Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader was a launch title for the Nintendo Gamecube in the US and was easily a top reason why many people picked up the system at launch. Let's face it, it looks incredible and features levels straight from and inspired by the original classic "Trilogy" that we all know, love, and are annoyed by since they are not available on DVD yet. In the meantime, we can take the reigns of an X-wing and pretend to be Wedge as you cover the Millennium Falcon.

For fans of the original Rogue Squadron on the N64, you should not be too surprised by this title. Gameplay remains pretty much the same while the graphics and sound get an obvious boost from being on 'the little lunch box that could.' This could be either a blessing or news that will make you want to take a number behind the line of Jar Jar haters to punch Lucas in the nuggets. Rogue Leader is not a flight sim in the Star Wars universe. This game is full on arcade style blasting action, with plenty of dog fighting Tie Fighters, tripping up AT-ATs and even blowing up two Death Stars. What more could you want?

Well, you could want a lot more depending on what you are looking for in a game. For instance, like I already said, this is not a flight-sim game. You will not carefully manage your shields nor will you be getting the most in-depth story to go along with the action. Being that Rogue Leader is an arcade style shooter, you might expect more speed than you will have at your disposal. Sure, you can tell that an A-Wing is faster than a B-Wing, but most of us out there will probably find yourself feeling like you should be going faster in the game. Some of it could be blamed on the backgrounds, which are mostly space since it would be hard to compare the layers of the background that can usually trick our eyes into seeing faster speed. There are things they could have done to speed up gameplay, but it doesn't hurt the overall experience for most players.

The difficulty in the game is my biggest beef. If it wasn't for cheat codes, those of us who do nutty things like work for a living and buy more than one game a year would never see half of the nifty bonuses that Factor 5 included on the disc. The medal system in the game is a source of much frustration for even the seasoned gamer. Some of the gold medal requirement seem completely unattainable when you finally just earn a Silver medal on a mission that had you loosing sleep and hair while you were trying to conquer the Dark Side. You will want to throw that controller out the winder when you see that you need to shave a full minute from your best run and kill an additional 10 enemies to get your next medal. Like the previous game in the series, it's tough and unforgiving if you are looking to master the levels.

The control in Rogue Leader is pretty decent for the most part, with only a couple minor quibbles. The analog response is very nice and you will be able to aim effectively enough in the game with a little practice. Speed control is expertly manipulated via the analog triggers, with a full click of the trigger giving you a speed boost and even locking the S-Foils of the ships that have them. Weapon control is straight forward with additional buttons used for targeting computers, cockpit views as well as barrel roll which isn't really all that necessary. Every once in a while, though, the camera will force you off the tail of a Tie during a dogfight to stabilize your ship. Sure, it is acceptable when you are near the invisible border of a level, but it happens often enough for no reason that it will annoy you. For the most part, however, the controls are easy to manage with minimal practice.

The biggest draw of the game is easily the graphics. Rogue Leader practically NEEDS the component cables and a decent TV to be really appreciated. There is just so much detail to be enjoyed in the game that it is a shame to play on anything less. The lush backdrop of the Death Star in the opening mission is a dream come true for the gamers like me who cut their teeth on the original Star Wars Arcade game. We have indeed come a long way in this industry, and games that look this good really spoil us. You can see star fighters so far off in the distance that it is almost ridiculous. The ship models look like they are taken directly from the movies, with loads of polygons and spectacular bump mapped textures that look flawless as you inspect them in the detailed hanger selection screens.

The first couple levels are impressive enough as it is and yet they don't hold a candle to what the game engine pushes by the time you are taking on the second Death Star. Not only does Factor 5 provide an engine that spews out beautiful looking models at a silky smooth 60 fps, but, it can pump out a LOT of them without even blinking. The Battle of Endor mission is almost overwhelming with the amount of Tie Interceptors swirling around you and your capital ships. It's practically an old school Star Wars fan's dream game.

The game isn't all just nice polygons in empty space, however. Some levels drop you in the middle of a lush coastline, taking on AT-ATs trudging through the water. The Ison Corridor Ambush mission has you escorting your convoy through an impressive looking nebula filled with space debris and bombed out ship hulls. In addition to everything else, Factor 5 did an amazing job with the lighting effects throughout the game. The diffused glow of laser bolts show up along the ground, on the side of ships and all over your cockpit when you choose that view. The game is even more impressive considering that this is a first generation game.

The missions are laid out with plenty of variety, not only in location, but also in mission objectives. You can start off with training missions on Tatooine in Luke's T-16 Skyhopper, performing various tasks that you will need throughout the rest of the game such as bombing runs, blasting multiple ground targets and precision flying. Actual game missions consist of the standard, blast nearly everything that moves to protecting other ships and precision bombing runs with the perfect target, the Y-Wing. My personal favorite level is easily the Battle of Hoth, which allows you to take down Imperial Walkers while dodging laser blasts from AT-STs and mowing down Snow Troopers while they attempt to advance on Rebel forces. Again, this is the game we were dreaming about when we were playing Empire Strikes Back on the Atari 2600.

The aural experience of Rogue Leader is on par with the visual thrills. All of the familiar tried and true sound effects from the Star Wars universe are present in perfect quality. The music is also dead on and extremely pleasing, using familiar themes from the movies such as my favorite theme from the Hoth Battle in Empire Strikes Back. You really can't ask for much more in this area. The one complaint is that some of the voices are of the 'close but not quite' variety. For instance, Admiral Akbar with gurgle out some classic lines, but it's obviously not the original sample. Vader is another voice that was redone and we all that there are millions of perfect samples of Vader quotes floating around. I'm not sure why these duped voices were used unless the original actors have some kind of notation in their contracts that they would have to be paid for the use of the old clips in the game.

The bonuses in Rogue Leader include the standard group of unlockable ships such as Boba Fett's Slave I and the Naboo Fighter from Episode 1. In addition to the ships, there are also new levels to unlock that feature some of the most impressive moments of the game. For instance, the Revenge on Yavin level takes place on the Yavin moon base after the destruction of the first Death Star. You can play as Vader who is leading a strike team on the Rebel base as they attempt to make their escape. The level features a lush jungle backdrop along with frantic fighting, tons of targets and even allows you to fly into a Rebel hanger, destroying transports in close quarters before they even lift off from the ground. It's an amazing level in just about every respect and is incredibly fun to play. The Triumph of the Empire level features you in control of Vader, protecting the trenches of the original Death Star. Come on... who can resist being Vader while blasting away at a whiney Luke?

Bottom line, fans of the Star Wars series will definitely take more of a shine to this title simply for what it is. The game looks incredible, plays well enough and sounds great. It's a bit on the tough side though and I could easily see some people giving up on the game. I find myself going back to it a lot though, trying to improve my skills and obtain those elusive gold medals. You can't go wrong with picking this game up if you own a Gamecube, unless, of course, you hate Star Wars or arcade-like space shooters.