User Reviews (1 - 11 of 242)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Another Star Wars Classic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 23 / 24
Date: November 29, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I have to admit I did not think video gaming systems could get much prettier than some of the visuals on Playstation 2, but boy was I blown away by this game. The very first mission, the attack on the Death Star, was mind-boggling, lasers flying everywhere on a beautiful 3D surface. The cutscene before this was just incredible, though, it looked like it came right out of the special edition movie. The Battle of Endor mission is the most amazing, I mean it places you right in the game, especially because of the fact that about 300 TIEs are coming after to you. To say it concisely this game is incredible visually!

Moving on, you play as Luke for part of the game, but you also play as Wedge Antilles on many of the missions, like the Battle at Endor. Each mission has its on guidelines and rules, some you protect, others you attack, and on the Imperial Academy level you actually steal an Imperial ship. The missions are fairly simple, but achieving that coveted gold is not. The hardest missions are the final two, Battle at Endor and Strike at the Core. The bonus mission are a definite plus, I love shooting the quads on the Escape from the Death Star bonus mission. And its also great to shoot down some rebel scum playing as Darth Vader. Only one complaint, the Training level is extremely boring after the first couple plays.

The music is tranplanted from the movie and is great, it definitely gives it a classic touch. The little movie cutscenes between missions are also pretty interesting. Overall this is an excellent game and I can give it no less than 5 stars. Great launch title for the redoubtable Gamecube, let's hope we see more of this quality. Oh yeah, I also loved the first Rogue Squadron, though, that was a much simpler game.

10 stars not 5 stars

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 19
Date: November 01, 2001
Author: Amazon User

In my opinion,Rogue Leader is the best GameCube launch title by far.I can't remember the last game that got my heart pumping like this one.My hands were even shaking after some missions,I guess it's the combination of classic Star Wars scenarios you go through all three movies here and an incredibly well designed,beautiful game.And it ain't no cakewalk,either.If your skills aren't up to snuff in any of the missions at least all but one exceptionally easy run near the end,anyway you'll definitely find yourself floating home.But despite the difficulty,it's almost impossible to put Rogue Leader down,and that's the sign of a truly great game.

The Leader's Graphics

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 26 / 30
Date: October 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Rogue Squadron II for the GameCube is one of the most impressive games I've seen. Visually, it rivals or may even best any Xbox title and definetly soars over the PS2. I haven't seen any high polygon counts on the Xbox that are even close to this game. Each ship, rendered with many texture passes (light mapping, dirt mapping, bump mapping, etc), consists of about 20,000 polygons. No other system creates this many on just a single object, not even a PC. Environments span to 120,000 polygons and at times there are 15 million polygons (per second) on the screen. All of this runs at a lightning fast speed of 60 frames per second.
The figures Microsoft boasts about its 120 million polygons are unreasonable. Sure it can create these without lighting, texturing, anti-aliasing, and so on. But what can it really do with all the features put into play? Probably the same or a tad bit higher than the GameCube.
While comparing this game to Dead Or Alive 3, a visual masterpiece on the Xbox, you really can tell the difference with the numbers. Rouge Leader II polygon counts are much higher. Lighting and texturing are all top notch even with the lower storage capacity of 1.5 gigabytes for the discs. The Xbox's power is great but until it can push farther that Rouge Leader II then it still is behind in the graphics department.
All in all this game is great for its gameplay and its stunning recreation of the Star Wars saga. The control and the speed in which your ships fly at are great. The speed had a vast improvement over the N64 version and it all accounts the power of the GameCube. With Nintendo's new system the Star Wars worlds can be recreated in a realistic and playable format. The game's sound and music were all recorded at a high quality. Its textures are beautiful and accurate. And the game itself is just a spectacular work of art. This is what a Star Wars game should be like.

The Gamecube's best launch title, hands down

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 18
Date: September 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (2001.) The second game in the Rogue Squadron series.

INTRODUCTION:
Over the years, Star Wars games have been a mixed bag. Although the films are the ultimate in science fiction, no one can deny that when it comes to video games, there are several good and bad titles alike. One of the best things to happen to Star Wars gaming, though, came in late 1998 - Rogue Squadron for the Nintendo 64. The game was the ultimate Star Wars combat flight simulator ever released on the consoles. And when rumors spread that a sequel was going to be a launch game for the Gamecube, it's not surprising that fans had high expectations. Were those expectations met? Read on for my review of Rogue Leader.

OVERVIEW:
Rogue Leader was released in November of 2001 as a Gamecube launch title. The game is one player, and features objective-based flight simulator combat action.

REVIEW:
I loved the original Rogue Squadron and was really looking forward to the sequel? My verdict? It was worth waiting for. Gone is the sluggish, choppy, pop-up-heavy animation of the old Nintendo 64, and in come high-resolution graphics that are nothing short of beautiful. When the Gamecube first arrived, I was awe-struck at how good its graphics were, and that was due in no small part to early footage I saw from this game. Essentially, it plays like its N64 predecessor. You go to different locales in the Star Wars universe and participate in objective-based combat. One interesting addition to the game is the concept of a command cross, accessed with the D-Pad on the controller. Using this, you can actually give your wingmen orders! And the fact that the Gamecube controller is so much more comfortable than that old N64 piece of junk will make your experience with this game all the more enjoyable. There are also some ships that weren't playable in the old game, as well as plenty of unlockable ones. If you go above and beyond the call of duty in your missions, you'll earn medals, which can go toward unlocking secret ships and levels. Where this game succeeds, it succeeds beautifully. This is Star Wars aerial combat the way it was meant to be experienced. Of course, there are a few flaws here. Length is a major one. The game is only ten standard missions long, so a die-hard Star Wars fan like myself will cruise through it in a matter of hours. Flaws aside, though, this was the Gamecube's best launch title.

EDITION NOTES:
It didn't take long for this game to become a Gamecube Greatest Hits title and to get a massive price drop. If you're a Gamecube owner and you don't have this one yet, there's no time like the present to go out and buy it!

OVERALL:
Overall this is aerial combat action at its very best. Hell, you don't really even have to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this game (although fans of the universe will get the biggest kick out of it.) I highly recommend this game and its sequel, Rebel Strike, to all Gamecube owners.

BEST GAME OF ALL TIME!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 20
Date: October 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I played this game at Cube Club on sunday, and let me tell you, it is the best game i have ever played PERIOD! The graphics are even better than the movies themselves! The framerate is rock solid which is a first for the Star Wars genre! The music is fully orchestrated, with a few extra soundtracks just to fit the mood in many other levels, and is presented in full 5.1 surround sound through Dolby Prologic II! AND BEST OF ALL, IT FEATURES THE BATTLE OF ENDOR, WHICH SINGLE HANDEDLY HAS TO BE THE BIGGEST AND BEST LEVEL IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY! IT IS UNBELIEVABLE!

Rogue Leader: Gamecube's Best Exclusive Launch Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 17
Date: November 28, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Star Wars: Rogue Leader - Rogue Squadron 2 may just be a shiny upgraded sequel to the N64's Rogue Squadron, but its still one hell of a game that both hard-core gamers and rabid fans of Star Wars will soon learn is a must play game, if not a must own (which personally I think it is). If you haven't purchased Nintendo's new game console, the Gamecube, here my friends is your reason why (as if Nintendo's many franchise games weren't reason enough).

Rogue Leader is at the top of its league, pushing the new Gamecube to give us gamers a crisp, clean, movie like representation of Star Wars on a neat little 3.5 inch mini-disc. This is how 3-D polygon rendered games should look like. No unintended jagged edges, lush textured background, and large levels of play. Not only that, but the good folks at Lucas Arts added a few new features to the game, like the targeting computer which in some game missions is absolutely necessary but is mostly optional, and very useful.

The graphics on Rogue Leader are a smooth as a baby's bottom. There are almost no unintended jagged edges. You can find some as ships turn I'm sure, but those inexplicable jagged edges are so very minuscule, you really have to look to find them. I know, because I tried, and I only saw them twice. Honestly, I really couldn't tell if that was the way the ships were intended to be or not, that's how great the graphics are. Besides, if there are any unintended jagged edges, you'll be so busy blasting tie fighters you won't even notice them.

Speaking of graphics that make a grown man want to drool, you have to see the backgrounds of each level of this game. The Death Star run, the game's first mission, is absolutely great, and the Hoth level, strictly from a gamer's standpoint, is breathtaking. Hoth was my favorite sequence from "The Empire Strikes Back" and was the best level on the N64's Shadows of the Empire, a level I do believe inspired the making of the first Rogue Squadron game. The snow covered ice planet returns for Rogue Leader and has never looked better. This level of the game is so great you can even make out hundreds of little snowtroopers running about the ground which isn't just white, it's textured to look like real snow. I can't express how much I enjoy shooting those little troopers and listening to their screams as I blast them into oblivion (yes, the snowtroopers actually scream if you shoot them).

Of course, as the old saying goes "graphics a game do not make, it's the gameplay that counts." Trust me, Rogue Leader has got the goods when it comes to gameplay. No clunky confusing controls here. With the Gamecube controller's near perfect form, controlling Luke Skywalker's classic X-wing is a breeze. The controls are easy to remember and all commands are given proper placement given the unique button shapes of the Gamecube controller. The only aspects of the game that may become bothersome is constantly having to give your wingmen (and ground troops on Hoth) new commands, and trying to hold down the targeting computer button (the Y-button) while pressing the A-button to fire your lasers, which really isn't that difficult.

Besides excellent gameplay and superior graphics, any great game must have replay value. With 11 regular missions, 4 alternate ships, a bonus medal awarding system to unlock untold secrets, not to mention those sweet sweet graphics, Rogue Leader has replay value to spare, and then some. Hopefully some cheat code have been integrated into the game to unlock these secret missions and such because, honestly, only someone with absolutely no life would be able to master the game to such an extent as to get the gold medal for each mission. Either that or you'd have to have some unnatural hand eye coordination going on.

Lastly is the all important sound quality, something old George Lucas prides himself above all else in his Star Wars movies (THX and Skywalker Sound anyone?). Rogue Leader supports Dolby Surround Pro Logic II, allowing for some incredible sound. Since Rogue Leader sports all the classic sound effects and music of its movie cousins, you'll be in for quite a treat if you have a surround sound system set up in your home. Trust me, it's astounding.

The verdict: Star Wars: Rogue Leader - Rogue Squadron 2 is perhaps the best exclusive launch game Nintendo had going for it at the Gamecube's release. Rogue Leader blows all its Star Wars space combat game predecessors out of the water. If you still have lingering doubts, pick up a copy of GamePro magazine, issue 159. Out of it four categories (graphics, sound, control, and fun factor) GamePro awarded Rogue Leader straight 5.0's, the magazine's highest rating.

Forget the hype

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: November 26, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Ok. Forget the hype. For all you people who just hate hearing about Star Wars, just sit down and try this game. Just think of it as another fighter simulation. First, if you don't know, the graphics are great. It looks like the you are actually just playing the movie. Lucas Arts seems to have tried to make sure that everything is realistic. The graphics are that good. Then the sound is spectacular. Certain spots make you forget that it's just a game. RL makes the N64 game look pathetic. Sure the first level is easy but that's to get you use to the controls. (Which take some time to learn but you will learn quickly) But unlike the first game, you don't have stupid mistakes that make you want to break something. The trench isn't this huge scar that can fit twenty fighters into. Like in the movie, the trench is hardly big enough to move in. Also, the game trys to follow the movie as much as it can. The game really tries its best to bring and show the potential of the game cube during its beginning. The game cube makes this one of the best games and if this is what their games are going to look like now, I can't wait to see what comes later.

GameCube Launches in Style

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: May 31, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Star Wars: Rogue Leader (Rogue Squadron 2) marks the first time that Nintendo has launched a new platform without its main launch title being from the Mario family of games. While the initial set of launch games does keep the Mario series going with Luigi's Mansion, Rogue Leader is Nintendo's crown jewel for the GameCube and it plays like it. Some Star Wars games have show the tendency to be very mediocre and disappointing (Rebel Assault II comes to mind), but I was pleasantly surprised with quality and replay value of the original Rogue Squadron for N64. The challenge wasn't only in beating the game, it was in obtaining gold medals on each of the levels in the game. The challenge of obtaining the medals (bronze, silver, and gold) drove me to keep playing each board even after defeating it. It made me a more disciplined player and gave me a greater sense of satisfaction when I achieved the desired medal. I eventually got all the gold medals around the time that talk of the sequel, Rogue Leader, was getting started up. As soon as I got the GameCube for Christmas, I made sure Rogue Leader was the first game I bought. What an amazing game!!! The graphics are unparalleled on any game on any platform that I have seen (and this includes Playstation 2 and X-Box). Unlike Rogue Squadron, which followed a storyline in a time period independent of the movies, Rogue Leader's storyline runs parallel to the original trilogy. As a result, the gameplayer gets engage in battles above the original Death Star (including the spectacular trench run), Hoth, Bespin, Endor, and the second Death Star. Additionally, the other boards focus on events hinted at in the movies or literature about that time period in the Star Wars Universe (Vengeance at Kothlis is one of my favorites of that bunch). All told, there are 10 main levels, 1 Tatooine Training Mission level, and 5 bonus missions (which can only be unlocked using the points accrued by obtaining medals on each of the main levels and subsequent unlocked bonus levels). It should be noted that two of the bonus levels are fascinating alternate reality scenarios where you get to fly Darth Vader's tie fighter and destroy rebel ships above the Death Star and then destroy there base on Yavin. The final bonus level is the "Endurance" stage where you fight above the Death Star and have to destroy 99(!) waves of Imperial fighters. There's a little trick to do so and once you figure it out, the only challenge is just investing the time to defeat the board (it's taken me 4 hours, but a Gold Medal is all but assured if you defeat all the waves). The Tatooine Training mission is not required for any of the regular or bonus mission goals (though completing it during 4 separate time periods is required for unlocking ACE mode), but it is a very good way to get familiarized with the game controls and the types of techniques you can and will need to use during the regular missions. If I have any quibble with the game, and it's only a minor one, it's that Rogue Leader doesn't give you much (i.e. nothing at all) in terms of fanfare for achieving all the Gold Medals or all the ACE Medals. At least the original Rogue Squadron gave you a little fireworks celebration. But, I digress. It's a tiny complaint that cannot even begin to detract from overall superior quality of this game. Nintendo continues to get it right and continues to justify my support of them as the game system of choice.

As close to being on Hoth as you'll ever get...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: December 01, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Overview: As a long-time Star Wars fan, I've always loved to try the newest Star Wars game. From the original vector-based Star Wars Arcade game on, there's just something about being able to tap into an universe that you're already familiar with. Unfortunately, like many licensed titles, these have been hit and miss over the years, though the hits have been many on Nintendo consoles. Rogue Leader is no exception, setting a new mark for excellence in a Star Wars game. While fans of the more technical TIE and X-Wing shooters on the PC might find this a step down as far as gameplay is concerned, most Star Wars fans will come to the agreement that no game has captured Star Wars so well visually. No other early GameCube game comes close to the visual splendor to be found, and very few play as well to boot.

Graphics: 10.0 One word sums up Rogue Leader's graphical prowess: AMAZING! No game I've seen on any platform has caught me more by surprise than the graphical beast that is the Rogue Leader engine. While I suppose that I shouldn't be all that surprised, Factor 5 did some great work on the Nintendo 64 after all (Rogue Squadron & Indiana Jones & the Infernal Machine in particular), I suppose that I just wasn't prepared for the leap they were able to take from the Nintendo 64. Not only are the ship models extremely accurate to their motion picture counterparts (I've read specs that state that they're actually MORE detailed than the 3D models used in the Special Editions), but the textures are top-notch. The level of detail is also amazing. Not only have the environments from the films been effectively recreated (one might argue that some even look better), but the little things, such as stormtroopers running around and turbolasers firing in the distance as far as the eye can see, convince you at times that you are actually there. Via the GameCube, Factor 5 has basically accomplished in real time what fans have been wanting for years...a chance to PLAY the movie. Sure, I might be exaggerating just a bit, but I will not be guilty of underrating Rogue Leaders visuals; they are that good. Besides, as a long-time fan of the classic Trilogy (hey, I've played the Atari computer version of Star Wars Arcade!), you'll forgive me for that. Impressive...

Sound: 9.5 If you've ever watched a Star Wars movie, you'll know what to expect here. The sound effects, voice-overs and John Williams' trademark soundtrack are all here, and in fine fashion. Thanks to the mini-DVD medium, a Star Wars game on a Nintendo system has never been better. In the advent of the surround-sound home theater, Rogue Leader's ProLogic II surround sound is also welcome. While you have to have a newer receiver to be able to take full advantage of the format, it still sounds very good on my older ProLogic receiver, so good in fact that you can hear the TIE's coming up from behind. It's hard for a game that LOOKS this good to blow you away in the sound area, but let me be the first to say, that Rogue Leader *ALMOST* pulls it off. Most impressive...

Gameplay: 8.0 Where many licensed games fall short is the area of gameplay, and there has been more than one Star Wars game to fall prey to that trend. Fortunately, Rogue Leader manages to play extremely well: controls are well-laid out and responsive, while the design, which can be difficult, never seems that overwhelmingly difficult. That being said, there is very little new here. It's basically Rogue Squadron with better graphics after all. Right? Not quite... While the play mechanics of the original are basically unchanged, there are two areas that have been improved upon GREATLY: 1) SPEED & 2) AI. In Rogue Squadron, there were points in the game where you just felt like your X-Wing was literally CRAWLING across the sky. You won't have that sensation here. While your ship still never seems to move as fast as you need it to (remember, the TIE's are faster than just about anything the Rebellion has...even the A-Wings can't quite do it), the sensation of speed is there, particularly when skimming over the surface of a Star Destroyer or some other large-scale obstacle. As for the AI, I'm not so much referring to the forces of the Empire as I am your fellow Rogue Squadron members. You can't depend on them to do all the work, but their reactions to your commands are responsive, as you can actually see them doing the order you just issued.

Theme: 10.0 This is a Star Wars game, and if that says anything, it's that there are thousands of (rabid?) fans waiting for more realistic immersion into the Star Wars universe than games have allowed. While Star Wars Galaxies promises role-playing in the classic Star Wars universe early next year, no game captures the speed and epic scale of the space battles of the Star Wars films like Rogue Leader does right now. The scale of the game, the size of the Star Destroyers and Death Star, the swarms of TIE Fighters, it truly is one aspect of the Star Wars experience on a grand scale. With the space expansion of Star Wars Galaxies well over a year away, no other title puts you there like this. You'd need your own astromech droid for it to be any more convincing.

Overall: 9.5 While launch titles are almost never considered to be representative of what a hardware platform is capable of, it's hard not to think that Factor 5 has been able to tap into the GameCube's capabilities at an unrivalled degree. By staying with the formula that had proven successful on the N64 with Rogue Squadron (and the lest touted Battle for Naboo), Factor 5 has been able to refine the gameplay for a game that's ultimately very easy to just pick up and play, but difficult enough to master. Perhaps the biggest compliment that can be given to the game though, is that once you have mastered it, you might just want to take it for another spin, if only to take in all the beautiful scenery.

Best Star Wars game!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: December 11, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Gameplay
It is mission oriented, as if you were in the movies. How did the rebels got to Hoth? You see Bespin, Endor, and Yavin.
Basically is the same as the Rogue Squadron for N64, but that is not necessarily bad. The controls are very intuitive and they allow you follow even the fastest TIE Interceptors (gamer skill required!). The game targeting computer only helps you in the level with the Nebula on Ison Corridor but you don't have to use it.
A word of caution, it may look easy at first but wait until you get to Razor Rendezvous where you have to destroy a Star Destroyer with a B-wing! You'll have plenty of blasting to get your gold medals.

Graphics

The game graphics are some of the best I have seen. Moving smoothly a 60-fps, but it slows down once in a wile. Wait until you see an explosion or the reflections of the AT-AT's on the water on Kothlis. I have never seen a better-looking TIE fighter.
Even the light that comes from the laser canons can be seen on the TIE fighters, on the walls of the Death Star trench,
Consider yourself lucky if you have a HDTV!

Sound

Every Star Wars sound is in this game. Every blast, boom, and laser fire. The music is as exciting as in the movies. And the dialogues from the character on the Endor battle are the same from the movies, which means that you'll be expecting what Lando or Admiral Akbar have to say. Pay attention to the instructions of your fellow wing mates. Wait 'till you seen hundreds of TIE Interceptor coming your way on the Endor Battle!

Overall

If you ever dream about flying into the Death Star trench, or blasting your way trough the snow on Hoth, or destroying the second Death Star this is the game for you.
I'm afraid that those of you that don't like Star Wars may argue that "it's the same N64 game with better graphics"... but give it a chance and you will enjoy playing.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions