PlayStation

Star Wars: Rebel Assault II - The Hidden Empire

The sharp, exciting graphics include long, well-done cinemas and rendered shops. The shooting levels are move-quality clean. The sound is rich with symphonic scores sampled from the trilogy. Although the gameplay isn?t as deep as Shadows of the Empire?s , it?s still fat shootin?? fun with Star Wars twist. Rebel will keep you happy for a solid weekend.

On the whole, Rebel Assault II is worth the time of any true Star Wars fan. Even if the characters are a bunch of posers, the spirit of the films is present. However, its lack of difficulty might just want you to make it a rental. After all, you can always just tape the cut-scenes and watch them later!

RA2, like its prequel, packs one heck of a cool movie. Unfortunately, as a game, it ain't all that great. The game sequences that are plunked between the super-sharp FMV cinemas all involve either shooting or flying, but non control very well. In the flying levels, your ship slides around a lot, and you have to constantly tinker with the joypad to fly in a straight line. The shooting levels aren't so bad, and you can even use a light-gun to make aiming a little easier. The entire game is a bit easy, too. Although it has 16 levels, you can play through it in no time. The incredible music and cinemas are the only reason to buy RA2.

Everything about this game was perfection apart from the gameplay. Come on, if I had wanted to watch a couple of hours of Star Wars footage then I would have rented a video. Prolonging the levels to a reasonable length would have had me shouting from the roof tops. I felt like I had just bought the house of my dreams and found there were no floors and walls inside.

As for the much-hyped live-action video, it's poorly acted and not even remotely worthy of being compared to the real Star Wars movies. Let's be honest: LucasArts filmed unknown, unskilled actors who played dress-up with costumes from the storage closet. Rebel Assault II is a great rental, but a terrible purchase. If you're a Star Wars fan, your money is much better spent on the Star Wars Trilogy videotapes or tickets to the big-screen director's-cut re-releases.

One aspect that really saves the game is its tremendous audio. The rousing musical score (taken directly from the films) is inspirational and occasionally exhilarating. Rebel Assault features a slick stage select screen, and it even saves your high scores. It may be a bit shallow, but based on looks alone, Rebel Assault II should attract Star Wars fans.