Star Wars Starfighter: This isn't your little brother's Rogue Squadron!
Written: May 11 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good voice acting; great John Williams music; "sniper" feature; immersive feel
Cons: Inconsistent frame rate; analog control only; average textures
The Bottom Line: While there are some flaws that keep Star Wars Starfighter from getting higher marks, the game's immersive feel and atmosphere are enough to warrant at least a solid rental.
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| offspringer's Full Review: Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter for PlayStation 2 |
Star Wars Starfighter was originally slated to be a launch title for the PlayStation 2 back in October of 2000, and hype for the game likely coerced at least some Star Wars fans into buying the system. Unfortunately, the game ran into a series of delays-- a seemingly common occurrence for highly anticipated PS2 games (Gran Turismo 3, anyone?). Still, the hype kept coming, and Star Wars fans were still eager to play Starfighter, especially since the game engine seemed reminiscent of Rogue Squadron and Battle for Naboo, two great Star Wars titles for the Nintendo 64 console. Now that Starfighter is finally available, it's time to put the game through its paces and see whether the Force is truly with LucasArts this time around.
Starfighter has its own original storyline, much like Rogue Squadron, Rebel Assault II, and other Star Wars games of this type. The game takes place during the same time as Episode I and teams together three unlikely individuals who come together and decide the fate of Naboo. Each character has his/her own ship with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Unlike Rogue Squadron, players are unable to choose which character or ship to use for each mission, but the mission structures are much like Rogue Squadron's, including escort missions, seek-and-destroy missions, and more. Also like Rogue Squadron, there are medals to be earned for satisfying certain requirements during a mission. These open up some hidden features and secrets within the game.
Once you get into a mission though, you'll realize this is not Rogue Squadron that you're playing. The sheer amount of enemies that you'll have to engage during missions is astounding at times. No matter how many ships you shoot down, seemingly endless waves appear to take their place. While this may seem overwhelming at first, the feeling of being in the middle of an epic battle is something special. There are ships everywhere, and you're right in the middle of it all. You see ships getting blown away, hear continuous pilot chatter, and just feel like you're really there. This feeling of immersion is one of Starfighter's biggest assets, and that feeling is magnified by hearing some great John Williams tracks in the background.
Graphically, Starfighter is nowhere near as good-looking as many gamers thought it would be based on the hype and the processing power of the PS2. While the surface textures are cleaner that we've seen in Star Wars games recently, they're still relatively bland. The frame rate stutters, although it thankfully doesn't affect gameplay at all. With this kind of hardware, however, slowdown or choppy animation is less likely to understood and more likely to be pointed out and criticized, as I am doing here. Gamers will find themselves more taken with the eye candy during space battles than during ground engagements. The ships generally look good, and smoke and lighting effects are also done well. In general, Episode I craft aren't as recognizable or as impressive as craft from the original Star Wars Trilogy, so there's not a lot to comment on-- except for the fact that many of the craft in Episode I are faithfully represented.
The game controls are fairly solid. With a little time, you'll master all three ships' control schemes with ease. I am personally not a big fan of analog control, but with Starfighter, you have no choice. The D-Pad's purpose is to communicate with your wingmen (a la Wing Commander... remember that game?) and that cannot be changed. The analog takes a bit of getting used to, and trying to line up an enemy can sometimes be a bit touchy. When you consider that there are so many other ships out there buzzing around you, those precious seconds that you waste trying to line up that one shot due to touchy controls, you'll understand a certain level of frustration that can be had. One feature that is new is the "sniper" mode, which enables players to zoom the camera in on a distant enemy and blast them to bits. It works well, and becomes quite useful as the game progresses, especially with incoming waves of ships (especially bomber waves).
As with many other Star Wars games, the sounds in Starfighter are top-notch. This game has some great voice talent which lends credibility to the characters and adds to the movie tie-in. Whether you're watching a cutscene or whether you're in the heat of battle, voices sound convincing and that only adds to the game's immersive value. The sound effects are pulled right from Episode I and sound crisp and clean, especially in stereo. The music is also solid, as expected, with recognizable John Williams scores throughout. Purists will note that a few themes from the original Star Wars Trilogy (the Asteroid Field theme, in particular) somehow made the cut here. If Starfighter is supposed to be set during Episode I, which happened many years before the Trilogy, why are those themes here? Yes, I'm nitpicking, but I think I raise a good point.
Star Wars Starfighter, like the movie that it's based on, is a victim of the hype machine. While there aren't many bad things about the game, the game isn't the best Star Wars game to date, like some gamers thought (or were led to believe). While Starfighter looks and plays like a slightly above-average shooter, its biggest asset lies in its ability to draw players in and make them feel like they're really at the center of the action. Word from LucasArts is that a "special edition" of Starfighter is coming to XBox sometime down the road, and Factor 5 is working on what looks to be the mother of all Star Wars shooters and the sequel to Rogue Squadron, called Rogue Leader, for Gamecube. This leaves PS2 somewhat out in the lurch. Hopefully, LucasArts will consider a shooter based on the original Star Wars Trilogy for the PS2. Until then, though, Starfighter is the only Star Wars shooter available for the PS2 and it's the best Star Wars experience available on a Sony system. It's easily worth a rental, if only to experience the game's immersive value... you may even decide to add it to your library-- and that's not such a bad thing.
Recommended:
Yes
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offspringer
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Member: Peter Skerritt, Jr.
Location: West Springfield, MA
Reviews written: 141
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About Me:
I am an avid video game player with 30 years of gaming experience.
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