|
|
Star Wars Starfighter
|
|
|
|
|
|
Graphics & Sound:
George Lucas has been known for making pretty things since the middle 70's. StarWars Starfighter by LucasArts has his fingerprints all over this optical delight. From the vast mountains of Naboo to the wide expanse of space, the graphics are top-notch. The pristine skies of the surface world provide an ample companion as sun flare shimmies down your cockpit. The plains and forests are lush, while the mountains are majestic and somewhat intimidating to fly through when the mountain range tightens up. From the surface worlds, the battle will end up in space. This is where the developers deserve many more accolades. From the droid control ship to the eerie moon, I found my mouth dropping again and again at the awesome sights of dozens of ships shooting lasers in a perfect backdrop. The shadowing and lighting is perfect, as well they should be, since Star Wars Starfighter requires a card with a 3D accelerator capability. You could skimp by with a lower budget card, but to enjoy the absolute beauty of this game, it's better to splurge on a harder hitting graphics card. Probably the only thing that really could've used work was the way that the ships were modeled. Compared to knee knocking environments, the ships seemed like a 'cut and paste' type of thing. More attention could've been paid to them, with more effective shadowing and metal effects. Also when damage was taken, I would've have like to seen a practically destroyed ship. For the most part, the ships are as good as any other game out there, but for such a small amount of ships in such a meticulously crafted background, it seems like the ships may have been overlooked. Again, graphics are an important part of Star Wars games, so while I may be being picky, I believe more could've been done in the ship respect. The weapon effects though, are as hot as the laser they're meant to portray. You can tell that the lasers will hurt and burn a ship as soon as they hit. Bold flashes of light let you know that your laser is biting the bad guy's armor. Your guns fire their wares in flashing arrays of blues and oranges. So, was I pleased with the way this game looks? You betcha' - it's one of the nicest I've seen. Do I think there's room for improvement? On a small, picky sort of scale, sure. But, impressive nonetheless. The sound gets 10s all the way around. It's pretty much, well, perfect. Lasers wail as they leave the gun, roaring to hit their target. The voice-overs are well done, helping set a wonderful atmosphere to hunting down bad guys. It's always nice to know that someone has your back, and that you can actually understand them in your 'headset.' So while the sound effects are absolutely heaven sent, they can't compare to the wonderful music. Majestic music buzzes about your head as the busy scores play perfect note after perfect note. It's a very melodramatic musical soundtrack, one that fits only so well with the drama of a LucasArts game. Heck, you've got the whole fate of the galaxy hanging from your ship's laser cannons. Goodness, I digress. The music also will change to fit the game's atmosphere it seems. When things are getting tense out in space, rest assured that the music is something written in a minor key... something just enough to put your nerves on edge. From the explosions to the Beethoven-like symphony in places, Star Wars Starfighter definitely has some kicking sound.
|
|
|
Gameplay:
The object of the game is simple. You start out as a rookie pilot for Naboo. As the game progresses, you can be other pilots (with a secret ship if you beat all the missions with a gold medal) that form an unlikely alliance. This 'alliance' which consists of you, a mercenary, and a space pirate must stop the evil Trade Federation from spreading their evil tendrils too far, thus dooming the galaxy. The game sets up the plot just nicely leading you right up to the point where Episode 1 starts all of its little meanderings. Seeing that you're somewhat of a galaxy messiah, your goal is to drive your little spaceship and shoot bad things, droids and ships. So the gameplay is definitely as linear as they come these days. SWS also forces you into difficult situations. For instance, the first few missions have you flying through a ravine. It would be easier to just fly above the ravine, but some kind of ceiling/force field is at the top of the level, not seeming to mind throwing your ship headlong and out of control into the ravine. Even in the wide expanse of space, you still have this 'restrictor' of sorts dictating where your ship needs to go. On top of that, the controls are very difficult to get used to. The keyboard controls have you all over the place, while using a mouse with sensitivity any more than mud thick will have you crashing faster than a guy with a bear after him. It got insanely difficult to control during intense fire fights as I would go to the right, and the game would always over adjust me. So while, I'm fading to the right shooting at nothing now, the AI has me perfectly in their sights. The AI can also do some kind of weird strafe and fire thing which will knock your shields down to zero, while you'd do well to roll left or right and fire at the same time. This is all compounded further by the fact that you can only play Single Player. Multiplayer would be so fun on a game like this. But it was not to be, seeing that it is a console port. I believe a joystick would really help the controls a lot, but for all you StarWars people out there that love flying-fighting types of games, and only have a mouse and keyboard...well, you're destined to struggle when all signs point to control. |
|
|
Difficulty:
You can choose your three standard difficulties which make the game enjoyable for any skill of gamer. Of course, throw control nightmares into the mix, and you have a substantially harder game - only because lack of control is the second most frustrating thing on the planet. The first most frustrating thing on the planet is people who litter. Don't litter, it's bad for the community and the environment. The AI can significantly outfly you, but even they have patterns to which you can dust them before they realize they're even being attacked. Some levels seem insanely out of reach, but with a bit of perseverance, you can beat any level. This is especially true on the 'Easy' difficulty, where the AI is a bit more forgiving. Still though, the majority of the difficulty comes from not being able to precisely control your ship and make the enemy pay first.
|
|
|
Game Mechanics:
Two views are available for you to play with. I was very disoriented with the first person view, so I quickly changed to the 'view your ship' view. This was useful, but I wish a few more views would have been accessible. All your standard options are here, ranging from video setup to secret code entry. The game doesn't autosave either which can make you pay big time if you keep forgetting to save it yourself. One mistake and you're back a few levels. Each of the pilots have different attributes which slightly refreshes the game and the plot is very good. You do need to have a big time video card to take full advantage of the gorgeous graphics. Anything less than a 32 mb (16 mb is the prescribed minimum) card will have things running rather choppy. Riot Rundown : I think this game would get a much better score if I could have tested it with a joystick. For all those first person flying gamers out there, I think you can add this one to your collection. Otherwise, casual gamers unbound to the genre might find it a bit linear and lack the patience to endure level after level pleading with the controls to be a bit more responsive. If you're a StarWars fan, again, this may be another for the collection. All in all though, there's a great foundation here to build on, and a few more features and tweaks will have subsequent spawns of StarWars Starfighter flying off of the shelves. |
|
|
-Sydney Riot, GameVortex Communications AKA Will Grigoratos |
Minimum System Requirements:
Win 9x/ME/2000/XP, Pentium II or Athlon 350, 64 MB RAM, 128 for Win 2000/XP, 16 MB Direct X compatible 3D Hardware Accelerator Graphics Card, 16-bit sound card, Quad Speed CD drive, keyboard and mouse. |
|
Test System:
Windows 2000 Pro, Athlon 1.0 ghz., 320 MB RAM, 32 MB nVidia mx-200 graphics accelerator, Soundblaster PCI512 soundcard 4.1 surround system, 50X CD drive, keyboard, mouse. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
