Rogue Squadron III - The Sequel You're Looking For?

Thanks to GameSpot for their review of Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike for the GameCube, rating the Factor 5-developed sequel that arrives in stores this week. GameSpot pronounce it a qualified success, saying "the parts of the game that stick to airborne and space combat are quite solid", but "the on-foot missions... [are] where Rebel Strike really falters." With the title including "a cooperative two-player version of Rogue Leader in its entirety", and IGN also being somewhat positive, recommending the "superb two-player cooperative mode" as "an absolute must play", although suggesting "if you were only a casual fan of the last [game in the series]... you [should] rent first", is this what you'd consider a good use of the Star Wars license?

Comments

I'm getting it tomorrow - don't spoil the suprise

[Dave_B93]

I've pre-ordered it and it should be showing up tomorrow. The demo mission on the pre-order disk was so-so, but didn't really give me a feel for the ground based missions, so I'll reserve judgement till tomorrow night.

The rest of the demo disk was kind of lame. The original arcade Star Wars was fun for about 15 minutes ( 5 x 3 minute showing it off to friends) but I don't think i'd play it. And the Gladius trailer did nothing for me. I was hoping it would shift me one way or another, but it really only made me suspicious about the combat interface.

What happened to cool pre-order disks like the one that came with Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker? Something like Shadow of the Empire would be really cool to have on the GC.

Re:Is this game still linear?

[kisrael]

I'm under the impression that Factor 5 is more about game technology (sound, etc) than about game making. That's not an insult, just the impression I've got. (I'd appreciate correction or clarification.)

Well, it's hard to "correct" an impression/opinion like that, but I think that these are some of the best overall gaming experiences I've had. A lot of that it is the "magic" of the original Star Wars universe, but I find the missions to be well-designed challenges and the control to be excellent. These are hardly "tech demos"!

I am withholding opinion on the ground stuff 'til I pick up my copy, though Hoth seemed more or less ok. I was under the impression that there were two big branches "Luke" and "Wedge", with the former having more of the new stuff from the movies and on foot, and the latter having new space based missions. Is that still the case I pray?