"If you liked the original, you must play this..."

You can comment on how it is just another remade game for the newest system, with the same handling and the same old engine, or talk about how this game only has approximately 10 to 20 hours of gameplay, and how you won’t get your money’s worth out of it, or you could try to tell me how this game just can’t compare to similar games on other systems, but every word you would be saying would be wrong. This game is by far the best of its genre, and it literally takes what the original Rogue Squadron game did for the N64 and revolutionizes it </generalization>. There, now that that’s said, let me get into some of the more specific aspects, which I know is what you all want anyway...

Gameplay: 9/10 When I first popped the mini-disc into my Gamecube, sure I wondered if all the screenshots and preview video clips were true to the game as the presentations depicted. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, either, though I was well read on the game. Most importantly, however, was that, even after all my time spent replaying the old N64 game, I was nowhere near ready for how well the game played and handled. The controller fit perfectly with the control scheme, and though I hit the B button a few times trying to brake at first, I soon got used to the shoulder buttons, and their clicks. The crafts all handled beautifully, and what’s more, realistically (for what they were that is). They at least tried to use a bit of realism, at least in some of the physics, so hairpin turns are impossible, and completely stopping, almost as difficult. However, these small things still don’t even embody how impressive this game is.
Maybe it was just me, but I didn’t want to jump straight into the actual game sections first (they made the training mission for a reason you know!), so I clicked over to that and began playing in a flying hunk of junk, but that wasn’t even important. Flying through Beggar’s Canyon, trying with all my might to keep this tripod-looking land speeder to turn through the steepest cliff’s I’ve ever navigated… this was how the last game was supposed to feel, and almost did. I recalled playing through the Beggar’s Canyon secret level in the original game, and I guarantee you this one was superior…
But that wasn’t enough for me. Seeing and feeling this for myself, I knew what was next. When the training mission ended, I clicked back to the right… and the Death Star loomed before me. I jumped in my X-Wing and let the fun begin. Everything the land speeder could do, the X-Wing did better, from speed, to turns, to tracking targets and just delivering firepower where it wanted to go. And then I hit the duels, where about 40 or so TIE Fighters attacked. It was during this first real fight that I learned how the game would behave for the future. While my two wingmen stayed with me (thanks to a signal I had to input with the D-pad), all of the TIEs were in formations of 4, and they all moved as realistically as you could want. During this battle (that would have seemed epic on the N64, I realized that this was just the first level. Sure, there were 20 TIEs on screen at a time at some points, but that would likely be nothing.
This game handled like a dream, and it somehow managed to keep track of every ship on that screen, whether I could physically see them or not. It was all I could do to keep my mouth from hitting the floor.

Graphics: 10/10 For some strange reason, I jumped into this game expecting almost what the N64 version of the game looked like but with a minor tweak or two here or there. I knew it would be outstanding in the graphical compartment, I had seen the videos and screenshots, but I was still unprepared. Every aspect of the game is detailed, from the sand waves on the dunes of Tattooine to the welding points on the wings of each of your respective ships, and every detail is accurate to the Star Wars tradition and look. At no time was I saying, “I wish I could see a clearer picture of this” or any of the other woes that the polygonal nightmares caused from past games, and what surprised me more was how much this machine was actually doing. When I sat there for a second and thought about it, EVERYTHING looked DVD quality - even though it was all rendered - even though there were 20 TIE Fighters on screen at a time, with my X-Wing and three others - and even though there was a constant, inverse rain of green laser fire coming from seemingly every square meter of the planet-like Death Star looming below me. There was just no end to the surprises that the game brought to me, either. At the main title screen, I paused a bit in awe as a classic scene unfolded before my eyes: there was Luke Skywalker, trapped in a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader. So I forwarded to the options screen and came back, but when I returned, there was a different 15-second segment playing, the scene with Han Solo inside the Millennium Falcon’s control pit. This wouldn’t have really bothered me much, since it could just have been a great little effect for the opening scene, but when I repeated the process again and got another, new, shot from the movies, I was impressed. Then I decided to pause the game during a mission... The same sight met my eyes. In other words, the game itself has probably a hundred different clips from the movie that it plays in some cases just to seemingly pass the time! It’s almost like that isn’t even a tax on the system itself, and of course, this is all shown in DVD quality.

Sound: 10/10 If you played the original game for the Nintendo 64, you know that the sounds were always one of their fortes. There was in that game, as in this sequel, constant radio chatter, which can both be a curse and a blessing at times. You can hear your opponents taunt you, but you can also hear your wingmen as they cry for assistance, or as they receive an order and you know that they’ll help you. You can hear every laser scorch its target, and of course hear the well-known laser-fire sounds. You can hear unmistakably the shrill whine of the Twin Ion Engines from each TIE Fighter, which gives them their names. You can hear the epic score from the movies of the original trilogy, with DVD quality sound. Then, you can also hear silence when the music is quieted and a huge enemy force looms ahead of you, only to be broken by the issuing of orders that could mean the life or death of your squadron mates. This game lives by its sounds, just as its predecessor did, and what a glorious life it is. I remember cranking the volume on my system so I could hear the epic introduction that all Star Wars fans know and love only to leave it up for the just-as-impressive background tracks and chatter of the real game. The game, yet again, leaves almost nothing to be desired, and the sounds are all too welcome to these ears that yearn for the next movie’s release. The game continues the legacy of great music established by previous games and the movies alike.

Overall: 9/10 This game surprised me, honestly. The things this game could do and how lifelike everything seemed, especially with everything moving at a realistically quick rate, my mind was blown well into my first minute of gameplay. Overall, this game is a Star Wars fan’s wet dream come true, especially for those who loved the original on the 64. Every detail of this game, from the worlds, to the menus, to the characters, and the ships themselves are present. Everything that should be clear and precise is. Every situation is handled with no slowdown, and the entire game goes with almost zero load time. Rogue Leader is, simply put, a masterpiece! If you need more convincing than this, I can only suggest you go out and buy or rent the game for yourself. You will see, as I did, what the last game should have been, and where the franchise is headed: to greatness.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/18/01, Updated 11/18/01