Note: The screenshots were used with permission from Game Screenshots.

Intro: Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles, two new recruits for the Rebel Alliance, join the assault against the Death Star, a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet. Players will assume the roles of Luke and Wedge as the game spans from the first Death Star battle at Yavin, to the Battle of Hoth, and finally to the second Death Star battle at Endor.

Gameplay and Fun(29/40):
Rogue Leader is the sequel to Rogue Squadron for the N64. Gameplay is very similar. If you are looking for a realistic flight sim, then this game isn't for you. Ships make unrealistically sharp turns, have unlimited laser usage, and most can take a significant amount of damage. The camera is fixed behind the craft for each mission, but there is a cockpit mode if you so desire. You'll fly through missions in an X-Wing, A-Wing, B-Wing, Y-Wing, and even a Snowspeeder. Factor 5 made some changes from its predecessor. Most are definitely improvements, while others leave me scratching my head wondering why things were changed. First, let's take a look about what's right about this game.

If this is the first time you've played a game like this, there is a training mission to help you get acclimated to the controls. Training covers everything from speed control, rolling, how to use the different viewpoints, lasers, ion canons, and proton bombs. There are even a couple of mini games where you race Biggs and Wedge to test your skills. It was really thoughtful of Factor 5 to put this in, especially considering the first real mission is the assault on the Death Star near Yavin. Plus it's nice they didn't automatically assume players have played the original.

The targeting computer is a pilot's best friend. In Battle for Naboo, in the last mission you were asked to knock out certain parts of the Trade Federation Battleship. Problem was, I had no idea what I was looking for. In this game, you simply bring up the targeting computer, and fire at whatever is highlighted in yellow. This really helps eliminate confusion as to what you are supposed to shoot at next.

One area in which the original was lacking was there were very few good dogfight sequences with Tie Fighters. This game has an abundance of Ties in practically every mission. Few things can compare to the fun of shooting down hordes of Ties in an X-Wing or some other Rebel craft. The original had planetary missions, which was good, but had zero deep space missions. The PC X-Wing series was all deep space missions. This game has a mix of both, which I like better than having all or nothing of either kind.

I was really shocked, however, to find myself having fun with the Y-Wing missions. What? Y-Wing missions fun? No way! Yes way. While flying the Y-Wing in the PC X-Wing series and the original Rogue Squadron was a real drag, it's a blast in this game. First of all, there are no more missile turrets. Thank goodness. I always thought missile turrets were stupid anyway, since they are a cheap way to lose your craft and they were never in the original trilogy. Plus if you wait long enough, your Y-Wing will actually regenerate bombs. That's that much more destruction and making things go boom you can cause. Also, in the other games I mentioned, the Y-Wing missions were way too hard. The missions in this game seem to be better designed with the Y-Wing's capabilities in mind, so you don't have to be a Jedi just to get through them.

Speaking of missions, I must commend Factor 5 for putting every major battle in the movies in one game. You just can't beat having the Battle of Yavin, the Battle of Hoth, and the Battle of Endor all in one game. Plus all three of those missions are very well designed and fun to play as well. The Battle of Endor is even broken up into two missions, which I like because it would be almost sadistic to expect the player to fight off hordes of Ties, two Star Destroyers, and then fly through the Death Star itself all at once. Wait, did you say Star Destroyers? Yep, there are two missions in which you will have the opportunity to knock out Star Destroyers. If that doesn't make a Star Wars fan happy, then I don't know what will.

Some missions allow you to switch craft mid-mission, although sometimes it's mandatory to successfully complete the mission. This makes the game more fun because you can go from shooting down Ties, to tripping up AT-ATs, to bombing AT-STs all in one mission. Plus it helps create balance in how often craft is used. If you have a particular favorite craft, odds are you will get to use it at some point in the mission. In the Bespin mission, you even have the option of flying a Cloud Car. Neat!

Now for the gripes. First of all, there is an anorexic number of missions in the game. The N64 version even has more missions. Counting regular missions, the N64 version has 16; this one has only 11. That's pathetic. With an upgraded console and now that it's on a disc and not a cartridge, there is no excuse for the game being shorter. The missions are fun to play, but the game is over way too fast. Plus, the N64 missions were more spacious, while the missions in this game feel cramped. You really don't have far to go until you fly "out of bounds" and the game yanks you back in play. With the sheer number of Ties in every mission, shrinking the playing field this much only begs for lots of collisions. Prepare to be frustrated as you constantly run into Ties and lose a life. A few missions even require you to attack stationary objects, and putting out of bounds areas near these objects makes it difficult to make a good strafing run. Here's the worst of it: In some missions, enemy ships can fly out of bounds but you can't. That is just totally unfair.

The main gimmick behind this game is that you can order your wingmates around. Unfortunately, this is nowhere near as exciting as it sounds. First of all, you only give orders to two other pilots, and occasionally ground forces. You can order wingmates to form up, attack gun turrets, attack targets, or to retreat. Problem is, your wingmates are seriously A.I. deprived. While in formation, they just aimlessly fire their lasers at regular intervals. When you order them to go after Ties, half the time they are completely useless and ask for you to give them orders every thirty seconds. Let's see, there are about 30 Ties all over the place, and you wonder what you orders are? You can order ground forces, when applicable, to defend, attack, or retreat, but it seems to make little difference what you tell them to do.

I also have a few gripes about the various ships themselves. It's nice they added the B-Wing, but it's almost completely useless. It's the default craft in one mission, but I found out it's easier to complete that mission with almost any other ship. It's supposed to be the Rebel's newest and most advanced fighter, yet it's the most inferior in this game. And why does the A-Wing show 20 missiles, when in fact, it only has 5 charges? Why shoot 4 missiles at only one target? If you are diligent enough, you get to fly Darth Vader's Tie Advanced. While the alternate universe thing is a cool idea, I played the alternate Death Star scenario, only to find out there are craft inconsistencies. Everyone knows the Tie Advanced is superior to any Rebel craft at that battle, yet even Y-Wings can maneuver as well as Vader's ship. C'mon Factor 5, didn't you pay attention during that part of the movie? Also, when you fly the Millenium Falcon in certain missions, it's slower than molasses, but in the last mission, it's several times faster than an X-Wing. I know it sounds like I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but each ship should have the same speed, agility, shields, in EVERY mission.

Play Control(20/25):
If you are used to realistic flight sims, then the controls may seem a bit awkward to you. I actually know someone who is used to flight sims who though the controls were a bit awkward in this game. I think the controls are pretty good myself. The L and R buttons are brakes and accelerator, respectively. In a few ships, if you hold down the R button until it clicks, you either close your ship's S-Foils or you activate the ship's boosters. Using the L and R buttons to control speed seems intuitive, though I wish a speedometer was available so you could see exactly how fast you're going. The Z button allows your craft to roll. Since this button is in an awkward place, it's a good thing they assigned something to it that isn't neccessary. The big A button fires your lasers, and the smaller B button is your secondary weapon, which is appropriate since you will be using lasers a lot more and the A button is easier to find. The Y button brings up your targeting computer. X button toggles between cockpit mode and behind the ship mode. The analog joystick controls flight, while the control pad below is used to issue commands to your wingmates. C-Stick allows you to move the camera around, and once you get the targeting computer upgrade, it allows you to point out individual targets for your wingmen to attack while using the targeting computer. Actually, I found this to be a bit awkward because the pointer would always center itself after I let go of the stick instead of staying where I last had it. Another small gripe is once you get secondary weapons that lock on a target, it's a pain in the butt to fire them off quickly, and sometimes you end up firing them at a locked target instead of straight ahead. Luckily, instances like this are few and far between. With the auto level and auto roll on, sometimes it's difficult to follow enemy ships as they climb and dive, because it's constantly trying to yank you around while you're trying to get a bead on the enemy. However, I found it's still much easier to play with those left on. Flying may seem a bit loose and squirrelly at first, but with practice and patience, just about anyone can knock out hordes of Ties and take out Star Destroyers.

Replay Value(14/15):
With several craft to unlock, bonus missions to unlock, and medals to earn, players will have plenty to go back for. Plus it's fun to replay missions and experiment with different craft to see if they are any more efficient. Some missions are so much fun to play that it's fun to back even with the same craft. Unfortunately, with the limited number of missions, there aren't many situations in which you can use certain ships. If you get gold medals in every mission, including the bonus ones, you can unlock ace mode where you can win ace medals by finishing missions.

Graphics(10/10):
The graphics are detailed to the point where you almost feel like you are watching the movies. Ships are very well detailed, especially in the hanger. I also like how the hanger for the Yavin mission looks just like the one in the movie and the hangers for the other missions look like they take place in a ship. The landscapes for the planetary missions are very well done and look realistic. The city of Bespin is a site to behold. The amount of detail for the Death Star at Endor is amazing. It almost looks like the one in the movie. Star Destroyers are very well done. I read somewhere that Factor 5 spent an entire week making the model of one. What's really interesting, is how in certain missions the time of day changes depending on the internal clock in the GameCube itself. In the training mission, there is morning, afternoon, evening, and night. As an added bonus, there are short clips from the movie on the menu screens and there is some footage after you blow up the second Death Star. Of course, there are plenty of neat explosions. No shooter would be complete without that.

Music and Sound(9/10):
Although the music seems a bit quiet even with it turned up all the way in the sound settings, it captures the Star Wars feel. Actually, most of the music in the game is from the movies somewhere. The title screen music sounds like a better rendetion of the theme from the original Rogue Squadron. The music for the first mission is the same as it is in the movie. Obi Wan even tells you to use the force. For the other missions, the music fits the situations perfectly. The Bespin theme is more relaxing. The Endor theme at the beginning is the same as it was in the movie. The sound effects are pretty accurate too. Tie Fighters shoot their lasers with that distinct blasting and hissing noise. If you use cockpit mode in the Darth Vader missions, you can actually hear him breathe. The Rebel ships' sound effects are very well done too, but probably aren't quite as exciting. However, the sound of bombs dropping and exploding is pretty cool.

Conclusion:
This game is a must have for any Star Wars fan, especially those who enjoy the starfighter sequences. Despite the minimal amount of missions, this game is still a blast to play and is worth the money. Nothing is more satisfying that defeating the Empire with a snubfighter.

Info

Company:	Developed by Factor 5 and Published by Lucas Arts
Genre:	Shooter
Date Released:	11/18/01
Number of Players	1
Number of Memory Blocks Required	3