Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (GameCube)
	Developer Factor 5 Publisher LucasArts Reviewed by Kevin "Yoshi" Oye [Feedback] [Author Bio] Review Date January 25, 2002

Rating (out of 5.0) 4.0 out of 5.0*

Judge for yourself

Strengths Solid sound effects/soundtrack Graphics Difficulty Level The upgrades, medals and bonuses Weaknesses Controls Lack of assistance from wingmen

* Notes Gaming Voice ratings are based on the technical and/or gameplay merits of a given product as well as the developer's choice of features and delivery of same. Our rating is not an endorsement of the thematic content of a given title. Gamers and parents are cautioned to determine if such content conflicts or coincides with their values and beliefs.

Rogue Leader has raised the bar for all future Star Wars games.

Rogue Leader has raised the bar for all future Star Wars games and has made the GameCube the console to look out for in the current console wars. If you like a tough game and do not mind being blown to pieces about 15 times per mission then this game is for you. If on the other hand, you have high blood pressure and have a temper tantrum when they show a rerun of The Simpson, then I say, leave it on the shelf because you will most likely end up breaking something valuable like your GameCube.

The game puts you in control of Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles as they wreak havoc on the Empire through ten very tough missions (not including the training mission added for your own good). These missions consist of a number of different objectives, from blowing up the Death Star, protecting Rebel convoys and outposts, to going one on one with an Imperial Star Destroyer (which is quite a task).

As soon as you start the game you are introduced to a nice little cinematic, which introduces Factor 5 and gives you a little taste of the sound experience you are about to enjoy. It then moves right into the game and the opening menus. Like any other game you will be able to adjust audio and video, game settings, check your special features, view Rogue leaders, and enter codes (commentary, making of the game, photo gallery etc). There is even a Surround Sound tester so you can experience the game like it truly should be played.

At first, you will be introduced to a training mission, which introduces flight controls and combat maneuvers while performing a number of different tasks such as racing Biggs through Beggar’s Canyon, shooting Womp Rats within a time limit, or finding certain items such as Bantha herds and Sandcrawlers. My advice to any first-timer or even someone that is familiar with the controls from Rogue Squadron would be to go through this training mission. You will understand the reason “why?” as you progress through the game. If you think you are good enough to withstand the Empires tactics and wicked A.I. then go for it. I guarantee you will be coming back for some training. This is a very busy game with something always going on. Many times everything will be blasting you from everywhere, so be prepared and know your controls. Do not think I am exaggerating either, when you see “Razor Rendezvous” you will understand my advice.

If you have a hot temper put the game away before you do something you’ll regret.

The game and missions are filled with a number of bonus upgrades for the craft you are using. You will find things from Advanced Laser Tech to Homing Concussion Missles. These upgrades are very difficult to find the first time around but are assets for when you try to tackle the more aggressive missions. Another nice thing about this game are the medals awarded for outstanding play. You will earn bronze, silver and gold medals for going through the missions and meeting certain objectives such as length of time, kills and accuracy to name a few. Bronze medals being the easiest and earning you three points while silver medals earn you six and gold being the toughest to achieve earning you ten points. The more points you have, the more bonuses and secrets are unlocked.

I do not want to spoil the surprise, and I won’t tell you what those extras are, but going through the whole experience is worth it. In all, you can pretty much progress through this game rather quickly if you just want to beat the 10 missions and see the ending credits. But if you are like me, you will play this game to the fullest and go for all the medals. When you put all the medals and ship upgrades and bonuses into the mix you will be returning to missions over and over again to earn your keep, which makes the overall replay value of this game remarkable. Your best bet is to move this way through the whole game. If you just play the 10 missions and then call it quits, you will only be playing about 50% of the game.

The graphics in this game are outstanding and a site to be seen. I was in such awe at some of the visuals that I was running into TIE Fighters and other ships while admiring the scenery. Some of the visuals to take notice of are the Imperial Star Destroyer in the “Razor Rendezvous” mission and the buildings and atmosphere in the “Raid on Bespin” mission. Of course there are others that are stunning as well such as, the water effects and landscapes in the “Vengeance on Kothis” mission, the details on the asteroids in the “Prisoners of Maw” mission, and the true textures of the snow in Hoth. Did I mention the very first mission with “The Death Star”? While I was going down the trench to blow-up the Death Star, I thought I was in the movie. It looks that good! There was no slowdown at all and just the way the mission was displayed was enough for me to go back for my medals and to do it all over again. Every mission has its outstanding features, but I thought “The Death Star”, “Razor Rendezvous”, and “Raid on Bespin” stood out above the rest.

The sound in Rogue Leader is the #1 reason to purchase the game and to keep on playing the missions to receive the higher medals. I have never, ever heard sound like that coming out of my Dolby 5.1 setup with a video game. I had TIE Fighters all around me and R2 screaming behind me. Each time I got hit, I thought my receiver and my speakers were going to explode. It is really that intense. Factor 5 made good use of the 5.1 features in this game and I am hoping for more of this in the future from Nintendo. I also liked the option at the beginning of the game to test your sound setup. Using a TIE fighter, you control it moving left, right, front, and behind. I would honestly think twice about playing this game on a regular stereo TV because you will be missing a rather intense experience that will have you on the edge of your seat and screaming for more.

As with every game, there are some bad points. What I am about to discuss here may turn off quite a few individuals from this game. Like I mentioned before in the opening paragraph, if you have a hot temper put the game away before you do something you’ll regret.

I found the controls to be very shaky and I really didn’t get used to them until the 6th mission. In spite of all the practice I put forth in the training mission, I just couldn’t get the feel at first. A good example of this is in the “Razor Rendezvous” mission. There were times when I was so disoriented, I did not know if I was upside-down or right side up. I found myself just letting go of the controller to straighten out, and then all of the sudden I would be face to face with the Frigate (an ally ship), which I would run into and die about five or more times.

The sound in Rogue Leader is the #1 reason to purchase the game.

Camera angles at times were another issue for me, especially with the “Vengeance on Kothlis” mission. When you have to use the tow cable on the AT-ATs, the camera angle would sometimes jump at you if you barely touch the water, and then you find yourself banging into one of those huge mammoths. There was some frame rate slowdown on some missions as well, notably on the “Vengeance on Kothlis” and “Prisoners of Maw” missions when you are bombing the guard towers. However, most of the time the game moved along rather smoothly.

One extremely unnerving part of the game is when you order your wingmen to attack. The game’s A.I is ridiculously hard and when your wingmen go for a joy ride after you tell them to attack the enemy, you usually will find yourself getting blasted all over the place. All the maneuvers in the world are not helping you out in these situations and it can put a quick damper on the game. Even when you order the wingmen to go for the guns, they really don’t do anything worthwhile as the guns still blaze away. It would’ve been nice if the wingmen actually came to assist you once in awhile. I’d like to see a feature where, during the times that you are getting massacred, you have an option to call for help. A limited number of calls for help on each level would have been ideal and made the game that more realistic and less unnerving. I am an easygoing guy and I almost lost it a few times when this was happening. Don’t get me wrong, I love a hard challenging game, but the Wingman A.I. is just a bit ridiculous.

Rogue Leader can take awhile to beat from start to finish. With all the medals, bonus crafts, weapons and missions to unlock, the patient gamer could be at this game for a long, long time. I found the game to be an astounding experience, with some flaws that could be tolerated but not forgotten. Put another way, my friend is a bit of a hothead and he didn’t last through the first mission.

In summary I would recommend this game to anyone that is a Star Wars freak like I am, has a love for challenging games, and will not throw their GameCube out the window at the slightest frustration. I myself am not a big fan of the button mashing games but because of my love for Star Wars, I gave it a try and am quite glad that I did. Rogue Leader is a great introduction to the power of the GameCube and if you are looking for one single game to show off to your friends or to showcase in your collection then this would be the game to get.