Go Ahead, Make Yoda Proud Of You

INTRO

In general, Star Wars games are poor. They just don't do the spectacular series that Lucas brought to the cinema's any justice. Us big kids these days want to relive the epic star battles that we fought when we were little and sitting in the old TV box pretending we were flying through the trench of the Death Star, but of course, because we are all so mature, what we want is to be able to relive those experiences and emotions without our girlfriends looking at us like we have gone insane, Rogue Leader delivers this experience.


THE GAME

So whats the plot? Well in Rogue leader 2 you play the roles of two characters, Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles! The missions are set during the incidents ranging from episodes 4,5 and 6, So there will be plenty for you hungry star wars fans to sink your teeth into. Each mission is objective based, so before you set off on your mission you will be given a brief as to what you must accomplish during that mission, mission objectives are also added during the Gameplay which adds a lot more challenge to the current mission you are on as well as a little more variety.

When you start off you can choose between training and the very first mission. I would definitely advise you go training first as the 1st mission is a real toughie. In the training mode you take control of a T-16 Sky hopper. In training what you do is complete objectives when you fly to that area, there are lots of things to do like find all the discovery items and bulls eye 20-womp rats in 30 seconds (great fun).

So you think you have mastered the training? Thinking that the first mission is going to be a doodle? A walk in the park? Well think again because all the levels including the very first are hard and you have to be on top of your game in order to win. You start off on the ‘Death Star Attack’ and once you complete that you move onto ‘Irish Corridor Ambush’. All the levels look incredibly detailed and its clear the makers spent a lot of time making it as good as they can!

There are 10 basic missions to get through first (this takes an absolute age). The first level sees your X-Wing squadron attacking gun towers and Tie fighters over the Death Star, from there you then fly down into the trench to begin your bombing run. As you approach the end of the trench the events happen EXACTLY like they do in the film; Luke switches off his targeting computer, Darth Vader attacks, Obi-Wan says “Use the Force Luke” and Han Solo flies down to cover you as you make your shot, then you fly away as the Death Star explodes!! Simply Breathtaking! Levels following on from that include the battle of Hoth, Cloud City, battle over Endor & many more. From the Star Wars series! Every single level in stunning! Some of the missions are a little short, and others are just darn right tough!

New additions to Rogue Squadron 2 include the presence of your wingmen who aid you in battle! Your Wingmen are vital and you must use them! You can issue them commands via the D-pad! You also have a targeting computer to help you spot hostile ships in the dark backdrop of deep space.
Should you be skilful enough to finish the levels well enough you will be awarded gold, silver or bronze medals. You can then use the points acquired from gaining these medals to unlock bonus missions and ships.

All of your favorite ships are here including the X-WING, A-WING, B-WING, Y-WING and the speeder make appearances in this game, then there are the hidden ships for you to find! The Incredible Millennium Falcon, Boba fetts slave ship 1, A Tie fighter, The Naboo star fighter, A Tie fighter Advanced, and a mighty Imperial ship.

Another welcome addition to the game is an improvement to the AI. In Rogue Squadron on the N64 all of the enemies just followed set flight patterns allowing you to easily line up behind them and blow them to pieces. However now it is a real test to your dog fighting skills to avoid the countless wings of Ties (there can be up to 100 in a level) that continuously hamper your progress. On top of this when you finally get into a good firing position, all of the Ties will scatter meaning you can’t just blow up an entire wing at once.

As brilliant as this game is, it does come with some flaws! Every now and then there is some slowdown. It is the first game on the Gamecube i have played where there has been some slowdown, especially when you get to the city with the crashed tie Fighter in it, there are other places where it stutters a bit too. Saying that though, this is a very minor problem. Even though it may be annoying at times, it doesn't make the game any less playable

THE GRAPHICS

First impressions of this game, from the moment you load it up, is “wow”. The graphics are excellent in the greatest sense possible, accurately portraying the Star Wars universe as it should be. What you see in the Star Wars movies, are right here in Rogue Leader, with no recognizable modifications to their designs at all. The word stunning doesn’t even come close! Meteor showers with hundreds of spinning rocks, Tatooines golden glow in the evening, huge Star Destroyers, hundreds of laser blasts coming from gun turrets of the Death Star will blow you away. Simply awesome!

THE SOUND

The sound in rogue leader is very impressive to say the least, every crunch, explosion and plea for help has been included in the game! John Williams’s musical scores have been perfectly recreated. You have an orchestra playing in the background on every level! As you get into more intense battles the more will become more and more intense too! Rogue Squadron also supports Dolby pro logic 2 for the lucky people who have this kind of setup. I don't have it personally but a friend of mine does and when we played the game with Dolby on, it just blew us away! Laser bolts blasting past you, Tie fighters screaming from behind you! Brilliant!

THE CONTROLS

The controls are easy to pick up the shoulder buttons used for acceleration and braking ( L- BRAKE,R-SPEED UP) you can guide you're starship with the control stick and change the camera with the c-stick, the cross is used to give out orders to your companions who aid you in missions, the A button is used as the primary weapon and the B button used as the secondary weapon.

The game plays beautifully. The moment you pick up the Gamecubes controller you will be in control. The controls are easy to get into, and once you learn to fly one craft, you will be able to fly them all! It may take time to master the controls so that you can shoot dawn enemies, control your wingmen and control your craft all at the same time. Practice makes perfect, and to complete this game you will need to perfect your flying abilities.

OVERALL

Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2 is one of the best Star Wars games ever. The graphics are incredible, the aural quality terrific and the overall Star Wars feel brilliant. If there ever was a game that captured the feeling of the movie it was based on, Rogue Leader would be it.