Rogue Squadron followed in the tradition of Shadows of the Empire and offered gamers an arcade interpretation of the Star Wars experience. While it lacked the multimedia launch that Shadows enjoyed, it benefited from more positive reviews. In truth, it was a better game, with a tighter focus.

The Rogue Squadron is the most talented fighter group in the rebellion. It's commanded by Wedge Antilles, the pilot who escorted Lando Calrissian into the second Death Star's core. Luke Skywalker flew in the Rogue Squadron before becoming a Jedi knight.

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In the game, you play Luke and take over leadership of the Rogue Squadron. The game takes place between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, before Luke enters his Jedi training. While the rebels have just struck a great blow to the empire by destroying the first Death Star, the empire is still much more powerful and fully capable of dismantling the alliance if it can find its headquarters.

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Rogue Squadron offers more than a dozen missions spread across many different worlds. You could fly on Tatooine, saving a village from TIE bombers, rescue hostages from the spice mines of Kessel, fly defensive maneuvers over Corellia (and team up with Han Solo again), and play a part in stopping the invasion of the waterworld Mon Calamari. The missions include search and destroy, rescue, and surgical strikes.

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Rogue Squadron definitely played like an arcade game, right down to extra lives and a very forgiving flight mechanic. The development team, which included Factor 5 and remnants of the Shadows team, made sure the game was a focused action game. It was a fun game that offered challenging gameplay and gave us a peek at many different Star Wars. Its good 3D graphics and its emphasis on fast action made for a winning combination.

Read GameSpot's review of Rogue Squadron.

Next: X-Wing Alliance