Developer: Lucas Arts Publisher: Lucas Arts Release: 02/21/01 Genre: Action
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron was one of the best Star Wars games in years. It was a breath of fresh air after the disappointing Shadows of the Empire. To that point the flight simulator games using the Star Wars license were relegated to PCs. Yet Factor 5 was able to bring some of that magic to consoles in an arcade format that was great. Lucas Arts knew they had a winning formula and were quick to exploit it on the red hot PlayStation 2 with Star Wars: Starfighter. The production values have increased but the gameplay is not as good as the two N64 titles that preceded it. Regardless however it remains a solid good time even today.
Star Wars: Starfighter occupies an interesting place in the timeline. The game takes place concurrently with the events of the Phantom Menace and is almost a prequel to the prequel. The Trade Federation plots to kill Queen Amidala. Circumstances place her fate as well as the safety of the planet Naboo in the hands of three disparate heroes who come together not out of good but necessity. The plot is driven through extensive cutscenes but is pretty weak. The narrative is not complex and very predictable but does its job of moving from point A to B. However you are not playing this one for the story as much as they probably want you to.
Each of the protagonists has their own ship with specific weapons and controls differently. Rhys controls a Naboo Starfighter is the fastest of the three. It has the standard lasers and a limited set of photon torpedoes. Vana’s Guardian Mantis has the highest maneuverability as well as guided missiles. Nym is all about power. His ship is the most resilient with the most weapons like the triple laser cannon, energy bombs, and plasma scourge. Regardless of ship the controls are simple. The tutorial mission will see you switching targets, zooming in on distant enemies, and righting your ship with speedy efficiency.
Starfighter follows the template established with Rogue Squadron as each mission has main objectives plus bonus goals to earn medals. Missions usually fall in to one of three categories: search and destroy, escort, and protection. As you progress through each stage your objectives will update and become more complex. Despite its proximity to the Phantom Menace Starfighter does not completely take place on Naboo as you visit other planets as the story dictates. There is an even mix of all-out dogfights in space as well as battles on the surface of planets so the variety is high. The arcadey controls are easy to pick up and the three protagonists offer slightly different experiences due to their ships.
The gameplay is straightforward and accessible, making it easy for newcomers. While the space combat feels good what ultimately holds Starfighter back is its missions and design flaws. The game is a little too heavy on the escort/protection missions for my liking. The HUD features an arrow that supposedly guides you to your next objective. But in far too many missions it is useless. During the numerous protection sorties you seek out your objectives with no guidance, wasting time and leading to failure. Some missions grow tedious as you destroy a god awful number of fighters and tanks with no end in sight. A little more assistance such as the number of enemies remaining would go a long way. On their own these issues would be small. But they make up a large part of the game and keep it from being excellent.
Star Wars: Starfighter has three difficulty settings that all provide a separate experience. On easy enemy ships require one or two shots to destroy and you take little damage. The normal setting feels like it is tuned a bit high. Even the smallest drone can withstand a lot of punishment which makes certain missions feel like a nightmare. The late game will truly test your patience as they lean heavy on big dogfights. You will have to work for those medals even on the normal setting. The truly masochistic will enjoy hard mode as it lives up to its billing. I only took a brief stab at it and yeah, that is a little too hardcore for me. I have my problems with certain elements of the game and hard mode exacerbates them.
Despite releasing only a year after Battle for Naboo Star Wars: Starfighter represents a thorough visual step up. Starfighter mainly excels at scope. The draw distance stretches as far as the eye can see as the wide environments were impossible on the N64. The texture quality is intricately detailed while planet side although the space battles tend to look a bit plain. With the increased fidelity there are more moving parts in each mission with dozens of ships, particle effects and explosions going off left and right making them feel bombastic. The ship models are simple design wise but that is a small sacrifice to help keep the framerate stable. Its 64-bit predecessors struggled with that. Were it not for Rogue Squadron II later that same year Starfighter would have been the most impressive Star Wars game on console.
The sound design is a highlight, with the iconic John Williams score playing in the background. Aside from the music they pull many sound effects pulled directly from the Star Wars films. The familiar sounds of blaster fire and TIE fighters screeching through space help immerse players into the Star Wars atmosphere. The voice acting is generally solid, although some of the characters’ lines feel a bit forced at times. Lucas Arts generally do a good job sound wise with these games and this is no exception.
Like Factor 5’s game Star Wars: Starfighter has a ton of replay value. The game uses the same medal system to incentivize you to replay missions to earn a better performance. The various medals unlock a number of bonus missions and extra ships. There is a sizable number of extras like art galleries, and director commentaries as well. But the biggest source of replayability comes from the its various multiplayer modes. Sadly this I never had the opportunity to try so I cannot comment on its quality.
In Closing
Star Wars: Starfighter is a fun and accessible space combat game with great visuals, solid controls, and a decent story. While it may not have the depth or complexity of the PC flight simulators its simple yet satisfying gameplay makes it enjoyable for fans of the franchise. If you are a fan of Star Wars and enjoy flying ships through epic space battles, Star Wars Starfighter is worth revisiting.
