Sound:  
Authentic Star Wars tunes serve as a great backdrop to the sounds of lasers and explosions. The music stays fresh, and seems to change at just the right moments. Most of the sound effects appear to be straight from the movies, which is great. My one complaint in the sound department involves your wingmen. When giving them orders, it seems that there’s only two different ways for your character to say “Go after those TIEs.” You’ll be telling your wingmen to go after those TIEs alot, and a few extra sound clips would have made it less repetitive. Also, Rogue Leader supports Dolby Surround: Pro Logic 2, but I was unable to test this. For those lucky enough to have such a setup, I imagine you’ll be in for a real treat.

Control:  
Rogue Leader handles great. It’s surprisingly easy to do just about anything. For example, to use your targeting computer, you’ll need to hold down the Y button. It seems that this would be difficult, but due to the excellent button placement on the GCN controller, it’s very simple to hold down Y while shooting. It’s not perfect, however. To roll your ship, the dreaded Z button is required. This is not supposed to be an action button! Also, the tragically small d-pad is needed to order your wingmen around. While it’s not a big deal, I’ve ordered my men to form up when I wanted them to attack the TIEs more than once.

Gameplay:
Nearly unchanged from Rogue Squadron, Rogue Leader’s gameplay is great. Missions aren’t overly complicated, but still feature multiple objectives ranging from sneaking into an Imperial Base to just shooting down all the TIEs. For the most part, however, it’s basically just shoot this or that. It’s fun, and that’s what’s important. I sometimes had trouble spotting enemy ships; it’s pretty easy to get disoriented in the space levels. The targeting computer is a big help, as it cel shades your foes to improve visibility, but it hurts your score if it’s overused. The only other gripe I have is that your wingmen are, well, pretty dumb. They don’t really act on their own; you need to direct them all the time. They’ll also forget what they’re doing, and say something like, “Waiting for orders, Red Leader!” in the middle of a huge TIE battle. In each major battle, expect to tell them to do the same thing at least three times.

There are 11 missions to work your way through, which actually only takes a decently skilled gamer about 6 or 7 hours to finish. For the determined, there are lots (and I mean lots!) of extras to unlock. This is done by scoring exceptionally well in each mission, which earns you extra credits good toward unlocking things. I won’t spoil anything; there’s some very nice surprises.

Multiplayer:
There’s none, unfortunately. Why is this excluded? A cooperative mode would have been a blast to play.

OVERALL:
If you own a Gamecube and you’re a shooters fan, you probably already bought this game. You made a good purchase. This is a Star Wars fan’s dream. No game has ever come this close to making you feel a part of the movies. Keep in mind that you don’t need to be a Star Wars fan to appreciate this game. It’d be a great game even without the license attached to it. However, if you’re not dedicated enough to earn all those unlockables, this will be a quick ride for you. I would advise a weekend rental if you’re not going to bother pursuing the extras.

 

The Lowdown on  Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2 Aesthetics: Awesome Control: Above Average Gameplay: Very Good Multiplayer: Sound: Very Good Innovation: 2/6 Lasting Appeal: 4/6 Overall: Very Good! "A Must-Buy"