Preview By: Roger Taylor
Developer:	Factor 5/LucasArts
Publisher:	LucasArts
Genre:	Action
Est. Release:	November 2001
Updated:	10-25-01
Updated By:	Jared Black

LucasArts has released 10 brand new Rogue Squadron 2 screenshots, just to taunt and tease us.  I don't know how much more of this I can take...gimme!

Also, all six of our previous updates (do we love you or what?) have been condensed below into one nice package.

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Archived Coverage:

E3 Update

LucasArts have finally unveiled Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2, and it's a beauty of a game.  First, the game has an official logo, as you can see above.

Next, LucasArt's official description of the game:

• This first-generation title pushes the Nintendo's technical capabilities to the limit with incredible graphics and intense gameplay
  
• Pilot vehicles from classic Star Wars movies with an unprecedented realism
  
• Eleven primary campaign missions include a Death Star attack, battle on Hoth, rescue, raids and a multitude of other air-to-ground and air-to-air combat situations
  
• Real-time environmental effects--watch the twin suns of Tatooine rise and set or race your vehicle to complete a mission before darkness falls

Finally, six gorgeous new screenshots to drool over.  Even at this early stage of development (bump-mapping and other effects haven't been implemented yet), the graphical improvement over Star Wars: Starfighter is already very apparent.  E3 is only days away...

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Original Preview:

Factor 5’s Star Wars: Rogue Squadron for the Nintendo 64 was an important title in many ways. First of all, it was a hell of a game. Not only was Rogue Squadron the best Star Wars game ever to be released for a home console, but it was one of the best titles to come out in 1998 overall. Second, the game introduced ground breaking sound compression techniques, giving it the most realistic sounding sound effects and best music on any N64 cartridge made at the time.

Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, Rogue Squadron launched the Factor 5 team to stardom. Since 1998 they have worked on an excellent sequel: Star Wars: Battle for Naboo, using the same engine; and also on a port of the PC game Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. Factor 5 has also worked in conjunction with Nintendo to develop GameCube’s sound chip.

Now Factor 5 is the first third party developer to show off GameCube material. They did this at Nintendo’s Space World show in the form of an incredible demo based on their new game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2. While no official information on the game has been released, we can discern a lot from this little demo.

The graphics, simply put, are breathtaking. When I first saw the video I could have sworn that I was watching a cinematic sequence. These aren’t really in game graphics are they? Well, get ready to cheer, because they are. But the most interesting aspect of all is not that the graphics are smooth, beautiful and incredibly detailed; it is the amount of stuff on screen at once. With a gigantic Death Star looming in the background, Factor 5 was able to fit 70 Tie Fighters on the screen at once without a drop in framerate.

And, as with any game developed by Factor 5, the sound was crisp, clear and completely accurate. Everything sounded just like it came out of one of the Star Wars movies.

No release date has been set for Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2, but it should make it out sometime this year. The game will most likely be featured heavily at E3 so be sure to check back afterwards for an updated preview.

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