by Susie Vee

After long years of wandering in the digital desert, gamers are finally being treated to Star Wars games that are worthy of that license's name. Both Star Wars and Star Trek have been mocked over the years for the large number of substandard games that have borne their names. It's become a game industry running joke.

Even during the dark times, there were a few winners. Dark Forces was a great Star Wars FPS, and the original Rogue Squadron was a killer arcade-style romp for the N64 and PC.

Two of the latest titles are for the new GameCube and Xbox platforms. Both are arcade-style flight games and both are based in some degree on earlier titles, but the play remarkably differently.

Starfighter: Special Edition for Xbox is an updated version of a PS2 game, itself less than a year old. This Special Edition boasts some expanded modes of play, like an easier-to-find two-player mode, and some new bonus levels.

The promo copy claims improved graphics, but the original was so good, it's hard to tell the difference. The main area of improvement in the Special Edition is the framerate, which staggered occasionally in the PS2 version.

Starfighter takes place in the Episode 1 universe, in and around Naboo and other related planets. You'll play three different characters, each with a different ship. Missions include bombing runs, escorts and plain old combat. There's a storyline, but, honestly, we couldn't explain it if we tried.

Missions are flown both over land and in deep space. The space missions look great, and the hallmark of any space game, asteroids, are very detailed and menacing. The land missions can be more hit-or-miss. Some, like the canyon run, are fantastically detailed, while others have a few blurry ground textures. The game's only real knock is its lack of a radar screen.

The characters and story really don't have much to do with Star Wars, and most of the ships, aside from your Naboo fighter and the Trade Federation ships, are unfamiliar as well. This makes Starfighter a great space combat game, but really doesn't give it that much of a Star Wars feel.

The GameCube has its own exclusive Star Wars game. In fact, it's been the closest thing to a killer app for the console, with people buying GameCubes just to play this one game. Rogue Leader is a sequel to the well-received (and tons of fun) Rogue Squadron. This game takes place in the classic Star Wars universe, and even features the voice of the actor who played Luke's buddy Wedge. (What, Mark Hamill was busy?)

While on the surface, it seems very similar to Starfighter, the games play very differently. Rogue Leader is slightly more arcade-like, and you even get three lives per level to prove it. While Starfighter feels more comfortable in first-person mode, this game rightly defaults to third person. There's an in-the-cockpit view, but it's not terribly useful.

The levels are split between those that directly ape the Star Wars movies-- the Death Star battle, the escape from Hoth--and those that are original scenarios. Of course, the movie-derived ones are the most fun.

Some of the original mission fall flat, with hard-to-understand goals or unclear targets. This is more likely on the land-based levels. Again, like Starfighter, some of the levels are fantastic, while others lack character. But the good ones are worth the wait, as they are very detailed.

Another area where Rogue Leader excels is our favorite benchmark of space shooter graphics--the explosions. When you hit a TIE-Fighter, it bursts into flames and spirals out of control before exploding. Truly the most satisfying game explosion we've ever experienced. The asteroids, our other space game benchmark, also look great. One of the other graphical highlights of the game are the giant capitol ships you'll go up against, like a full-size Star Destroyer.

However, the game also shows signs of the underpowered nature of the GameCube. On one of the flight deck scenes for example, where you pick which ship you'll fly, we saw some 3D Tauntauns standing in the background. But they were totally static models, without a frame of animation to them. And other parts of the game feature suspiciously midi-sounding music, not the orchestral soundtrack of Starfighter.

Despite this, Rogue Leader is the more fun game of the two, and you'll want to rush through each level just to see what the next one will be. Both are top-notch examples of what a good Star Wars game can be, if the Force is strong with the developers.

Rogue Leader
SCORE: 9.0

Starfighter SE
SCORE: 8.0