Is the Force with Nintendo?

The Star Wars universe has seen many ups and downs in gaming. There have been great Star Wars games like Rogue Squadron, Dark Forces 2, and even Return of The Jedi on SNES. But with those few games that come out, there are the other dozen or so games that were pure CRAP but still held the Star Wars label. Rogue Squadron 2 follows up on Rogue Squadron 1 but I see it as nothing more then an upgrade, I never said that was a bad thing though. Does this game rank up with the original Rogue Squadron ? Or does it fall on the same line of Battle For Naboo?

Graphics: 10 - This game shows off what incredible strength the Gamecube has. From the opening level of the attack on the Death Star, to the special level of The Battle of Hoth, the graphics are perfectly crisp and pretty throughout the game. I don't like how pretty much every ship explodes the same way but that doesn't drag the rest of the graphics down. The graphics do what they were made to do, make you want to see more.


Sound: 10 - Star Wars has never sounded prettier. From the voices in the cockpits, to the sounds of Tie Fighter shots, everything sounds like it was taken directly from the movie. Factor 5 has done a stellar job on the sound for this game, keep up the good work guys.

Control: 7 - I had a tough time getting used to the Gamecube's weird feeling controller. While it's small and easier to grip then the Xbox's monster, the strange shaping of the buttons makes it difficult to remember which button does what. I found this apparent when I first made my attack run on the Death Star. Just like with other games on the new consoles, it takes a while to get used to the controller, not the game's setup. But after a few hours or so of practice, you'll be killing Tie fighters and AT-AT's faster then you can say Chewbacca.

Gameplay: 9 - Yes it's very very fun. But the fun lasts only after you've thrown your controller 20 or so times after being frustrated to death with certain stages. What also sucks is the fact that the three bonus levels force you to Master the game. That's not fair and I can already see many people looking for cheats to access the levels without earning them.

Overall: 9 - This game has its flaws, and it's definately not perfect, but it comes damn close. If it wasn't for the forcing of you to master it and the weird control setup, this game would make a solid run for GOTY. Hopefully Factor 5 and LucasArts will analyze reviews like mine and make another Rogue Squadron but fix it up a bit. This is the game that I bought my Gamecube for, I suggest you do the same. Remember...the force will be with you...always...