Another one of the great launch games for the N64 delivers a riveting chapter of the Star Wars saga.
Lets start with the good. First off, the story is great if you're a Star Wars fan; you dont get much of it by any means but you get enough to get your imagination going (remember when you needed one of those to play a video game). There is a good progression in the levels; variety is one of the games best attributes. You fight as you walk around, fly in your ship and jump onto a speeder bike. Good Stuff. The boss battles are by far my favorite part of the game. Again it helps to be a Star Wars fan with these, but even if you are not you get a wide array of bad guys that are challenging and fun to get at.
The Bad...well, At this point in time it is hard to disregard all the games that have come out since 1996. SO the bad that I can find in this game now was for the most part not there more then 10 years ago. BUT the game is filled with alot of dead space. there are many long walkways and stretches without enemies and when there are things to destroy or kill they will often feel haphazardly placed. Another issue is the shooting; there really isn't a way to "aim" the guns you have, for the most part you just point them. The biggest issue in the game is the difficulty, this game is petty hard, even on easy, and you are bound to get frustrated at one point or another.
Another issue is the "Star Wars Factor" (yeah I made that up). Meaning: Is this game getting so much play because its a Star Wars game (Nerds+ Video Games+ Star Wars = $) ? I think the answer is a definitive Yes. Which is completely fine. If Dash Rendar were just some video game character in space, this would still be a good game, but I'm not sure I would still be playing it more then a decade later without the Star Wars lore built in. BUT the fact is that this game is immersed within a universe that is just as enticing to the average video game nerd as a date with Kate Beckinsale; you get to fight Boba Fett for crying out loud!
The bottom line is that this is one early games of this gene and its bound to have some bugs; especially for those who have now played the 3rd person games that are out for the PS3 or Xbox. Nintendo has been great at launching really good games along with their system releases, the N64 was no exception. It was a great game when it came out in 1996 and it still manages to be please me. SO if you're an N64 fan and a Star Wars fan this is a must play.