Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike for GameCube Reviews by Gamers

When Lucasarts released the original Rogue Squadron on the N64, they had a great idea for a game: a Star Wars game where you engage in aerial combat with ships and planets from the movies. And it was a great game. The second game, Rogue Leader, was even better. But when Lucasarts released Rebel Strike a few years back, they tried to change some things up and diversify the gameplay, with mixed results. Rebel Strike makes the aerial combat about a third of the overall gameplay, which is disappointing because it's so enjoyable. The rest of the game consists of speeder bikes, chicken walkers and on foot combat. Even missions that start out in a ship often turn into ground combat. This wouldn't be so bad if the speeder bike levels weren't so frustrating, the chicken walkers were more intuitive and the on foot sequences were fun. But they weren't and it drags the game down with it. Also, in previous Rogue Squadron games, unlocking ships to use in missions was a great reward for playing. But in Rebel Strike, many of the unlocked ships are unusable in most flight missions because they are either not able to handle the mission or are simply too big. So even if you get that bounty hunter vessel you always wanted, it just won't make it through those fatal laser beams you have to pass through. And that will likely upset you. As will the occasional game freezes. The co-op gameplay is a nice addition, but is so difficult that you and your friend will probably give up before finishing the first few missions. If you want a better example of a space shooter for your Gamecube, pick up Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. It was the best in the series.