremely durable, and heavily armed with blasters, an ion cannon, and bombs, making it ideal for bombing and strafing runs against surface targets.

The Airspeeder (aka Snowspeeder):
A nickname for the Incom T-47, this craft made a valiant defense at the Battle of Hoth against Imperial forces, enabling the Rebels to evacuate their base. An airspeeder is limited to low altitudes, is unable to perform elaborate acrobatic maneuvers such as rolls, and has no shields. It compensates for this with fast speed and small size that make it a difficult target for Imperial weapons. This craft is armed with two blaster cannons, plus a tow cable to tangle AT-ATs.

V-Wing Airspeeder:
With its light weight and swift speed, the V-wing has a definite advantage over the airspeeder. It features a scram jet and a huge booster.  Use the scram jet and weapons sparingly, or the engines will overheat.

Most levels are restricted to certain ships, which kind of sucks. Using the A-Wing on a Airspeeder-only level would give you a good advantage! On one particular level while your trying to save Corellia city, Chewbacca and Han Solo pay you a visit and give you a hand. At the end, chewy ends up getting all the credit, even though you made all the kills :).

All of the levels are mission-based. You have one main mission to complete and there are small secondary objectives, some missions also evolve into the next mission as well. They aren't just random picks out of the hat. In one particular mission you take someone from the Dark Side (oooh!), and use them in the following missions to find secret Imperial factories and hide outs. Mission types include dogfights, reconnaissance, rescue, escort duty, and of course, search-and-destroy missions.

There are a decent amount of levels, 16 to be exact and like I mentioned they all take place on planetary terrain. Some levels take 10 tries to beat, which means you will eventually get pissed off and win the level. This may seem like not a lot of levels - well, there aren't a lot but they all have excellent replay value. No level ever gets boring no matter how many times you play it -  I have played some levels over 15 times already just because they were so damn fun to play! This game definitely has a high fun factor.

There are a lot of enemies to fight in Rogue Squadron. You gotta annihilate Imperial forces such as gun turrets, walkers, little Imperial men running around on the ground, little Imperial men on speeder bikes, Tie Fighters, and you also gotta blow up buildings and other things when required. There's enough Imperial ass in this game to satisfy most Star Wars fans.

Graphics:
The graphics in Rogue Squadron are similar to the ones in the first level of SOTE, but the designers say that the engine was completely rewritten from scratch. Let me put it this way, the graphics are good enough to use to make the cinematics at the beginning of the game. The LucasArts and Factor 5 company cinematics were done within the game engine, and it looks nothing like some in-game cinematics out there. It's very impressive. In the game the graphics are amazing. The terrain is very detailed and looks realistic unlike some flight simulators where when you get close to the ground it is a couple of mother-sized green pixels. When you lightly skim against the ground, dirt fly's up in a beautiful transparent cloud. Explosions are not only transparent and realistic but you also see a small shockwave pour out from the source. There is also real-time lighting and shadows. As your blaster shots pound into the mountain you see red flashes of light, and when you fly close to the ground you see your shadow.

The models have great, high detail textures and are animated so they look like they're right out of the movie. The walkers still make their thundering noise as they walk, and they move just like the real thing. Even the little men on the ground are animated and 3D, and when you shoot them your greeted with a small explosion (where's the gore?) and a quick scream. In conclusion about the graphics, all I can say is that they are flawless, and extremely well done. Such high quality really adds to the realism of the game. Just check out the screenshots at the bottom or download the demo and see for yourself.

I should note that Rogue Squadron requires a 3D accelerator. One with at least 4MB RAM that supports Direct3D or Glide. On my Voodoo2, there was never a hiccup in the game, it was a constant, smooth framerate.

Sound:
I played the game a bit with my old speaker system, then recently I bought my Cambridge Soundworks PCWorks speaker and sub woofer system and it was a whole new experience! With a sub woofer this game sounds and feels kick ass. John Williams excellent musical score pounds through your body as explosions rock your monitor. I'm not exaggerating, this game is amazing with a good speaker system with a sub woofer. On my old (to be considered average) speaker system it was no where near the movie-theatre quality sound I had experienced with my PCWorks, but it was still very good. If you don't have a sub woofer, you don't know what your missing really, so playing the game will sound good to you, but if you hear it for one moment with a sub woofer going back is impossible. So if you don't own a sub woofer system, don't let that stop you from buying this game, the sound is still very excellent. All of the sounds seem like they are straight out of the movie and it will immerse you even more into this great game.

Conclusion:
You should get this game if you fall into any of these categories: 1. You like Star Wars 2. You liked the first level of Shadows of the Empire 3. You have a sub woofer system. This game has very few flaws and I can't stress how much I truly enjoyed this game.

Gameplay: 90%
Graphics: 90%
Sound: 95%
Overall: 91%

Reviewed by: Adam "kami" Koebel
Date: December 6, 1998