A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. With these ten words, George Lucas launched a trilogy that became an international blockbuster and established an empire of his own. The interactive division of Lucas’ domain has spawned a number of games allowing players to take sides as Jedi, Empire or Rebel in intergalactic conflicts. One of their more popular series’ has been Rogue Squadron, placing gamers in the cockpits of some of the more recognizable vehicles (as well as some obscure ones) against a number of adversaries across the galaxy. However, for the latest game in the series, Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, LucasArts returns to more familiar territory. While previous titles in the Rogue Squadron series followed parts of the movie, Rebel Strike goes even farther than those titles, managing to weave a more cohesive experience between the film and the game. I’m obviously not going to go into depth on the plot (simply put, if you don’t know what the plot of the Original Star Wars Trilogy is, put the mouse, gamepad and other electronics down, get to a store and buy them NOW.) While I won’t bore you with story elements that everyone should know, I will give you a small taste of the demo we played, starting on the frigid world of Hoth. The massive battle on Hoth seemed to indicate some of the lengths the Empire were willing to go to squelch the insurgent Rebels. Descending with large AT-AT and AT-ST walkers, battle droids and scores of stormtroopers, a group of soldiers, along with Luke Skywalker, attempt to divert attention from their desperately escaping allies. Players leap into Luke’s boots, attempting to traverse the frozen landscape shortly after he’s been shot down. This is one of the newer features of Rebel Strike: leaving your ship and striking out on foot with a blaster, lightsaber, or even tripod mounted lasers. As Luke sprints between the legs of gangly AT-ATs, attaching a cable to the underside and hoisting himself to its underbelly, he quickly equips his lightsaber to slice open its access panel. Finishing off the AT-ATs with grenades, he quickly drops to the ground and runs over to a fellow Rebel who’s holding a Tauntaun for him. While Tauntaun riding looks odd because of the animal’s uncoordinated gait, it’s surprisingly fast, and controls much like the other vehicles do. However, players can also use the creature’s considerable size to run over and through stormtroopers in your way towards your X-Wing. Taking off, Luke and his wingmen are tasked with the considerable job of protecting as many refugee ships from TIE bombers and fighters. This sounds easier than it is, as the skies are quite literally swarming with enemy craft all itching to blast you out of the skies. Though we only used the X-Wing in this level, players can expect to use A, B and Y-wings, as well as other vehicles from the trilogy. Oh, and a bonus for you retro fans: LucasArts has included the old 1981 arcade vector graphics Star Wars game, so players can fly and blow up the Death Star old school style. Aside from the well-balanced gameplay, Rebel Strike possibly features the epitome of a cinematic: remastered footage from the films themselves. It’s slick, it’s attractive, and it totally gets your adrenaline pumping for the mission ahead of you. Add to that the impressive number of enemies (particularly TIE Fighters) that can be onscreen at the same time and you’ll notice a feat of technical wizardry. At least 30 or more incoming fighters can be onscreen at the same time with your craft without any slowdown whatsoever. I need not even mention the sound, considering that the entire soundtrack and some of the dialog is lifted from the movie itself, which only adds to the ambience of this game. We’re eagerly awaiting this game, and with the announcement that it recently went gold, we can’t wait to feel The Force when Rogue Strike hits shelves on Oct. 22. Check back soon for a full review! Questions or comments about the upcoming release of Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike for the GameCube? Talk to us! [ E-Mail Jeff 'Linkphreak' Haynes ] [ Comment in our Forums ]

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