Pong and Beyond

752nd played so far

Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up
Platform: PC
Year of Release: 1998
Developer: Factor 5/LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts

I had yet to kick off two Star Wars game series. Star Wars: TIE Fighter was still in the previous fifty and it focused on space combat, becoming incredibly accessible compared to other games in the genre. On the other hand, the Rogue Squadron focuses more on arcade action, more often taking place in on the surface of planets. We’ve seen how Star Wars can already accommodate other genres – say, as RPG or Lego action game – so this feels like it would work. It’s just a coincidence, really, that the last two series were related to flying vehicles.

Our Thoughts

Somehow, despite a five year lead, I struggled more with playing Rogue Squadron than I did playing Tie Fighter. It felt more difficult just to stay upright, but the fact that you’re doing fly-bys on stationary targets, rather than crafts you can lock onto, didn’t help either. Others seemed to move too fast to keep up with, which made it just as hard. The craft also felt rather weightless, with the fighters turning too fast to keep up with.

It made the game frustrating, as it became difficult to execute the attacks. It’s not even the chaos, just the space you need to correct. All I can really do right now is hope the sequel improves the handling.