Star Wars: Starfighter
Space shooter : 1-2 players : PS2 Memory Card : Analogue Dual Shock : Lucasarts
Result : 7 - The Force is strong in this one!
 | Graphics: 8 - some slowdown, but very flashy! |
| FMV : 6 - a bit PSX-like |
| Sound : 9 - Straight from the movie! |
| Music : 8 - Nostalgic |
| A.I. : 5 - But they are robots... |
| Lifespan : 4 - Short, but replay value |
| Gameplay : 7 - dodge, zap, repeat |
| Adrenaline : 7 - frantic dogfights |
Star
Wars - a total classic, and now a new licensed game. This game has you controlling 3
different characters based in the same world as Episode 1, fortunately it runs parallel to
the main story and works much better because of it. NO Jar Jar Binks! NO
annoying kids! just pure laser-fragging blasting goodness! The 3 ships have
different capabilities, ones fast, ones zippy ones got heavy weapons. The bad guys
are mostly recognisable from the movie, and the ground missions have all the tanks,
skimmers and dropships from same said. The plot is reasonable, but with no real
surprises, and has a number of bits lifted from the 4 movies made to date. The
mission based progression is split between space and land levels. There is a nice
mix of escort, defend and attack type missions, I found the space missions are usually
very easy once you unlock the Guardian for any level. Unfortunately there is only 14
missions, a few to unlock and two 2-player modes. Replaying levels lets you try to
get medals, which in turn unlock ships and the bonus levels.
The visual spectacle is amazing, space feels like space, the ground missions give a sense of speed and scale, and the canyon runs make you very happy that you have shields. A little slowdown does occur when there is a lot of enemies floating about, but take note this is some dozen odd capital ships and scores of starfighters! One mission has your wingman saying "the next wave is attacking!", but know fear when you see this absolute swarm of ships come towards you! The graphics are very polished, with lots of particle effects and lens flare in evidence.
The sounds are very effective, maybe the best feature of the game, the music is straight cut-n-paste from the movies, with some new bits chucked in, the spaceships and blasters noises are all familiar even if some are all new. It's this comprehensiveness that adds a feeling of quality that some Star Wars titles have lacked.
Star Wars: Starfighter is a fun game to play, a great game for fans, and is flashy and ear-numbingly good. The only niggles is that it is very short - only about 4 hours to finish on easy, but the medal scheme that unlocks secrets is addictive, so some replay value is there. Really it seems to need double the number of missions, and maybe a skirmish mode where you can choose deathmatches or to make your own scenarios. Well worth a rent, but you have to be a SW fan to really justify a purchase. The force will be with you, always...
Cheats/Hints:
- Secret spaceship:
- Bonus multi-player missions:
- Invincibility:
Unlock everything:
Enter "OVERSEER" as a code.
Enter "BLUENSF" as a code.
Enter "ANDREW" as a code.
Enter "MINIME" as a code.
Bonus Mission Charm's Way:
Get a Bronze medal in the following missions: Royal Escort, Contract Infraction,
Piracy Above Lok, Taking The Offensive, The New Resistance, and The Final Assault.
Bonus Mission Canyon Sprint:
Get a Silver medal on the following missions: Naboo Proving Grounds, Royal Escort, Taking
The Offensive, Midnight Munitions Run, Rescue On The Solleu, and Final Assault.
Bonus Mission Outpost Attack:
Get a Bronze medal in all 14 regular missions.
Bonus Mission Space Sweep:
Get a Silver medal in all 14 regular missions.
