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After months and months of drooling over those delicious screenshots of Endor Forest, the third instalment in Factor 5's Nintendo-specific Star Wars series is finally with us. And yes, as those shots so temptingly promised, we can now get our hands on those wonderful speeder bikes. Not only that, but scout walkers, tauntauns, B-wings and, of course, X-wings too.
In usual Rogue Squadron vein, Rebel Strike takes the form of a series of objective-based missions, with you taking the helm of an assortment of your favourite Star Wars vehicles and driving/piloting/shooting your way through a host of both new and familiar environments. Considering the subject matter, we need not delve deep into the story - the concept basically sees you battle your way through the classic Star Wars trilogy.
New to the series is what can only be described as a 'pedestrian' element, which now sees you undertake certain missions on foot. As such, throughout the game, you occasionally have to infiltrate enemy retreats with only the aid of your wits and your trusty blaster pistol, and, at one particular point, find yourself legging it around the snowy areas of Hoth whilst dodging the massive AT-Ats, which has to be one of the visual highlights of the game.
Another new element to the proceedings is the multiplayer aspect, which features strongly throughout the game. You can now play through all the missions from the previous GameCube launch title, Rogue Leader, co-operatively with one of your mates or, alternatively, take part in a variety of familiar multiplayer versus games such as Tag & Defend and Dogfight. For the true Nintendo fans out there, there's also the option to rig up your GBA throughout the versus battles, allowing you to communicate with your wingmen without alerting your friend (enemy) to your specific strategies.
Coming complete with all the latest hi-tech gubbins such as HDTV Progressive Scan support and 5-channel Dolby Pro-Logic 2, Rebel Strike really makes for a cinematic experience if you've got all the tackle. The battles throughout are extremely faithful to the films, both visually and audibly, making for quite an immersive Star Wars experience.
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