Imagine the classic Lucas Arts game "Rogue Squadron" for a moment. Then
imagine the graphics, gameplay, controls, sound, and basically everything
else, times three. Yup, this game truly kicks butt. From the first
moment, you’re on your toes fighting enemy starfighters, ground turrets,
massive starships, satellites, mines, and a host of other baddies, all
the while keeping in contact and giving orders to your starmates. (Who
are actually intelligent, and don’t go around shooting you like in all to
many other games.) In Rogue Squadron, you basically did the same thing,
but on a MUCH smaller scale. It was all close-to-the-planet fighting, and
no outer-space battles even existed in the game. In Starfighter, you have
outer-space battles, but even the planetary battles have been enhanced
beyond belief. The graphics.... Hoo mama, the graphics... They truly
display what the PS2 is capable of.

You start off by playing as a young
pilot named "Rhys Dallows." After a
few missions, your ship is disabled in space, and a junkyard alien
(HIGHLY reminiscent of Watto from Episode I.) rescues your ship and takes
you to a female smuggler by the name of "Vana Sage." After a series of
events (Hey, you don’t want me to spoil the whole game do you?) you meet
up with a VERY cool looking alien that goes by simply "Nym." Then you
take on the Trade Federation and play the different pilots every couple
missions. In case you haven’t guessed, this game is no walk in the park.
You have to FIGHT to stay alive. The storyline is top-notch.

If you’re
a die-hard fan of the hit Rogue Squadron for the PC and N64,
then you can’t help but like this game. If you didn’t like Rogue
Squadron, you probably won’t dig this title though. It seems that Lucas
Arts has learned from the past and has quit making horrendous titles such
as "Yoda Story" and are actually making FUN games like they used to.
(Jedi Knight anyone?)

Believe it or not, one of the most noticeable things
about this game is the
sound effects. If you watched Star Wars: Episode I 1,000,000,000 times
like me, then you know exactly what the laser cannons on the enemy
fighters, and the engines of the ships sound like. They are EXACTLY the
same in the game. You can hear the engines from an enemy Starfighter as
they scream over your head, and as you blast them with your laser cannons
and soar through the carnage... It’s music to my ears when a company goes
beyond the call of duty to make a game the most realistic by honing the
sound to absolute perfection.

Bottom line? If you’re looking for another
AAA game to add to your PS2
library, this is THE game to get. Get it, and get it now...

- Gatorboy
(gatorboy@gamespace2000.com)