I know this review is just a bit late, but I want to review some Gamecube games and this was the first one I got and completed from start to finish. Anyways, please excuse the lateness of this review.Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue LeaderI love the Star Wars franchise ever since I was born. I wasn\'t born early enough to see the release of the first Star Wars film into theatres sadly, but all its films, all its games, all its toys and memorabilia are forever etched into my mind like a pleasant dream of epic proportions. The special effects, the plot, the story, the ships, and the characters were all essential parts of the whole that made the entire franchise how great it is today.
Unfortunately, unlike the films, the games have never been filled with that same epic feeling we have come to expect from the trilogy and its future sequels. The graphics were always different then how they were seen in the films and the gameplay always failed to capture that essence that us Star Wars fans constantly strived to experience. However, with a little bit of time, the games consistantly began to look and play better. Now, finally, after nearly 25 years of waiting for the technology to catch up with the films, we now have a Star Wars game that truly does grab you and pull you into the Star Wars experience.
GraphicsThe Star Wars films were always known for its ground-breaking digital effects with both models and computers. The films contained hudreds of different effects that were just amazing and captivated audiences even today, but making those same beautiful effects into a fully interactive enbiornment were always impossible, until now.
What makes it all worthwhile is how the graphics meticulously recreate the Star Wars universe. The details and the textures are all very impressive, but the fact that it duplicates the Star Wars worlds down to the tiniest details are what makes the game so amazing. As I said before, it\'s been over two decades since we first saw Star Wars and just now, technology can finally recreate those same effects and create worlds full of depth and that same creative incite that was present in the first film.
Praise aside, there are two things that bog down the overall graphical style. First off, the framerate has some serious issues. The dogfights in the game as well as the overall amount of craft on screen at once are just amazing, but at times, the game just tries to push the Cube far beyond its capacity and creates enough consistant slowdown that it almost becomes an annoyance. Secondly, the draw-distance is a bit short. In the vastness of space, it\'s understandable that they couldn\'t make the draw distance as infinite as it actually is, but what little they do have to render even with the black-matte backdrop, the surface of certain structures is a blurred mess beyond a certain line that is distinguishable in the game. It\'s not so easy to spot while you\'re playing and I feel this second gripe is just me nit-picking the game, but with a game this beautiful, the bad traits do tend to stick out like a soar thumb.
GameplayThis is a shooter so most of its depth comes from carefully planned level design and a massive amounbt of originality present in its missions. Even though RS2 follows a specific format according to the films, there are quite a few levels that the developers really could have let their imaginations flow into something even more grand then the original Star Wars universe.
In a couple of the levels, namely Razor Rondezvous and Vengeance on Kothlis, the Factor 5 team really did show their creative ability and crafted two levels that are completely insane with varied objectives and great continuity, but also two levels that are completely original from the Star Wars universe utilizing great ships and great transitions. I would have loved to have seen many more levels similar to this, but alas, other than the excusable movie-type levels, the creativity of Factor 5 is somewhat stunted.
The three other missions which I have never returned to since I completed them my first run through are originals by Factor 5 and are also the worst levels in the game. Ison Corridor is decent, but it\'s the same trite "shoot everything" type of level that Factor 5 really could have built upon. Imperial Academy Heist isn\'t much better either playing off of a briefly mentioned item in the STar Wars films to build a quick boring level. It\'s just dissapointing.
The levels that are crafted after the events in the STar Wars movies are a joy to play through however. The attack on the Deathstar right at the beginning of the game is a simple warm up battle, but it also successfully duplicates the film to an exactness that is almost uncanny, yet surprisingly enjoyable and immersive. The same can be said about Hoth, the Battle of Endor, and the Raid on Bespin sporting great details and awesome graphical abilities. It\'s just too bad the extra levels in the game, which are difficult to unlock, are hardly worth all the effort.
Aside from the levels, there are ship upgrades in each level allowing your ship to improve its abilities. Seeing as how these are hidden features and are not meant to be instantly achieved as if they were right in front of you, I skipped them through the whole game and beat the game without them, yet I understand that quite a few people had difficulty beating the game without them and thus, the difficulty settings must be a tad bit high for the more casual gamers. Nevertheless, these upgrades are merely extras and are not necessities to the overall story.
SoundIt\'s Star Wars. It\'s orchestrated by John Williams. It\'s the Lucasfilm sound libraries. It\'s damn good.
My only complaint is that some of the original voice-cast did not return to reprise their roles for this title. Additionaly, even the common quotes from the film were not ripped directly from the film in the first place and thus the synching is off and the story sort of stutters a bit from it. It\'s not a big deal, but it\'s the only gripe I have. Otherwise, it\'s John Williams\' score from the original movies, enough said.
Lasting AppealThe game can beat beaten from start to end in a good 3-4 hour sitting if you\'re pretty good at shooters in general, but there are going to be plenty of levels that give you lots of trouble, specifically the sudden difficulty on the final level. Additionaly, there are levels that can be unlocked by earning medals on the original levels by performing exceptionally well. On top of that, there\'s lots of ship to unlock as well making the replay value quite high.
However, in the great scheme of things, with lots of continuous time spent playing the game, all the features and extras can be unlocked in a 5-day rental.
Bottom Line
This is Star Wars at its finest. You will not find a finer adaptation on any platform. Even Sega\'s older arcade showing pales in comparison to this title both graphicaly and in terms of gameplay. It\'s a really short game that can be beaten in a rental, but hardcore Star Wars fans, and shooter fans in general, will definitely revisit this one again and again in the future. The framerate problems are a bit of a letdown, but what do you expect from a game that just tries so hard to duplicate that epic Star Wars feel?Final Score: 9/10
Topic: (GCN) - Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader Review (Read 920 times)