So Edge gave Rebel Strike a 5. Seems harsh, but I think it's justified. The game is crafted nicely, with wonderful graphics and sound, but there's very little art here. It's a nice valentine for Star Wars fans, but it's not a great game on its own merits. Like Return of the Jedi, I'll play it a lot but it's not going to be very well remembered. I spent most of yesterday playing it and managed to unlock about ten levels, but the highlight remains the Atari vector arcade game, which is a much tighter production (and the game saves your high scores to the card, which is a nice touch).
Like the film Return of the Jedi, the technical aspects of the game are much better than those of its predecessors, but they're bogged down by stupid, ugly design choices. Like RotJ, there is a lot of repetition from the last installment, which isn't so charming this time around. The menus, briefing rooms, hangers, musical themes, and extras are almost identical to those in Rogue Leader.
What little story there is has been hacked down to the bare essentials of set pieces, to the point that they require a narrator to explain what's going on. Even the Starfighter games had a better narrative thread.
The much-vaunted film clips have been heavily edited and typically only serve to slow down the action, and the black screens between segments do nothing to help the immersiveness. The scenes starring Wedge Antilles don't have any film clips, but instead rely on in-game renderings like the previous Rogue games, which I find to be much less jarring in spite of the piss-poor transitions. Conspicuous by their absence are the fancy LucasFilm-style wipes as seen in Rogue Squadron. The game lacks polish and feels rushed out the door to meet a deadline.
Some of the levels remind me of Rebel Assault II, but the pacing and balance isn't as consistent as that game. The Sarlacc Pit fight goes on for a perfunctory minute or two, while the speeder bike chase, while beautiful, seems to run for hours. And is there a point to the Dagobah training, other than to introduce the SNES-like double jump, and to see an embarrasingly rendered Yoda telling you to push the B button to use the force?
I haven't played any of the multiplayer missions yet, but I suspect that's where the real value lies. As it is, Rebel Strike is more like an appendix to the last game than a full title on its own. The on-foot sections aren't as bad as you might have heard, but they certainly wouldn't hold up on their own.
I'm looking forward to unlocking the other arcade titles, and would very much like to see the rumored "Rebel X" on XBOX, which is supposed to contain all three Roge Squadron games. It would make sense to open out all the missions from one tree as if it were one big game. I only hope the producers take the time to weave it all together into a nice coherent package like "Knights of the Old Republic" or dare I say "Behind the Magic."
There was a nagging little voice in my head telling me that I should have bought Crimson Skies for XBOX instead, but I simply had to have the latest and greatest Star Wars title instead. Ah well, that will be in the bargain bin by Christmas while RS3 is still selling strong.
Like the film Return of the Jedi, the technical aspects of the game are much better than those of its predecessors, but they're bogged down by stupid, ugly design choices. Like RotJ, there is a lot of repetition from the last installment, which isn't so charming this time around. The menus, briefing rooms, hangers, musical themes, and extras are almost identical to those in Rogue Leader.
What little story there is has been hacked down to the bare essentials of set pieces, to the point that they require a narrator to explain what's going on. Even the Starfighter games had a better narrative thread.
The much-vaunted film clips have been heavily edited and typically only serve to slow down the action, and the black screens between segments do nothing to help the immersiveness. The scenes starring Wedge Antilles don't have any film clips, but instead rely on in-game renderings like the previous Rogue games, which I find to be much less jarring in spite of the piss-poor transitions. Conspicuous by their absence are the fancy LucasFilm-style wipes as seen in Rogue Squadron. The game lacks polish and feels rushed out the door to meet a deadline.
Some of the levels remind me of Rebel Assault II, but the pacing and balance isn't as consistent as that game. The Sarlacc Pit fight goes on for a perfunctory minute or two, while the speeder bike chase, while beautiful, seems to run for hours. And is there a point to the Dagobah training, other than to introduce the SNES-like double jump, and to see an embarrasingly rendered Yoda telling you to push the B button to use the force?
I haven't played any of the multiplayer missions yet, but I suspect that's where the real value lies. As it is, Rebel Strike is more like an appendix to the last game than a full title on its own. The on-foot sections aren't as bad as you might have heard, but they certainly wouldn't hold up on their own.
I'm looking forward to unlocking the other arcade titles, and would very much like to see the rumored "Rebel X" on XBOX, which is supposed to contain all three Roge Squadron games. It would make sense to open out all the missions from one tree as if it were one big game. I only hope the producers take the time to weave it all together into a nice coherent package like "Knights of the Old Republic" or dare I say "Behind the Magic."
There was a nagging little voice in my head telling me that I should have bought Crimson Skies for XBOX instead, but I simply had to have the latest and greatest Star Wars title instead. Ah well, that will be in the bargain bin by Christmas while RS3 is still selling strong.
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