Star Wars Rogue Squadron II Review

As one of the widely acclaimed launch titles available on the launch day of the Cube, I bought this one as soon as I could. Seeing that as soon as I could was the day that GameCube debuted I was wondering how it would turn out. I knew from the screenshots, similiar to the ones you see above, that this was a visual stunner, but I was curious if it would live up to its hype and deliver!

Graphics

This is the first game to truly flaunt the GameCubes visual prowess. Running at a smooth 60 Frames per Second and showing off 25 million polygons at once on the screen this is a jaw dropper. From the amazing detail on the ships, to the multicolored laser blasts that cut through the space around you like paper, everything in this game looks great! The cutscenes also show off the GameCubes graphical power, including the real explosion of the Death Star directly imported from the movies! Overall its a jaw-dropping experience.

Gameplay

Whether you are rocketing through the Death Stars trench run to destroy it, or dogfighting over the Battle of Hoth, each mission has varied ships that are controlled and different objectives. Though this is a space based setting each level appears extremely different from the last usually and I was quite impressed with the variety of the levels. The only drawback is the fact that there is only ten different levels. But that is more than made up for when you account in the fact of the replay value. The replay is given by the medal system, which awards you a medal based on how good you do in a mission. If you earn the best type of medal, you can unlock new ships and cheats. This section of the game is a little flawed but near perfect nonetheless.

The controls are tight and responsive, also they are quite easy to pick up. It becomes apparent that the controls are the kind where you just pick up and play. Even the novice can have a fair time in the beginning levels, whereas the harder levels at the end can challenge the more experienced player. The controls are definitely another plus for this game.

Sound

With John Williams music imported straight from the movies themselves and the sound effects taken from there as well, this is possibly one of the best if not THE best sounding GameCube game to date! The sound of the lasers blasting, the explosions launching shrapnel through the air, and your ship launching downwards through a barrage of green colored flak fire from the Death Stars surface is almost overwhelming. Add to this the fact that the game is incorporated with Dolby Digital Surround Sound, and you have the perfect sounding game.

Final Say

This game is definitely a must buy for anybody who owns a GCN and enjoys space shooter games. If you fit into that category, I suggest you go buy this now if you haven’t yet. It is truly the best flight game out for any system.