Starfighter is based on a storyline that's concurrent with the general happenings of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, but not completely tied to the movie's narrative. It basically gives you a perspective on some of the events from the movie through the eyes of three different characters new to the Star Wars universe: Rhys Dallows, Vana Sage, and Nym.

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That's right...it's Starfighter on the PC. Game Info Publisher LucasArts Developer LucasArts Genre Action Origin U.S. Accelerated Yes Release Winter 2001 Play With This! HammerHead FX GoPad FX AxisPad Colors Expect to fight in both ground and space-based missions. Ouch, that's gotta hurt.

The storyline is set mainly outside of the events in The Phantom Menace and leads up to the epic finale over the planet of Naboo. The three pilots -- Rhys, Vana, and Nym -- will fly missions on an original plot that will interweave with The Phantom Menace's key points, including the Droid Control Ship battle at the end. Rhys Dallows is a Naboo fighter pilot, orphaned from Bravo Flight when a meeting with the Trade Federation goes bad. Vana Sage is an ex-pilot turned mercenary. She works for the Trade Federation just briefly, but winds up double-crossed and out for payback. That puts her in a similar frame of mind as the space pirate Nym, whose base is destroyed in retaliation for the hijacking of a Federation freighter. Once the game gets into full swing, all three characters team up to play a part in the war that ends over Naboo

They each have their own vehicles -- a Naboo N-1 Starfighter, a Guardian Mantis, and a Havoc muscle ship. Rhys' Starfighter has your basic laser cannons and proton torpedoes and is the speediest of the craft. Vana's ship, the Guardian Mantis, is the most highly maneuverable of the bunch and has sensor guided Nano missiles and Ion-enabled sensor tags that work together. Nym has the slowest, but most powerful of the ships, as his starship is equipped with dual triple-laser canons, energy bombs, and a Plasma Scourge.

Each start out in their respective craft, but they can later man one of over 20 ships included in the game. Each ship is heavily detailed, both graphically and technically. For instance, one ship we've seen is a three-pronged ship much like one of Xizor's fighters in Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, but once the ship fires, it begins to spin on its center, throwing lasers faster as it turns.

Most of the craft in Starfighter owe more to the original Star Wars films than the sleeker style in Episode 1. Although the Naboo Starfighters may look like they've come straight from the wash, but Vana and Nym's ships are as battered and utilitarian as the old Snowspeeders or X-Wings. They look great nonetheless, with detailed textures and animating bits like Nym's guided laser turret. Watching ships come apart is far more interesting than simply watching them fly though, as Starfighter has some excellent explosions. The lighting and particle effects are sharp, and the 3D models realistically come apart into fragments that fly in all directions.

Like the PS2 version, players will start out as Reeves, completing several battles on land and in space, and then after those missions are complete, you will start playing the next character. When you think of the gameplay in Starfighter, forget the X-Wing series and think more the arcade-stylings of Rogue Squadron, only with better graphics and tighter gameplay. As an arcade-based shooter, players have the chance to power through 14 missions, each of which takes place on a completely different planet, or rather, set of planets and atmospheres. Some missions take place in space, while others are strictly land-based. The variety is considerable, however. There's a lava-based planet where you take out a Federation droid factory, a water-based planet with a massive waterfall you can fly to the top of, a heavily damaged moon, and the final space mission that includes a massive Trade Federation station.

On of the game's best feature will undoubtedly be the zoom or "sniper-mode," because it really fixes one of the biggest problems that's generally apparent with most space combat games -- that most of your time is spent shooting at small, pixel-sized, enemy fighters because the only time you see them close-up is when they're flying past you at light speed.

All in all, Starfighter for the PC looks to be coming along quite nicely. It's feature-exact to the PS2 version, but with more detailed textures. The PC version definitely looks like it's going to be worth checking out if you're into space combat games and you don't already own the PS2 version.

-- Doug Perry

May 18, 2001
E³ Update

After garnering critical acclaim with the release of Star Wars Starfighter on the PS2, LucasArts has finally made the wise decision of bringing their gorgeous space shooter to the ultimate platform&the; PC, baby! And after suffering through the catastrophic disaster that was Battle for Naboo, gamers should be treated to a much-needed breath of fresh air.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Playstation 2 version of Star Wars Starfighter, it is essentially a stunningly rendered space shooter that allows users to navigate through 14 levels of Episode I action from either a first or third person perspective. Also included are 4 different pilots, each with his/her own customizable craft (the actual specs on each craft vary significantly, providing a good deal of variance in gameplay). And even though the game revolves around the presiding story of Episode I, Starfighter actually focuses on various sub narratives (thank God) to tell its story. The gameplay itself consists of an "easy to learn, tough to master" control system that allows a considerable level of maneuverability. Battles themselves encompass enormous terrains with both aerial and ground enemies attempting to deter the gamer from accomplishing his/her goal. Fortunately for the protagonist, some missions allow for squadrons of allied fighters to tag along and help out. Add that factor to each craft's innovative sniper abilities and you've got enough options to keep you occupied during the missions. On the downside, the single player campaign is fairly short and not quite as fulfilling as one would expect. Thankfully, Starfighter compensates for this shortcoming with several entertaining modes of multiplayer action, including capture the flag, split screen dog-fighting and co-operative mission support. So if you haven't had a chance to play Starfighter yet, you're in luck&the; PS2 versions has been quite a success.

For those of you who are actually familiar with Star Wars Starfighter you'll be pleased to know that the development team has significantly refined some of the bugs present on the PS2 release. For starters, the textures have been improved from great to absolutely gorgeous. Even if you somehow manage to slam your ship into the wall (thus getting an up close look at the skins) you can't help but notice how smooth everything appears. More important, LucasArts has completely cleaned up the framerate issues that plagued the PS2 version during large-scale battles.

The gameplay should remain the same throughout the game's transition to the PC, with a couple of minor tweaks to improve the AI. And a representative at LucasArts informed me that although they are not yet releasing details on the multiplayer modes, the game will ship with multiplayer capabilities, probably via both split screen and LAN. Now if you already own the PS2 version of Star Wars Starfighter, the new graphical additions may not be enough to persuade you to drop 40 on the PC version. However if you have not yet experienced SWS, then it should like you should be pleasantly surprised with what looks like a great space shooting addition.

-- Michael Perlo