Fly, shoot, die. Fly, shoot, die. Fly, shoot, go on to the next level. Fly, shoot, die... This is the essence of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. It is a great game if you enjoy flying, shooting, dying, and going on to the next level. It is a flight/action video game like the flight/action video games before it.

I love Star Wars, and I really enjoy flying in X-Wings, A-Wings, and B-Wings while shooting up Tie Fighters, Bombers, AT-STs, and other weapons of The Empire. The music comes on, I get pumped and start firing away. It’s a good fix. If you want a preview of this game, play the first level of Star Wars: Dark Forces. The action is quite similar. The story is certainly enough to hold my interest but it’s nothing special. The cut scenes are fun to watch. Things were a little more interesting before I discovered that the on-screen radar actually tells the player where to go. The game is straightforward. You want flying, shooting, and Star Wars? You get it, in a form that’s easy to use and fun to play.

Passing levels is the main objective in Rogue Squadron. A little more is offered by way of achieving different medals depending on how well the player completes each mission, which I happen to enjoy more than the easy-medium-hard game play options offered on other Star Wars games. The sound effects are realistic and the music is good--it’s a lot like listening to the Star Wars soundtrack. An expansion pack would help, but it is by no means necessary. The 3-dimensional flight graphics are really superb. Rogue Squadron is a game that goes alongside the likes of other flight/action games, such as Wing Commander. This is what I say about both those games: It’s not groundbreaking; it’s not revolutionary; but if it’s good enough for Mark Hamill, it’s good enough for me. This video game lets me feel like I’m a member of the Rebel Alliance’s Special Forces and that’s all I ask. With Wedge at my side, all thoughts of winter melt away as tie fighters approach..