Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader Review - Screenshot 1 of 4

In many ways, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader is the definitive Star Wars game. That's not to say that it's the best game that's ever been based on the franchise, but rather, it's the best at capturing the pure essence and magic of it. Developed by Factor 5 in collaboration with LucasArts, it's a technical masterpiece, and arguably the crowning moment in the development studio's history. When it launched alongside the GameCube in 2001 (2002 in Europe and Japan), it visually outclassed everything else — even Nintendo's own brilliant efforts in the form of Luigi's Mansion and Wave Race: Blue Storm.

The game is set during the events of the original trilogy, and puts you in control of renowned Rebel Alliance pilots, Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles. Unlike its N64 predecessor, the game doesn't feature an original storyline, and instead focuses on key moments from the films, such as the Death Star attack and the Battle of Hoth. In a way, it's a shame that the story doesn't venture off into the Expanded Universe and provide a new motivation for playing. However, at the same time, it is much easier to relate to and keep up with what is going on. Moreover, not all of the missions are based directly on the film. Some give you an insight into how certain things came to be; for example, how did the Rebel Alliance get its hands on the Tydirium shuttle seen during Star Wars: Return of the Jedi?

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Either way, the reason why this more mainstream approach to the narrative works is because Factor 5 has meticulously reconstructed everything to an insanely accurate degree. It's as if it's taken moments from the film and directly converted them into a video game. Not only that, but — as a result of the GameCube's power — the developers have managed to recreate the impressive scale of Star Wars' grandest battles. Remember the iconic scene from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi where the Rebel Alliance is swarmed by wave after wave of enemy TIEs during the Battle of Endor? You don't just see that in Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, you play through it, with tons of allied and enemy fighters all on screen at the same time. It's a staggering feat for a title of its age, but more importantly, it considerably ramps up the fun factor.

This is all complemented by Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader's incredible visuals. Despite being one of the very first games on the system, it's also one of the best looking. The vehicle models sport intricate detail and closely mirror the actual models seen in the films. Moreover, the game environments are large and no longer suffer from the limited draw distances that plagued the original N64 title. For the most part, it runs very smoothly, although stages which use advanced visual effects are prone to some slowdown. In particular, the mission Vengeance on Kothlis contains a lot of water, all of which reflects everything in real time. This, combined with everything else that's going on, really does put the hardware through its paces, but it never reaches the point of being unplayable.

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If there's one thing that virtually all Star Wars games get right, it's the audio elements, and Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader doesn't disappoint here. Most of the sound effects and music have been taken directly from the source material, and the voice-over work is boosted by the exceptional talents of Bob Bergen and Dennis Lawson (who played the role of Wedge in the original films). Interestingly, the menus feature looped video content from the films, and while it may only be a small detail, it helps to strengthen the already strong production values of this title.

When it comes to the all-important gameplay itself, this title thankfully excels. It's made up of ten missions (and some bonus levels), in which you have to complete various objectives while fending off the Empire. The mission format varies between assault, escort and defence tasks, with many of your objectives changing during the course of the mission itself. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader is by no means a technical game, and instead offers an arcade-style experience that's relatively easy to control. With that said, the sensitivity for controlling your ship's movement is a tad high, meaning that targeting smaller enemies can sometimes be a bit fiddly.

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If there's one criticism that can be fairly leveled at this game, it's that it's just way too short. You can reach the end credits in under two hours, and while it's a complete blast along the way, you can't help but wish for more. It incorporates a medal system that grades you on your performance throughout, but this only really appeals to completionists in the long term. The game does feature bonus missions, but again, these don't add a great deal to the experience. When you also factor in that there's no multiplayer mode, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader is a rather limited experience.

Conclusion

Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader is a technical marvel, serving up the perfect melange of gameplay, visuals and authentic Star Wars goodness. Factor 5 has stunningly recreated the franchise's deep universe to a degree rarely seen in licensed video games. Disappointingly, it's a very brief experience, but one that you should enjoy nevertheless. This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the GameCube's finest games.