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Star Wars-Rogue Squadron

Nintendo 64

1-player

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...blah blah blah! We have all heard that opening for a Star Wars game review before eh? Well this is ZeroTolerance and I am here to talk about Rogue Squadron for the N64 so I can do whatever I want to...!! All kidding aside, SWRS is a flight/shooter title for the N64. The game provides hours of great gameplay and tons of levels reminiscent of the SW universe.

First things first, the control is laid out very simple. One button for acceleration and one for de-celeration. There is also a button to close the S-Foils on your X-Wing and of course a fire button. You control the many different ships with the control stick which is nice for navigating through Beggar's Canyon and other varied landmarks. The stages are laid out as different missions for the Rogue Squadron, led by none other than, Luke Skywalker. he is joined by his buddies Biggs and Wedge and the rest of the nameless Rogue Squadron.

The levels are extremely detailed and sport several recognizable landmarks from the monster trilogy. One bad thing though is that the objects seem a little undersized. For example, the Jawa Crawler is not even as big as the X-Wing's wing span. Another example is that Jaba's Palace seems just slightly bigger than the X-Wing itself!! This is unacceptable from a game that supports the 4-meg expansion pack. Arent N64 games supposidely full 3-D free-roaming experiences? Then why do I find myself hitting invisible walls at almost every turn???

The games use of the 4-meg expansion pack is almost useless. It may make the resolution better, but it does nothing for the horrendous fog and pop-up. Sometimes it is hard to see where to go because the fog is so bad you feel you have seen that landmark before. The game feels a little rushed, but this should not be it was not delayed or anything?!? Nintendo really needs to look into the further options of their ram pack and use it for clearing up that horrible fog, and not worry about resolution, leave that department to a real system, (cough) Dreamcast (cough) heehee.

In the end the game is a load of fun with some minor developer issues. It does give a sense of the Star Wars Universe but not nearly as clear as X-Wing Vs. Tie Fighter or Jedi Knight. Maybe the Nintendo 64 is losing its steam or maybe they are just in a slump, but they need to pull themselves out fast or they are going to be left in the dust of the video game race of the next generation!!

Graphics--7.5

Sound--8.0

Control--7.5

Replay--7.5

OVERALL--7.5

This game needs work before becoming a great game, but not bad.

ZeroTolerance