Star Wars Starfighter

My only complaints about this game come from features that existed in other games provided by Lucas arts that were missing from this one. The most notable is the non-existent map. Perhaps I couldn't find it but in either case there was no map and without one the complicated space battles turned into allot of spinning over and over again looking for the place I'm supposed to go. The next problem is the limited control over the armament and selection of ships. In most other space combat games by Lucas Arts you are able to select what ship you wish to fly and what armament you want on your ship. Additionally during combat switching between shields, weapons, engines and the like all added that much more fun to the game. This one on the other hand functioned like an arcade game and did not provide such complications, which could be good for some players.

For those of you that loved tie fighter and x-wing then you will appreciate the advancements that have been made with Starfighter. Increasing the difficulty level until your ship turns into stardust on the first training mission makes up for its rather short playtime. So go out rent it, buy it, borrow it from a friend, but by all means play it.

> Fabulous futuristic dogfights

> Superb graphics immerse you into another galaxy

> Well-polished physics engine gives just the right feel

> Amazingly fun and altogether simple

Cons:

> Few vehicles and weapons

> Some levels are a bit limited

> You might not even remember the music

> The level borders just plain out suck

Can you spell best Star Wars game ever? S-T-A-R-F-I-G-H-T-E-R! When I say best, I'm saying that you should take a look at all the star wars game failures. This game game is truly a redeemer for all the wanna bes in the past. It's not exactly X-wing VS TIE, but it gets the job done. This game has serious style and all-out fun. Starfighter really demonstrates what that confusiong "stuff" inside the Playstation 2 can do.

Level one, you smoothly load yourself into the cockpit of that gorgeous yellow ship. Essara guides you through your training down a narrow conyon. She soon tells you to fire. You press a button, wow! Did I really do that? Yep, the game is that smooth. Right after that you go into space for the real thing with bravo flight. From then on it's eplosions and dogfights galore.

The story doen't exactly pull you in, but that's what the awesome dogfights are for. You start off Rhys, then someone destroys your ship and your friend. Soon you find yourself poking around as Vana. Nym imprisons her and you fly around as him a bit. Then your find yourself as one of the three ships rescuing or assaulting. That is until the usual fourteenth level called The Final Assault. Here's where you usually fight a boss and see a big ''splosion'' at the end, only the "splosion", isn't that great.

The graphics suit the game because if they were any better, then the game would have a low frame rate constatntly. Not to mention there are little sputters of choppy game in the loaded with action levels. While on the subject, a dissappointing thing for ps2 owners is that Starfighter will be coming out with enhanced graphics for Xbox. As for the soundtrack, well it' not too noticeable, but it's adequate. Nothing out of the ordinary for a Star Wars game. The same goes for the sound effects, mediocre.

This game is polished, very well polished. Though it seems as though the maker's batteries were running a bit low at the end, hence the small-scale "splosion". So why get this game? My reason is because it's not a sport game. Your's can be that it's fun, a reason as simple as the game. They only deserved as much credit as effort they put into the game. That's why I give this game (a five star rating system is a bit simple for me):

Score - 91%

The fallbacks are not in actual gameplay, but in the fact that I've managed to lock up the game three times (on two different copies). Twice on the initual bomber stage, and once in the one with the sattelites and the planetary cannon. I also absolutely ABHOR the game boundaries. Flying into an invisible wall will shake and bounce your fighter all over the place (like you've run into a rock ledge, rather than you've hit the boundary of the level). Other than the lockups and the poor implementation of boundaries though, it's a great game (something to play on the PS2 besides SSX, and Oni... FINALLY).

If you're buying it strictly with a graphical orgy in mind, you're going to be disappointed in a lot of places, but if you're buying it for a high-paced flying game and pulling some amazing feats of dogfighting, you're in luck!!