Shadows Of The Empire Review

8.8

Format PC

Developer Lucasarts

Publisher Lucasarts

Genre Unknown

'Not more bloody Star Wars,' said Paul Presley. 'There just aren't any more decent jokes left for the introduction bits.' 'Shut up and force yourself,' we replied, proving him right (for once).

You've heard of Star Wars I take it? Good, then I won't waste valuable page space setting the background via a tortuous comedy routine that would only embarrass us all. Instead, let me jump feet first into the Shadows Of The Empire storyline, pausing briefly to inform you that it takes place during the Empire Strikes Back period. Backing up momentarily, I can also tell you that it isn't a continuation of any previous Star Wars game but is brand new, and while I dodge several spiky things, I can divulge that it's a conversion of the Nintendo 64 'hit' (I use the word 'hit' in its most ironic sense, as it actually received a lukewarm reception by the console-playing digerati).

But they're all tossers over there

Exactly, as proved by the fact that they didn't like this game. I simply can't understand them. The amount of negativity that was lobbed in the direction of the disc when it first arrived in the office was quite extraordinary. But everyone soon changed their tune. Oh yes. For Shadows Of The Empire on the IBM PC and Compatibles range of personal home computers is what we industry experts describe as smart. Tops. Stonking big-time stylie.

It must be said that it's helped in no small measure by its exploitation of the computer gaming world's answer to plastic surgery, the 3Dfx card. Shadows' metaphorical breasts of fun have been significantly enhanced by the silicone of acceleration chips. It actually looks far better than the N64 version, and as PCs have been coping with streaming video and audio since the days of Pac-Man (sort of), the mid-game presentation-cum-storyline sequences are highly enjoyable pieces of low-brow space opera storytelling from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

1979, George Lucas' head in fact

Dash Rendar. No, not some speedy graphics routine, but the hero of our tale. Dash is a sort of Han Solo with attitude, a rebel scum who gets himself involved with the snowy Hoth battle from the second film. The game starts with you jumping heroically into your snowspeeder and taking flight against several waves of imperial forces. The story (and indeed the game) continues with you and Luke searching for the frozen Han Solo, fighting off Boba Fett, dealing with the Empire's constant attentions and bringing down an evil crime lord and his bounty hunters.

From the gameplay point of view, Jedi Knight and X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter are the most obvious comparisons. Of course, Shadows... isn't as complex - but then those games don't contain the different elements of each other the way wot this one does. (Did you ever actually attend school? - Ed.) Essentially, it's Rebel Assault II minus the high-quality FMV sequences and with far better gameplay bits. With any luck, LucasArts will realise this and continue the line, rather than treat Shadows as some kind of freak one-off half-cousin who only gets invited over for dinner at Thanksgiving.

Impacts on the surface

It does have problems, not least its lack of depth. It's fun for a while, but once you've been through it from start to end a few times, you're not likely to be charging back to it - but then, that's the problem with action games all over. Another quibble is the difficulty curve. On easy, it really is pretty damn easy. Switch to medium however, and it's next to impossible (but then I'm inept at these games so you should have better luck with it than I did). Naturally, you don't see the end sequence unless you play it on the hardest level.

Also, the pacing of the game is slightly off. There are far too many of the Jedi Knight running around, and this gets especially annoying because the best parts of the whole game feature at the beginning and the end. Flying around in snowspeeders could be a game in itself, and in terms of mission elements and excitement levels, the final space battle is so similar to the end of Return Of The Jedi that I almost never want to go back to playing X-Wing. It simply won't ever be the same again.

You'll deal with this yourself

It isn't Jedi Knight, and nor is it X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter. To go in expecting such depth, such detail and such long-term appeal will naturally result in you being a disappointed chappie (or chappette). Shadows is LucasArts being light and fluffy and shouldn't be regarded as anything but. Should you lower your financial standing by purchasing the game? That's not for me to say - you'll have to make your own mind up on that point. All I can do is slap a Recommended label on the gameplay, cock a snook towards the sneers of Nintendo owners and wonder if LucasArts will ever manage to screw up a Star Wars game. So far, not counting data disks, they're eight for eight.