Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-01-08 01:42am

This was an alright addition to the RS series, but it was inferior to RS2, simply because all the cool stuff had already been covered in RS2 (Battle of Yavin, Battle of Endor, Battle of Hoth, not to mention some awesome secret levels where you play as Vader, first shooting down Rebels in the trench, and then attacking Yavin, but I digress), as well as because the idea of having a 3rd person shooter killing stormtroopers and such was simplistic and lame. But the "traditional" levels were quite good. Some points that were interesting/annoying:

- Relics of Geonosis: in this level, after some space combat, Wedge (you) is shot down after destroying an Imperial Storm Commando Escort Carrier (whoose escape pods go down to Geonosis) and lands in a canyon on Geonosis. Imperial troops who have left their escape pods are fighting with old Battle Droids. Here's the kicker- the commander of the Escort Carrier gets on board an LAAT (which you shoot down with an E-Web later). Does this mean the LAAT is still in Imperial service, or is it just a relic sitting around waiting to be used by Imperial troops? Note that after shooting down the LAAT, you get your R5 unit to repair (I assume) Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter, and after killing some TIEs and a few more Escort Carriers (with seismic charges, no less- wierd), dock with the hyperdrive ring that has been sitting there for several decades, and away you go

- Attack on the Executor: you play A-Wing pilot Arvel Cyrnd (or whatever his last name is) during his final minutes against the Executor, weaving through the superstructure until you get to the bridge, when you ram it. Prior to reaching the Executor, you must destroy the "ion cannons" on three ISD2s- what we know as the HTL batteries.

On the good side, Ackbar exhorts you to hurry and attack the Executor's bridge "before they're able to restore their shields".

- Triumph of the Rebellion: you play Chewbacca wreaking havoc against the Imperials. Imperial radio chatter is rife in this mission, and includes repeated warnings to cease friendly fire, orders to stand down, and then realization that one of their walkers has been captured. On the minus side, you must then play Han in the bunker, shooting storm troopers and such (alone of course), and then fighting with storm commando on the way out as the bunker explodes. Canon schmanon I guess.

- Guns of Dubrillon: a ground-based super-laser on a water-planet wreaks havoc with the Rebel fleet. Very cool and impressive looking.

- Battlefield Hoth: covers Luke's journey to his X-Wing and his flight out after beign shot down, rather than Wedge's efforts like in RS2. Destroys two AT-ATs with the cable/lightsabre/bomb method (canon schmanon

), then rides a tauntaun through imperial lines to an E-Web, which he then uses to destroy three AT-STs. Wierd, but fun for the most part.

- Defiance on Dantooine: a cool speeder bike level (less frustrating than the incredibly hard Endor level- got Gold medal on it just today, was thankful), reveals Imperial Armored Personnel Carriers (repulsorlift based) which are very well armed (in Defense of Raaltir, can easily hit your T-47).

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2004-01-08 01:47am

Overhashed territory, IMHO.

They're turned into the updated Star Wars Trilogy Arcade Game.

Expand the box to cool EU shit, like the Battle of Coruscant, or fighting as the Rogues in E-Wings over the Eclipse II at Onderon...come on...

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-01-08 01:53am

Illuminatus Primus wrote:Overhashed territory, IMHO.

They're turned into the updated Star Wars Trilogy Arcade Game.

Expand the box to cool EU shit, like the Battle of Coruscant, or fighting as the Rogues in E-Wings over the Eclipse II at Onderon...come on...

Wasn't there a Penny Arcade! rant to that effect

I too can't believe they went over that tired OT ground one more time- , they've looked at it from practically every angle now. KOTOR was a success and had nothing to do with OT or PT, it'd be nice to see them try it with the EU- God knows it needs it.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-01-08 01:54am

I got the impression that the gunship on Geonosis was a derelict from the battle, though the Storm Commando was able to repair it rather quickly. Wedge acted like he'd never seen one before, which suggests it isn't widely used by the Empire (though I can't imagine why).

I too was very impressed with the Imperial APCs and the Storm Commando escort carriers. And with the TIE Hunter. The levels where you attack SSDs were absurd, but I was intrigued at the prospect of one with a cloaking device.

It does demonstrate a complete disregard for both canon and official, but it's fun, and I like it better than Rogue Leader. The controls were better, Rogue Leader made me want to throw the controller out the window.

SPOOFE · Post by **SPOOFE** » 2004-01-08 01:54am

Or they can show the creativity that they've had for the Jedi Knight games and actually create new stories for the games. Criminy. There's a reason I haven't bought a Star Wars flght sim game since TIE Fighter.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-01-08 02:08am

Problem with the game is twofold.

1. A rehash of the Trilogy.....yet again. RS2 had the entire trilogy's space battles. No crappy 3rd person battle, just space combat.

2. Too EASY. I got best and gold within a week of getting the game...bored when I realized any sort of versus is launch Slave-1 Deat...seismic mines till you win.

All in all I hope Factor -5 will try a different tac. I don't want the PA fly a TIE Chiss vessel but I would like to see other EU battles because dammit I've done the trilogy several times over.

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2004-01-08 03:18am

SPOOFE wrote:Or they can show the creativity that they've had for the Jedi Knight games and actually create new stories for the games. Criminy. There's a reason I haven't bought a Star Wars flght sim game since TIE Fighter.

My thoughts exactly. Tie Fighter was great because of its original story that really kept you going from mission to mission just to see what would happen. We need a sequel.

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-01-08 03:21am

The Kernel wrote:
My thoughts exactly. Tie Fighter was great because of its original story that really kept you going from mission to mission just to see what would happen. We need a sequel.

TIE Fighter: Remnant. That would rule.

Crazedwraith · Post by **Crazedwraith** » 2004-01-08 12:04pm

What they really need is another X-Wing Alliance, the story seemed incomplete as to Ace's Uncle

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2004-01-08 12:21pm

I must now buy Rogue squadron 2....is it readily available or must one ebay it the way one must do to obtain copies of games like fallout 2?

IRG CommandoJoe · Post by **IRG CommandoJoe** » 2004-01-08 12:51pm

SPOOFE wrote:Or they can show the creativity that they've had for the Jedi Knight games and actually create new stories for the games. Criminy. There's a reason I haven't bought a Star Wars flght sim game since TIE Fighter.

X-Wing Alliance had its own story, Force Commander had its own story, the Rebel Assault games had their own stories, Republic Commando will probably have its own story...can't think of anything else at the moment.

Crazedwraith · Post by **Crazedwraith** » 2004-01-08 12:53pm

The starfighter games have the own stories abiet tyed into the movies but still their own stories.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-01-08 04:24pm

Vympel wrote:TIE Fighter: Remnant. That would rule.

How about X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: The Thrawn Campaign.

40 missions on either side (yes, that's a bit much to ask for) as you go through the missions, finishing off with Bilbringi.

Or as IP suggested, a Dark Empire-based series

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2004-01-08 04:53pm

If they made a game based on the EU i'd buy it and what ever console it came out on. Even the battles mentioned in the X-Wing books alone would fill a game or 2.

Galvatron · Post by **Galvatron** » 2004-01-08 05:41pm

I'd be in favor of a new game that features battles from the Thrawn books or DE. It might even give us a sense of what the battles in DE would have been like if it were coherently written and illustrated, unlike the overrated wankfest that we ended up with.

Lord of the Farce · Post by **Lord of the Farce** » 2004-01-08 09:23pm

Chardok wrote:I must now buy Rogue squadron 2....is it readily available or must one ebay it the way one must do to obtain copies of games like fallout 2?

Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader should be available at most retail stores which also sells the Nintendo Gamecube. Or, if you have a friend who is also into Star Wars, get RS3: Rebel Strike because it includes the Co-Op version of RS2.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2004-01-08 09:26pm

phongn wrote:
Vympel wrote:TIE Fighter: Remnant. That would rule.
How about X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: The Thrawn Campaign.

40 missions on either side (yes, that's a bit much to ask for) as you go through the missions, finishing off with Bilbringi.

Or as IP suggested, a Dark Empire-based series

Bah! Back to back.

X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: The Empire Reborn
Part I: The Thrawn Campiagn
Part II: The Battle for Coruscant and Operation SHADOWHAND

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2004-01-08 09:28pm

Some of the new features are cool, but the third-person parts are awkward, and the levels aren't as good as in the last game (The fight over Cloud City in RS2 was good, in my opinion).

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2004-01-08 10:00pm

Personaly I think they should do a series of games. One is Tie-Fighter and the other is X-Wing. Both start imediately after Endor and they follow certain groups. Either you can be a known pilot, be an unknown pilot in a new squadron, or you can assume various roles throughout history flying in the 181st, Rogue Squadron, etc...

Anyway I was thinking along the lines of Tie-Fighter: Imperial Remnant as one game and X-Wing: New Republic as another. Have a series of missions that progress throughout the years. Play both games and you have a feal for what was really going on in the Galaxy. A third game called X-Wing With Tie-Fighter (or something along these lines but more catchy): New Jedi Order would be interesting.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2004-01-08 10:04pm

The New Jedi Order: X-Wing and TIE Fighter vs. Coralskipper

Personally, I'd actually rather see more fighter sims along the Rogue Squadron model--they tend to focus on the fighter aspect, and are more realistic without the limiting and unrealistic garbage from the X-Wing games.

And X-Wing style game with Rogue Squadron 3 level emphasis and graphics, sure I'll agree to that.

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2004-01-08 10:15pm

Depending on how the game is put together, you can get some character development. If you say follow the 181st and Rogue Squadron, that could work.

Although the idea of creating a new squadron of people to follow would be interesting. It could be written into the series and it might explain certain characters who pop up later.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2004-01-08 10:22pm

This time, realistic cap ship combat--real TLs of differing accuracy, range, and firepower. Correct ship scaling.

Better speed/acceleration balance system.

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2004-01-08 11:25pm

I was rather disappointed with Rebel Strike. It's a decent game, to be sure, but after Rogue Leader, decent isn't good enough. The camera for the ground missions was rather bad at times. It's not enough to cost you a life or anything, but it can add a few seconds and cost you a medal. What Factor5 should have done was to simply use the Rogue Leader engine for the flight missions, and then devote two teams to the ground and multiplayer modes, rather than redo the engine from scratch.

Also, the plot was a few holes in it. For instance, Sarkli is the guy in the Strike Cruiser at Geonosis, but unless you've already played the Skywalker campaign, you'll be left in the dark about it. Also, when the hell did the Alliance capture a bunch of TIE Hunters? It's never explained where they came from. And why the hell was the installation at Dubrillon so important anyway?

Another weird thing was the homing concussion missile upgrade. What's the point of having that in the game if the A-wing comes equipped them already?

But the inclusion of the Atari Star Wars/The Empire Strikes Back was cool.

Rebel Endurance sucked.

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-01-08 11:35pm

I can't believe I paid 30 points for that crappy mission. Oh well. The Co-Op RS2 is good though.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-01-09 12:02am

Only beef with Co-OP....need someone of at least your level of better.

The DS2 mission and the Bespin are a pain otherwise.