Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike Updated Preview

By Ricardo Torres, GameSpotPosted Sep 25, 2003 2:32 pm PT

We strap in and take flight with the next installment in the Rogue Squadron series in this exclusive preview.

Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike is the sequel to Factor 5 and LucasArts' impressive GameCube launch title, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. It's also the third entry in the Rogue Squadron series, which began on the Nintendo 64. The flight-based action game has slowly been evolving since its N64 debut due to a stronger integration of the Star Wars license. Whereas the original N64 game focused on characters and events that were inspired by the classic trilogy and a Dark Horse Comics series that expanded the classic universe, the series has taken a more-focused turn on the GameCube. The main action in Rogue Leader drifted in and out of events from the classic trilogy and put you in the role of Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles. As a result, you participated in some key events from the films, like the assaults on the death stars from Star Wars and Return of the Jedi, as well as the battle of Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back.

You can expect to see even more exciting battles from the movies in Rebel Strike.

For the third game, Factor 5 and LucasArts have chosen to increase ties to the classic trilogy even more by including actual footage from the films as well as new missions that tie into the films' events much more closely. We had a chance to get an exclusive look at a preview version of the game and are quite pleased by what we saw. Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike is shaping up to offer an exceptionally cool experience that might just tops its predecessor in every way.

Northern California-based developer Factor 5 is once again drawing upon the motion pictures for inspiration in developing the new game, which will feature a mission-based structure like the previous games in the series. However, the developer has decided to expand on this structure: While you'll still be put in the role of Luke Skywalker or Wedge Antilles, as you were in the first two games, Rebel Strike will actually feature a broader narrative, consisting of two distinct perspectives. Luke and Wedge each have a unique set of missions, and you can also play as some other familiar faces over the course of the game.

Perform well, and you can unlock bonus items.

Our early version of Rebel Strike featured a mission-select screen similar to that of Rogue Leader. The various missions appear in groups of three that you can scroll through vertically. New missions in the Luke and Wedge story paths become available as you complete assigned missions, as long as you earn at least a bronze medal. As in Rogue Leader, the medal system rewards you with a bronze, silver, or gold medal based on your mission performance. Each medal earns you a predetermined number of points that can be used to unlock several bonus missions--as in the previous game.

At the moment, it looks as though the bonus missions appear on the main mission-select screen, next to the normal missions, as opposed to being somewhat hidden, like in Rogue Leader. That's not to say that Rebel Strike won't have any hidden secrets. In addition to the bonus missions, the game features an assortment of extras, like developer commentaries and "making of" videos, as well as a trio of bonuses that Star Wars devotees should enjoy.

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