Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

The Good
This game was the first Star Wars game to come out for the N64. The game pitted you as Dash Rendar, a friend of Han and Luke's as you fought along aside them in a timeframe between Ep. 5 and 6.

The first level of this game really gives you high hopes, with you flying around with other landspeeders trying to haplessly destroy AT-ATs as they approach Echo Base. This level was truly amazing. You could shoot AT-STs and wrap up AT-Ats. To a Star Wars nerd, this is pure bliss. However, this level ends a bit short and you are left with the rest of the game.

The other really exciting part of this game is that last level. Skyhook battle is open, surrounding a giant space station. Nearby is a giant star destroyer, constantly letting out tie fighters, as the skyhook lets out their fighters. In between all this is you and rogue squadron. This provides for a nice three-way war. Buddies help a bit, but not as much as you do. And besides that, there is not much to do except destroy a never-ending wave of tie fighters or else do your mission.

The last, and most valuable part, of the game which I liked was it told you where Luke goes between Ep 5 and 6. Multiple cutscenes have him fighting along side you, but too bad you never get to do it in real play. However, you could have just read the books too.

Sound is a classic, with classic blaster noises and screams. Music is brought straight from the movies with nice tones like the asteroid field music. They made good choices when it came to sound.

The Bad
The rest of the game is mediocre. It's a generic third-person/first-person shooter (they are switchable in game by tapping a button). Besides a blaster, Dash gets a seeker missile, an automatic pulse rifle, a flame thrower, and a pulse bomb which wipes out everything within seeing range. Yeah, thats it. 5 Weapons.

Enemy AI is stupid. Guards patrol nicely when your not around, but when they see you, they NEVER move. The only time they will move is if they've seen you and you go out of range. Then they will get in range again, and stand completely still to shoot. Not much of a challenge there.

The other two vehicle levels are not much to boast. The asteroid field leaves you on a rail cannon, unable to drive. The skiff bike chase is repetitive and annoying.

Graphics are nice (I mean that), however there is a lack of detail in the environments. Why would the rebels even want Echo Base if there wasn't any computers in sight? Most of the levels are just hallways. Boooring!

The Bottom Line
Overall, only about half the game is worth seeing, and even those parts have been vastly improved upon. The Rogue Squadron series improved upon Hoth (number 2 had the best version) and everything else in the air. The Clone Wars improved upon ground vehicles. Even the story has been out for years in the book. The music can easily bought as the Star Wars soundtrack (the background music is taken directly from it)

Unfortunately, at its time of release, had lots of potential, however, it has been left back in light of more updated games.

The Good
It's Star Wars! * Well-drawn cutscenes * Variety * Decent boss battles * Nostalgia * Fun stages...

The Bad
...And bland, boring stages * Poor ground-level stage controls that requires getting used to each play * Minimum camera control * Occasionally frustrating * Seeker camera... enough said.

The Bottom Line
'Shadows of the Empire' is a fun action game, but, as always, it's not without its flaws. The poor controls make certain segments more trouble than they're worth; certain jumps can seem real easy some times. At other times, they're hell. Still, I would call it one of the N64's finest titles -- which I guess isn't saying much, given the lack of games. It's certainly not up there with Ocarina of Time or Super Mario 64. That would be a blatant lie. But I would say it does quite well as simple action game, and it's a mostly fun experience that's only held back by minor flaws. It could have to do with the fact that I only had around 4 N64 games growing up, but I haven't gotten tired of this title yet, despite having had it since around the time it came out.

Some might not be as forgiving about the flaws as I am, but I would say the game is well worth giving a shot in spite of them.

The Good
The best thing about Shadows of the Empire (SOTE) is that it is set in the “Star Wars” universe. Familiar characters and locations, like Han Solo and the ice planet of Hoth, help tie the new Shadows storyline in with the original trilogy. And, of course, SOTE would not be a real Star Wars game if it did not include the famous Star Wars sound effects and musical themes. Both are here, and they are delightful as always.

SOTE reels you in immediately by throwing you right into the midst of the spectacular Hoth battle scene we saw near the beginning of “The Empire Strikes Back.” As if it weren’t cool enough that you get to blast AT-STs and AT-ATs with your snowspeeder’s guns, you also get the chance to launch your tow cable and trip up those big bad Imperial Walkers, just like they did in the movie! It’s one of those things you have to see and do before you can understand how thrilling it really is – for Star Wars fans, anyway.

The Bad
The main problem with SOTE is that the game peaks with the very first level. Once you get past the Hoth battle, the action consists of nothing but average first/third person shooter stuff, with some arcade-like space battle sequences thrown in for good measure. It’s a classic bait-and-switch, and big disappointment.

While the Nintendo 64 has plenty of good FPS titles, SOTE is sadly not one of them. Our hero, Dash Rendar, plods along slowly and clumsily when you move the analog stick. The stick is a pain to use, too. It’s too bad they didn’t implement the control scheme from Turok, which feels much smoother and more intuitive. Dash doesn’t get many different kinds of weapons to play with, either. I love the old Star Wars laser blasters as much as anybody, but surely we deserve something more for our money here.

It’s bad enough that the post-Hoth sequences aren’t that much fun, but I’ll just add that they don’t seem all that important, either. Once you’ve stopped recreating that big scene from “Empire,” there just isn’t enough to motivate the player to push through it. If you are really interested in the Shadows story, then I recommend you read the book. As for the music, well, you could always buy the soundtrack…

The Bottom Line
Really fun for the first level, and then mediocre the rest of the way, SOTE was more about clever marketing than brilliant game design. Still, it’s probably worth playing once just for the Hoth battle.