the grunter

I remember very vividly the launch of the Nintendo Game Cube (GC from here on). It was my first console launch since me and my family moved to Canada from Hong Kong. Before coming here, I would read online or in Hong Kong game magazines about the hype, the elaborate marketing prior to a new console’s launch, and the midnight line-ups for the launch. And for someone growing up in Hong Kong, this was all new to me (Which is odd, because in Japan these things are common to, mostly likely because there is a budget for these things over there. In Hong Kong, there’s no such thing as a “midnight launch” for consoles, not to mention for games.. until recent years).

Still playing on my PS2 at the time, I immediately decided to allow whatever marketing strategies from Nintendo to brain-wash me. I put my pre-order at a Toys’r'us months ahead, I looked up games release dates, carefully planned which game/accessories to get with the console at launch, and get flipped out at any sightings/image leaks/impressions that I could scoop up from various gaming forums. And even though I didn’t go to a midnight launch, I showed up at Toys’r'us first thing in the morning. The game I picked to bring home with the purple console was Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (RL from here on). I originally wanted to get Simpsons: Road Rage as well, but it missed launch date.

Along with a six-pack of Diet Pepsi (because I enjoy a little bubbly while I play games and I don’t want to end up morbidly obese), I brought home the GC at about 9am in the morning, and proceeded to have an amazing day with RL, which still blows my mind as I booted it up to take some photos the other day.

The Good

• I’m gonna say this up front – There’s nothing biased about this review. I’m not a Star Wars fan, I’m not even a sci-fi movies fan. But I like it when I see shiny graphics with butter smooth frame rate even with bump mapping enabled, and RL was the first game that delivered those things. Mind you, I only had the basic composite cable, playing on a standard definition TV back in the day, ad my jaw dropped. This game was the reason why I spent nearly a hundred bones hunting for the GC component cable which apparently only gets sold in Japan. Visually, this game sets the bar and remains one of the best looking GC games of all time

(Are you serious)

• Tight and fine-tuned controls. Don’t forget, as a launch title, customers are likely to evaluate the new controller based on the first game they play on the console. And as a GC exclusive title, the controls are definitely tailor-made for the GC controller
• Everything authentic (although this is pretty much a standard across all Star Wars games), as well as interesting unlockable content to keep value of replayability strong – Unlimited health isn’t interesting, but flying a Millennium Falcon is

The Bad

• Difficulty is quite high in general – Which is fine if you are hardcore or determined, but if you are casual, be prepared to die many times before re-living those classic Star Wars moments
• No split-screen multiplayer (Star Wars Rogue Squadron III [link] fixed this problem)

The ???

• The hangar sequence (where you control Luke and you walk up to the air craft you wish to start the mission in) is one of my favorite parts in the game, they should totally have made a Star Wars platformer with that engine
• This game alone can probably help Star Wars Episode 1/2/3 gain some breathing room from all the scrutiny

(I heard this guy is an asshole)

Lastly

This is my game of the year in 2002, and the game that gives the best first impression of all time. Oh and this is also the best launch title for a new console in my opinion. This game has very little flaw (if any) and it is not because developer Level 5 happened to strike a gold mine that is Star Wars – They absolutely gave their best, and it damn sure shows. RL is offline single player flight shooter at its best. If you own a GC, always keep a copy on the shelf.

(Review 11 of 52, 2011)