Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader

Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader is an exclusive launch game in 2001 for the Nintendo GameCube. It was developed by Factor 5 and published by LucasArts.

The game deals with the Rebel Alliance unit, Rogue Squadron, who under the command of Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles use starfighters to engage and defeat the Galactic Empire. The game is set during episodes A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi and recreates the battles that take place during those films, notably the Battle of Hoth. Some levels in the game are based on the novels and comic books from the 80's. The game featured a "making-of" documentary, similar to those found on DVD's.

Rogue Leader was developed as a sequel to the earlier game, Rogue Squadron. It featured improved graphics and a new tactics menu that allows the player to form up their squadron or set a target for their squadron such as laser turrets or enemy TIE fighters. The game also expanded on the unlockable levels of the original—Beggars Canyon is included in the tutorial, the opening level Battle of Yavin was included in both games (Rogue Squadron called the level Death Star Trench Run), and Battle of Hoth was made more authentic with the GameCube's advanced power. The other major battle in the original movie trilogy, The Battle of Endor, was arguably the biggest and most challenging scenario in the entire game.

Rogue Leader also features short clips from the movie trilogy, during the menu screens and cut-scenes.

A sequel, Rebel Strike, was released in 2003.

Levels

Tatooine Training Grounds

Death Star Attack

Luke Skywalker and his allies must destroy a series of deflection towers in an attempt to provide cover fire for the squadrons making a run at the Death Star's main trench. TIE fighters soon join the fray, and it is only a matter of time before Luke must make a run on the trench himself.

Ison Corridor Ambush

A Rebel convoy is attacked in the Ison Corridor, a trade route used to transport goods from the old Yavin base to the new Hoth base. Rogue Squadron must eliminate a series of TIE fighters and interceptors in the heart of a dense nebula.

Battle of Hoth

During the battle, a division of Rogue Squadron is assigned to defending the Ion Cannon and Rebel transports from AT-STs, AT-ATs, and TIE bombers.

Prisons of the Maw

Rogue Squadron is assigned with the task of rescuing prisoners from a series of asteroids near Maw Installation.

Razor Rendezvous

After receiving information of a new Imperial weapon in production, the Rebel Alliance beamed the plans into a blockade runner, the Razor. While en route to the frigate Redemption, Rogue Squadron, Green Squadron, and Blue Squadron found the Razor being captured by an Imperial Star Destroyer over Kothlis, the homeworld of the Bothans. After knocking out the generators and the gravity-well projector, Wedge destroyed the command bridge, sending the Destroyer out of control, and into Kothlis's surface.

Vengeance on Kothlis

Wedge, Crix Madine, and a squad of commandos went down to the surface to retrieve the data. The transport carrying the commando team was attacked by a swarm of TIE fighters, but the Rogues disposed of them. However, there were much bigger problems. Squads of AT-ATs and AT-PTs survived the crash, and escaped the wreckage. They attacked the commando team, and both sides took heavy losses. The commando team entered the downed Destroyer and retrieved the data, ensuring a Rebel victory. After uploading the plans into a computer, Madine discovered that the Empire is constructing a second Death Star.

Imperial Academy Heist

Wedge must steal the shuttle Tyderium from the heart of the Imperial academy. He will use either the cover of fog or the powers of the Y-Wing to make his run.

Raid on Bespin

Rogue Squadron leads an attack on Bespin in the hopes of securing a series of Tibanna gas platforms, which Ackbar wants to use to power the Rebel fleet and his new inventions.

Battle of Endor

The Rogues are ordered to defend the Medical Frigate and Home One from an onslaught of TIE bombers and Star Destroyers.

Strike at the Core

Wedge must defend Lando from a wing of TIE fighters as he makes his assault on the Death Star's main reactor.

Secret levels

Death Star Escape
The Asteroid Field
Triumph of the Empire
Revenge on Yavin
Death Star Endurance

Co-operative

In Rebel Strike, there is a mode in which two players can play a co-operative version of Rogue Leader. This mode, however, uses the Rebel Strike engine, so a few features have been changed. For example, the A-Wing's concussion missiles now have an auto lock-on feature. There are several problems with the co-op version, however. The three most classic examples are:

An infinite number of AT-PTs on Kothlis -- even after your objective to "destroy all AT-PTs" is ticked off
Gun turrets in Bespin do a lot more damage
Only one Cloud Car in Bespin

Awards

E3 2001 Game Critics Awards: Best Action Game

External links

2001 computer and video games | GameCube-only games | Star Wars computer and video games

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