The first thing someone thinks about when they think of Star Wars is the many vehicles and vessels that go hand in hand with the memorable characters in the films. It's just natural that the X-Wing and Sith Infiltrator serve as the backbone of the Star Wars universe. Yes, it would be cool to be Han Solo or Luke Skywalker, but wouldn't it be even cooler to unleash a bombing run on the poor citizens of some planet or fly through the Death Star trench?
The truth is, piloting one of these massive vessels has always been the wish of every Star Wars fan in existence, aged 8-80. While this isn't possible in reality, the closest we're ever going to get to piloting one of these vehicles ourselves is with a videogame and now another Star Wars title has arrived that lets you do just that.
Star Wars: Starfighter is based in the Episode One universe consisting of the Trade Federation and Anakin Skywalker with his group of comrades. In this game though, Anakin and Obi-Wan are almost completely absent. Instead you play as three starship pilots that each has his or her own individual storyline that branch into one story near the end. Yes, the story isn't of award-winning caliber but this isn't an RPG and who needs a story in a space shooter?
Star Wars: Starfighter involves a pretty simple, basic concept. You're put into the cockpit of three different types of star fighters and you fly around and shoot your enemies down with missiles and lasers using your crosshair in first person view. There are also specific objectives you are required to complete. Each mission includes different objectives and only after you complete all the objectives are you allowed to move on to the next mission. Each mission basically involves the same thing and there is not too much variety when it comes to the mission objectives, but there is enough so that you don't feel like you're playing the same level over and over again.
Unlike Battle for Naboo, this game involves a variety of both space and ground based missions. The space missions are each beautifully done and, in my personal opinion, the better of the two styles of levels. There are 14 missions in all, which unfortunately isn't quite enough. You can go back and play them over again to try and get a gold medal on each one, but that doesn't seem to take too long if you know the ins and outs of each mission. The addition of a few bonus missions, including a few unlockable two-player levels, helps, but it's not quite enough. Putting that aside, each of the levels is a good bit of fun and despite the low number of them, something not to be missed.
In Star Wars: Starfighter, you are able to pilot three different types of craft. Each of these craft has its own secondary weapon and handles differently from the others. The downside is that each of the missions is only playable with one specific ship and there is no way, for example, to play as the Naboo Starfighter in any of Nym's bombing missions.
The graphics are definitely above par. The ships are rendered beautifully and the ground-based mission's textures are colorful and full of life and that is not even mentioning the beyond average draw-in distance. The graphics are amazing and can really only be compared to a couple of other good-looking Playstation 2 games, like Onimusha for instance.
Fortunately, the whole frame rate problem is blown out of proportion. Yes, the frame rate does take a minor hit when a lot of stuff is going on at one time, but it's not as noticeable as most have made it seem.
Controlling your craft with the analog sticks is smooth and each of the action buttons are placed in natural places that don't make you have to look down at the controller to see where a button is. A neat thing about your wingmen is that you can use the digital pad to give your wingmen commands such as: "attack my target" or "defend me." Your wingmen actually help with the enemy a little bit and this is a welcome addition.
One thing about the control that I want to bring out is the 'zoom-in' button. The R1 button, front right shoulder button, serves as a 'sniper mode' kind of button. Instead of looking at little tiny dots surrounded by a targeting icon, you can use the zoom button to get a close up view of the ship so that you can actually see what you're shooting at. This is a remarkably helpful and will probably become the norm for most space shooters to come.
Every Star Wars game has incredible sound and with this one there is no exception. Like all Star Wars games, Star Wars: Starfighter includes the work of John Williams, who composed the soundtracks for each of the Star Wars movies. The music is similar every other Star Wars game, but is that a bad thing? Of course it's not. The music really makes you feel like a part of the Star Wars universe and is beautiful in all forms.
The sound effects themselves are also dead on. The sound of the lasers hitting a small fighter and the blowing up of a shield reactor in this game cannot be matched. The voice acting is also done very well and it is much better quality than the rushed voice acting of Zone of Enders. The sound is excellent in all aspects.
Despite its short length, Star Wars: Starfighter is a wonderful addition to the Playstation 2's rapidly expanding library and it is the best Star Wars console game of all time. Having the style of Rogue Squadron and X-Wing Vs. Tie-Fighter put together, this is sure to be a winner in everyone's eyes. As long as you're not expecting it to be a forty hours of game play, Star Wars: Starfighter is a keeper.
-Sam
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