sci-fi

Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike is very similiar to it's predessor in terms of it's spaceship gameplay. However, Rebel Strike incorporates new gameplay elements: ground missions, where you'll either be on foot with a blaster or in some type of vehicle such as a AT-ST Imperial Walker or a speeder bike. These new gameplay elements are mostly for the worse, however, as most of them are obviously rushed and seem to be in the game only to take up space.

The flight missions themselves are usually good, but are still greatly lacking depth, length, and anything actually 'new' compared to the other Rogue games.

The co-op mode, however, is the games' saving grace which lets you and a partner play through all the original Rogue Leader levels together, with added difficulty and enemies. On the other hand, this is only useful provided you always have someone to play with. And obviously, many people do not, and for them Rebel Strike is a rental at best. For everyone else, this is probably the one to get in the series. |3|

When the Gamecube was launched, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II - Rogue Leader was an instant hit with a number of gamers. It was one of the finest games available at the time of launch, and it proved that unlike many previous blunders in the series, Star Wars games CAN be good. For nearly two years we have waited for the sequel, and at long last it has arrived! Read on for my review of Star Wars Rogue Squadron III - Rebel Strike.

THE GOOD:
-I'll say the most important good thing about this game first - YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A STAR WARS FAN TO ENJOY THIS GAME!
-This game has more pilotable vehicles than the past two Rogue Squadron games COMBINED! If you want variety, you've got it.
-In addition to air vehicles, you'll also get to pilot Imperial walkers and swoop/speeder bikes, and even landspeeders!
-The graphics are stunning.
-There's a cooperative two-player mode featuring the missions from the previous game, as well as competitve two-player modes! And in these competitive modes, you can adjust a number of variables to customize your duels! For example, you can turn power-ups on or off, wingmen on or off, etc. And if you don't want your enemy to see what you're telling your wingmen to do, you can hook a Game Boy Advance up to the Gamecube, and use it to give them orders! That is, provided you have the GBA/GCN link cable.
-The game breaks the chain of "all missions are in craft", and has several "on-foot" portions of missions! This only adds to the variety.

-The game has two separate campaigns - one follows Luke Skywalker, the other follows Wedge Antilles.
-With a little work, you can unlock the ORIGINAL Star Wars video game!
-Star Wars games have been known for their "hit or miss" reputation, but I assure you, this one's a "hit"!
-It's not the expanded universe, it's the classic trilogy universe Star Wars fans know and love. That means no Jar Jar!
-A new type of Imperial craft makes its debut in this game - the TIE Hunter!

THE BAD:
-The missions, the Speeder Bike ones in particular, are HIGHLY UNFORGIVING. In many missions, if you make a single mistake, you lose. They should have left these Bike missions out of the game.
-Your objectives are often unclear. It's tough to tell exactly what you're supposed to be doing sometimes.
-There are a number of storyline/chronology errors. For example, many of these missions take place BEFORE Return Of The Jedi, but TIE Interceptors and A-Wings and B-Wings appear in these EARLIER missions! These ships didn't exist until the Battle Of Endor in the films. Likewise, in the Death Star Escape mission, Stormtroopers refer to Han and Luke as "Rebel scum", even though they hadn't joined the Rebel Alliance yet. It also seems highly unlikely that a Jedi Starfighter would remain on the surface of Geonosis for twenty years, let alone still work fine, and that its hyperdrive ring would survive in the asteroid field for the same amount of time (the reason I give this time is because I think they are implying that it is the one that Obi-Wan Kenobi landed on Geonosis in Episode II).
-YOU CAN'T ADJUST THE CAMERA IN THE "ON-FOOT" MISSIONS. This is the Achilles Heal of these parts of the game. If you remember right, a bad camera was the biggest flaw in Super Mario Sunshine as well.
-The control in the on-foot missions is very strange at first. Accordingly, I strongly suggest doing the Tatooine Training before playing the actual game. Personally, I would have liked it better if the game stuck to the "all air vehicles" formula of the last two.
-If you're using a cockpit view in a vehicle, you have to use the C-Stick to look around, whereas the "behind vehicle" view gives you a much wider viewing radius.
-You can't play the old Rogue Leader missions in single player, nor can you play the new missions in two player.
-The game features elements of the prequel trilogy (nothing major fortunately), and this is sure to turn off potential players.
-In the Multiplayer Deathmatch mode, there is always a targeting reticule around your foe. This makes it too damn easy to find whoever you're battling against!
-Multiplayer mode is two players only. You can't do four players.

OVERALL:
Rebel Strike is a fantastic game that lives up to the hype that has been created around it for so long now. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS GAME TO ALL GAMECUBE OWNERS, STAR WARS FAN OR NOT! Sure, this game isn't perfect by any means, but this game is a very strong candidate for "best Gamecube game to date". Don't pass this buy if you own a Gamecube - you'll just be hurting yourself!

hey like rouge leader, i was disapointed with the lack of levels, there are a few ground missions, but i hate the lack of manuevering, and you cant aim, it aims for you and, well, you have a sucky blaster, and terrible aiming. the flight missions are cool, and i have these problems were i beat a level on my first turn, but when i go to replay it i fail miserably, i dunno, its a good game, i wouldnd pay more that $20 for it, i mean i would if it was longer