Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D (PC) Review

Those more familiar with the console release will find much to love about the PC game, as everything is noticeably improved from the N64, but, without a number of homebrew hacks, there is no quantifiable improvement from the 90s PC version itself. Since there already exists a myriad of ways to replay the previously-purchased 1998 release on contemporary systems, Factor 5 failed to provide incentive for buying anew: there are no achievements, trading cards, or any of the other benefits we've come to expect.

Reports of joystick and control problems mar the official Steam forum, which is rather disturbing given that the studio has had nearly two decades to work out bugs, and an almost crippling issue with the camera plagues nearly everyone. This is resolved by pressing the POV key, but the glitch occurs with surprising regularity; since the bug causes immediate disorientation, it is the cause of many frustrating crashes into mountains, but no fix appears to be in the works for this problem that, by all rights, should have been resolved by now, anyway. It wouldn't be a late 90s game, though, if the camera didn't hover between "functional" and "utterly broken."

There is still so much to love about Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D, especially since it is such a rare breed; the copies of the more popular N64 game circulating the Internet are little more than a tantalising dessert that is forever out of reach. If Wedge is to once more be rescued from the prison on Kessel, as Han would say, this is the only ship that can make it happen in under twelve parsecs.

Across nineteen missions (which add up to more play time than might be expected), each of which must first be beaten with a specific ship before more options are available for that particular stage, players take control of Luke Skywalker between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Fighting alongside other pilots like Biggs and Wedge to accomplish Goldeneye 007-like objectives along the way, Luke often must protect shuttles, destroy shield generators, engage in dogfights with TIE Interceptors, and blow up everything else that is represented on the map by a red square.

Each of the ships handle differently and have wildly different abilities, and clever game design allows nearly any ship to complete any mission. Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals are earned for completing stages quickly, killing many enemies, finding bonuses, and saving allies, adding another reason to replay stages to the point of mastering them. Although the Naboo Starfighter indisputably reigns supreme, balance is tuned so finely that even this golden beast never guarantees a matching medal; the only way to succeed is to practice.

Three of the missions are bonus stages, of course, and comprise some of the best levels in the game: the classic Death Star trench run, the Battle of Hoth, and a shuttle race through the canyons of Tatooine. The latter may sound lame compared to the epic glories awaiting the hero who navigates the narrow canals of the Empire's deadliest weapon while dodging laser blasts from a seemingly infinite supply of TIE Fighters, but it's no less satisfying and every bit as entertaining. With the difficulty of earning some of the medals, however, simply unlocking these stages is cause for celebration, and handily beating them with Bronze and Silver medals is easy and sometimes trite compared to the effort it takes simply to earn the right to play them.

Missteps do impede the experience, and that Mark Hamill didn't provide the voice of Luke Skywalker may be jarring to hardcore fans, but with the low quality of the voice recordings it's hard to judge how authentic the voice actor is. Everything feels like Star Wars, though, and that counts for a lot; the music provides the right atmosphere, the sound effects are fitting, and the graphics… hold up decently enough. An expert difficulty curve accompanies excellent game design, allowing almost anyone to complete the game while still offering plenty of challenge via its medals, although some of the missions feel like they're hardly more than a human stress test.