Some missions tend to get tedious, especially when you can't find your next mission objective or are just flying around looking for things to kill, but for the most part, missions move along fairly well. In the Prisons of Kessel, for example, you have to escort General Madine's shuttle to the main prison complex, disable the shield generators, and then protect his shuttle as he makes his rounds at the other prison facilities, all while battling a swarm of probe droids, TIE interceptors and fighters, AT-ATs, walkers, storm troopers, and speeder bikes. Missions never get too complex, although later missions have more-involved mission goals. In the next mission, on Barkesh, you have to escort a Rebel convoy to a shuttle landing area, battling attacks from Imperial walkers and TIE bombers. In Tatooine, you have to destroy all Imperial probe droids and keep casualties to a minimum. Mission objectives in each of the levels are fairly simple. Some of the planets encompassed by these environments are Tatooine, Kile II, Kessel, Barkesh, Fest, Taloraan, Mon Calamari, Corellia, and Sullust, These planets have all been cataloged in the various Star Wars comics and novels and should be familiar to many Star Wars fans. The different environments you'll encounter in Rogue Squadron include desert, snow, jungle, mountain, urban, lake, snow, volcanic underground, swirling atmospheric clouds, and ocean. The clouds of Taloraan are filled with floating buildings and a giant cloud city, a la Bespin. The Kile II military installation is covered with various gun emplacements, barracks, garrisons, and construction yards. Hoth was a flat and barren world, but the Tatooine level, for instance, is populated by homesteads, a herd of Bantha, and the port of Mos Eisley. The Hoth level in Shadows of the Empire was fairly small, and these levels are at least four to six times bigger, with many more world objects as well. The levels vary in size, from large to huge. There are 16 regular levels to the game, divided into four chapters, as well as a few bonus stages. As the aces of the Alliance, Luke and cohorts must engage in a variety of military operations, and that includes everything from escort missions to search and destroy to rescue missions. Before Luke became a Jedi, he continued to hone his natural piloting skills, and with the help of Wedge Antilles, formed the elite Rebel starfighter group Rogue Squadron. Rogue Squadron takes place six months after the destruction of the Death Star in Star Wars. Throughout it all, you pilot one lone craft, with two wingmen at your side, battling a horde of Imperial aircraft and ground troops, fulfilling objectives that will harm the Empire and benefit the fledgling Rebel Alliance. Instead of the one environment - Hoth - you now visit dozens, from the deserts of Tatooine to the watery world of Mon Calamari. Instead of one craft - the snowspeeder - you can now pilot five, plus a few bonus ships. Rogue Squadron plays like those early Hoth levels from Shadows of the Empire but on a much larger scale. You piloted a snowspeeder, battling Imperial probe droids, AT-ST walkers, and AT-ATs. The most popular levels were the Hoth levels, which were basically arcade flight combat over the snowy hills of Hoth. Rogue Squadron owes its existence to last year's Shadows of the Empire, an N64 and PC game that was basically a medley of different arcade games. This isn't X-Wing or TIE Fighter it's an arcade action game, with floating power-ups, extra lives, and densely populated worlds that exist purely for your shooting enjoyment. Rogue Squadron is a good game, albeit a simple one. And to do that, it will need to rely on the skills of the legendary Rogue Squadron. The ragtag fleet that is the Rebellion must still try to establish itself and build a power base sufficient to challenge the Emperor. The Empire remains a powerful adversary that could easily crush the Alliance if it chose to bring its full might to bear. Things might finally be looking up for the freedom fighters of Star Wars, but there is no time to rest on the accomplishments of the past. They have just destroyed the Death Star and found new allies in Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. The Rebel Alliance at last has a glimmer of hope.
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