A game that will cause many sleepless nights...but because of thrills or simple frustration remains to be seen.
User Rating: 7.8 | Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire N64
I so want to love Shadows of the Empire. On one hand, it ditches the nambi pambi Jedi wannabe formula for a hardened, badass merc who's only in it for the pay and on the other it switches from brilliance and insipidness far too often. How do you score that? The game follows one Dash Rendar, a character in the book version of Shadows of the Empire, as he battles with the Rebel Alliance. You start in Hoth, and what a start it is. Many "professional" analysts have labeled this level as one of the best ever in the history of the gaming and with good reason. Here, the brilliance factor hits an 11 on a scale of 10. Be it blasting AT-ST's as a snowspeeder or destroying a monstrous AT-AT with your towcable, the thrills here are never ending. And then the Hoth level ends and the gameplay moves inside. While the move to a third person perspective is certainly to be expected - and in some cases cherished- here it simply diminishes the gameplay. The camera angles are frustrating, jumping is almost woefully bad, and taking cover is simply not an option. To make matters worse throughout the entire course of the game your only weapon is your blaster. While the game "rewards" you with different types of ammunition (disruptor, seeker, etc) it grows cumbersome and old in firefights with the same old weapons. While the third person levels might be stagant (Yet still oddly fun) their enviroments are varied, exciting and truly ahead of their time. Be it the sewers of the Imperial Palace or Echo Base or an Imperial Star Destroyer each level is unique and varied. The best level by far is Gall Spaceport a level that has you hunting THE Bobba Fett and cultimates with a kickass encounter with the legendary bounty hunter himself. As my review has layed out, this game is so borderline and at times simply stunning or stunningly simple it seems to cater to those with multiple personalites. My recommendation? Buy it for the Force's sake but dont raise your expectations too high.
