Favorite STAR WARS game to date!
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire opens with an intense Snow Speeder battle on Hoth near Echo Base and I could immediately tell that this game was going to be different.
You begin shooting at the ridiculously easy probe droids floating around. Then the AT-ST's enter the battle and you think you've seen it all. Nope! Here come the AT-AT's and your blasters just aren't cutting it. Oh... But what's this? If you come in close you notice that you can fire a grappling line onto the legs of the Imperial Walker. This move was featured in "Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back" and was a lot of fun to be able to pull off in-game.
The next level is a surprise because I was beginning to think that this would mostly be a "fighter pilot" game because of the great flight controls, aiming, and overall detail in flight on the Hoth battle. But nope, here you are inside Echo Base attempting to launch one final stand against the Imperial Army within the base before you have to evacuate.
The "on-foot" levels are pretty cool and even though the firing is pretty simple (due to auto-aim) it still doesn't always feel like you have an advantage over the AI in the game. The full arsenal of the Laser, Pulse Cannon, Flamethrower, Stunner, Seeker Missiles, and, my personal favorite, the DISRUPTOR, make you feel unstoppable at times.
All of the major actions that have been lived out in the STAR WARS series can be performed within this game. Although the story is completely side-stepping the main movies, a few plot connections lie within to intertwine the two tales.
Some of the vehicles that can be piloted include the Snow Speeder, Millennium Falcon, Swoop Bike, X-Wing, and even a TIE Fighter. (the X-Wing and TIE are enabled with a cheat code at Sky Hook Battle pt. 2)
Boba Fett makes an appearance (as does his ship, the Slaver). And he's not the only one with a JET PACK! The jet pack is incredibly easy to use and really adds some fun to the fight.
I give this game a 10 out of 10 because of the creativity of the story line and the innovation of "Fighter Pilot-meets-Third Person Shooter-meets-FPS". All of the environments are highly detailed (for the time period) and appetizing to the common Star Wars fan who finally can experience some of these areas.
(((This game can still be found on Amazon.com as well as a few other websites for classic N64 titles.)))
