"Here is the best synopsis I can think of: GET THIS GAME!"

One of the launch titles for the GameCube, Star Wars: Rogue Leader is a follow-up to the N64 game Rogue Squadron. This game basically plays the same as Rouge Squadron, though that's not a bad thing. You'll see why too if you get this game.

Visuals: Simply put, this game is the most marvelous looking game you'll see on any console (at least at the time of it's release!). Everything moves at 60 frames per second, the craft and other things are made up of huge amounts of detailed polygons, and the effects like a sun setting or lighting made from laser fire make this game look almost like the Star Wars movies. It's hard to describe it here; you'll just have to see for yourself. One thing to note is that clips from the movies are shown on the many menus of the game, and they look great.

Audio: This game sounds wonderful. Some of the music in this game is taken right from the movies, and we all know how good John William's music is. Much of the music is original, but it sounds great as well, despite being slightly synthesized.
The sounds are lush in this game. There is a lot of original speech in this game, much more than Rogue Squadron, and I have to say that the voice actors who impersonated the several Star Wars characters in the game did a good job. In addition, Wedge Antilles was voiced by the person who played him in the movies, Denis Lawson. He too did a good job.
As for the actual sound effects, they are extremely authentic. Just listening to the screeching of TIEs, the firing of many lasers, and the nicely done explosions make you feel like you're in the movies. You'll feel even more like you're in the movies if your TV is hooked up to a Dolby Surround sound system. I have one in my home, and I must say, it is a great experience to listen to the game with that.

Story: There's not much of a story with the game as a whole, but there's always one in about every individual missions. All of them are related to the original Star Wars trilogy in some way. There's not much else to it, so I'll move on.

Gameplay: If you've played Rogue Squadron, you can just pick up this game and play it. If you haven't, you'll be used to the controls in no time. They're relatively simple to learn. I'm not going to explain them here, as they're too long to list, but they are not complicated.
In the game, you first choose which mission you want to tackle, and then you choose which craft you want to fly. There are a good deal of missions to play in this game, and there are a great amount of ships to fly as well.
Since this game is mission based, you'll have certain objectives to complete in each level. For example, in one level you have to fly to an prison set up by Imperials, and rescue and protect the prisoners through their escape. The missions themselves may be tough to some, but they are not impossible.
Upon beating a level, you are shown how well you did in certain criteria in the game. If you meet some of these criteria you'll earn medals. Medals come in bronze, silver, and gold variations, and getting medals a good deal of medals will get you secret things like extra missions and craft, just to name a few.
There is also a special selection on the menu that will contain many interesting things, like...well, you'll find out in your own time.

Replayability: There is a great deal of replayability in this game. There are so many things you can do: Earn better medals, fly different craft on missions, view things as special features, and much, much more. You'll be spending a good deal of your time with this game.

Overall, this is a game you should get if you don't have this already for GameCube. The excellent graphics, amazing sound, and solid gameplay combine to make an excellent game. Don't delay any longer: be sure to get this game!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/09/01, Updated 12/09/01