Star Wars: Rogue Leader - Rogue Squadron II (GameCube)

Rogue Leader is, in my opinion, the first Star Wars game to really feel like Star Wars. You are placed into the heat of dangerous battles over various terrains and environments, some based on settings from the film, some completly new.
Whatever your favourite space battle from the film, chances are you will be able to experience it in this game.

The first thing that will stand out is, of course, the graphics. Anyone whos played the game, seen a screenshot or a watched video clip cannot deny that Rogue Leader looks the business. It plays smoothly without a hint of slowdown, and never fails to impress from start to finish. It seems Lucasarts have gone all out to demonsrate the capabilities of gamecube, and have succeeded in this area, no arguments there.
Its a shame though, that it seems Lucasarts have overlooked the fact that Rogue Leader is in alot of ways, too familiar to its N64 prequel. Many levels seem like an exact copy of the N64's, and you will immediatly know what to do, and how to do it. Dont get me wrong, they're still a joy to play, especially with the breathtaking graphics but it would be nice to have a new experience on some levels. Maybe this is because the best levels are ones from the film. The Battle Of Endor, for instance is simply amazing, and you cant believe what your're seeing as hundereds of tie fighters attack you with a barrage of green laser fire! So its another shame that the levels not from the film are just variations of the same missions from the N64 game.
The next flaw is in the difficulty. Lucasarts dont appear to have any concept of the term
'learning curve'. The game goes from fairly challenging to what feels like impossible with no warning at all. You will most likely be completly stuck for ages on the fourth or fifth level. If you have never played Rogue Squadron on the N64, and are just getting the hang of the controls, then this is going to cause real problems.
However those are the only real problems in Rogue leader. The small amount of missions are made up for in the games replay value, as earning all medals will test even the best gamers skills.
You can choose from a range of crafts from the film, all perfectly reconstructed for the game, and can even unlock the Millenium Falcon or Darth Vaders Tie Advanced. All the ships have a range of abilities and choosing the right craft for your mission is vital if you are to succeed.
If you are a fan of the films or the original game on N64, then this game is definatly for you. Rogue Leader will appeal to a wide range of gamers, old or young, and you almost certainly
wont be dissapointed.

If you played Star Wars Rogue Squadron on the N64 then the gameplay here is essentially the same, with a few additions, such as the ability to switch to different craft in the middle of certain missions, and the fact that it requires you to use the D-Pad to give your wingmen instructions on what they should do (although these usually consist of 'Stay in Formation' or 'Go After the Ties').

Although there are not many missions in this game, you will want to go back and replay them to earn more medals and also to see how you would do with the different craft you unlock as you play the game. Even so, you will not finish this game quickly as the missions are in general very hard and herein lies the main problem with the game. The vast majority of gamers will struggle to get gold medals on completing the missions and will have to settle for bronze or silver at best. This difficulty level may put a number of gamers off.

Despite the difficulty of the game, I would strongly recommend this to any fans of the Star Wars series. The graphics and sound effects are astounding, and you really do feel as if you are 'in the films' at times. This is helped by the fact that you either play as Luke Skywalker or Wedge Antilles depending on the mission, and that famous scenes from the movies are used in the game, including the two Death Star Attacks and the Battle on Hoth. In fact its worth playing just to laugh at the number of Tie Fighters that assault you on the second Death Star attack later in the game.

To sum it up, it might be a little too hard in places, but I was always left wanting to try again, and it certainly is an impressive game.