When you break down the facts, Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike is a solid package that's overflowing with gameplay and plenty of geek appeal for the Star Wars fan. Perhaps the value of some of its components is questionable, and there's a segment of the audience that's probably just tired of Star Wars games by now, but for the most part Rebel Strike offers an entertaining gameplay experience with an exceptional amount of replay value. Jaded gamers may be wondering how much longer LucasArts can continue to mine the Star Wars franchise for solid gameplay ideas, and if Rebel Strike is any indication, the answer is: At least a little bit longer.

Closing Comments
Rebel Strike is a worthy follow-up to Rogue Squadron II in just about every way. It's all around more epic. There are more levels, bigger environments, a greater sense of intensity as the battles unfold, and parts of it are significantly more beautiful -- a commendable accomplishment.
While the game's flight missions are still its most enjoyable, some of the ground-based craft areas deliver a good deal of entertainment, too -- from the controlling of AT-STs to blazing-fast races through the forests of Endor. There is, simply, a lot of fun packed in between these kinds of stages.

But unfortunately, Factor 5's own ambitious plan has also backfired in some parts as the third-person on-foot missions -- about twenty percent of the game -- feel unrefined and in some cases malfunctioned. In short, they just don't live up to the otherwise very solid level of Rebel Strike, and this is a big disappointment. It's because of these clunky missions that we've scored this year's game lower than its predecessor, despite the fact that it has made great strides in many other areas and is technically even more extraordinary.

Between a superb two-player cooperative mode -- an absolute must play, in my opinion -- a fun versus mode, and a for-the-most-part engaging single-player experience, there's a lot to do and a lot of satisfaction to be found. And I don't think Star Wars fans should ignore Rebel Strike because of a few poor on-foot missions.

Recommended.

--Matt Casamassina

Another Take
When Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader released at the launch of GameCube I was blown away. Naturally, because of the huge leap in visuals and technical savvy as well as the realization of the world and style Factor 5 had been trying to hard to create for years. The amount of TIEs, the more complex AI, and fast approach to making it look and feel like the movies. I was a little miffed the control mechanics hadn't progressed, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless.
Now, two years later, Factor 5 has tried to push the envelope by diversifying the gameplay experience and giving fans much of what they've wanted. More scenes from the movie: check, beautiful high-quality you find anywhere else. Orchestrated audio instead of MIDI: check. Multiplayer: check and check, a wonderfully entertaining cooperative mode of the entire last game and deathmatch. All this is fantastic. Combine it with the many dozens of additional TIEs on the screen, the significantly improved visuals, as well as the new locations, and Rebel Strike stands to be the best game in the series yet. But there are a few issues that are cause for concern, one of those being an ongoing personal quibble.

Rebel Strike includes a number of new vehicle-based gameplay missions, on AT-STs usually, and these are nice. However, the on-foot action isn't satisfying so much as it is novel. It's really simple and, in the end, not refined enough to make it a valid edition -- the flying is just so much more fun and palatable.

The personal issue I've had consistently with the last few versions, including Battle for Naboo, is the flying mechanics. They worked in the late '90s when Rogue was just getting kicked off, but with the GameCube iterations -- Rogue Leader and now Rebel Strike -- the flight controls need revamping. They feel outdated and harshly contrast with the highly polished visuals. When dogfighting with TIEs you still have to roll with the Z-trigger, speed up and pull upward, essentially mocking a sharp turn, and then roll back to a level position. It can make for some really frustrating moments, and it's exaggerated by the still-hard-to-read radar and stiff camera.

In the end, I highly recommend Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike to those that are planning on playing cooperatively. It's fantastic for all the DVD content, too. However, if you were only a casual fan of the last, I suggest you rent first.

-- Fran Mirabella III

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
Is this out? I thought it came out Tuesday, but I was out of town and didn't have a message from EB saying it was in.

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
Got mine at EB last night with no problems. Guess they just didn't bother calling.

Can't believe there isn't more discussion on this as it was on sevearl people's "most anticipated" lists.

Anyway, I played through 6 levels last night (the first one and the first 5 of luke's) and was very impressed.

It's not a vast improvement on Rogue Leader, but the graphics are better, and there is a lot more variety in the gameplay.

It also totally nails the star wars atmosphere. With the video clips and what not it reminds me a lot of LOTR: TTT in terms of being a great game version of a movie.

Originally posted by Draven
Good to hear that it's cool. I still haven't beat Rogue Leader...

How is the "on foot" stuff? That seems to be the biggest complaint about the game I've heard so far.

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
I'm getting those as well. So it's just normal loading time. It is way too long for a GC game, expecially given that it didn't occur in Rogue Leader as best I can remember.

That, combined with the shoddieness of the on foot missions, just indicate that the game was rushed. It's still a very good game, but I bet delaying it until next spring would have turned it into a great game. It just needs another coat of polish.

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
Just a heads up to those that missed out on the Bonus Disc, don't worry about it. There's nothing on that disc (besides the Gladius trailer) that's not in the final game.

The SW Arcade game (as well as the Empire Strikes Back Arcade game) are on the disc, as is the teaser trailer for Rebel Strike. Just go into special features, and they'll be there after you unlock them.

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
.Currently I've beaten all the regular levels, and 3 of the 5 bonus levels. I need 5 more points to unlock one more bonus level, and that just leaves 30 points to unlock the endurance level which I could care less about.

Needless to say I'm throughly dissapointed that I spent $50 on this game, and am that far along in less than 10 hours of play.

Originally posted by kicker_of_elves
Return of the Jedi Arcade Game is in there as well..

Originally posted by kicker_of_elves

For myself personally, I looked at this as a must buy for the mulit-player aspect. The Solo-Mission to me is an added bonus. Im pretty happy with the overall game and i get to play the game with some buds, instead of them bitching about not getting to play.

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
Guess I haven't unlocked that yet. I wish they'd put in Star Wars Trilogy Arcade. These vector graphics games are fun for about 5 minutes. But their just bonuses so no big deal.