Megalextoria
Retro computing and gaming, sci-fi books, tv and movies and other geeky stuff.

Home » Sci-Fi/Fantasy » Star Wars » [REVIEW] "Star Wars: Squadrons" video game
Show: Today's Messages :: Show Polls :: Message Navigator
E-mail to friend 
Switch to threaded view of this topic Create a new topic Submit Reply
[REVIEW] "Star Wars: Squadrons" video game [message #400928] Fri, 09 October 2020 18:09
Your Name is currently offline  Your Name
Messages: 910
Registered: September 2013
Karma: 0
Senior Member
It's "tedious", yet still gets 8 out of 10. :-\


From ComingSoon.net ...


Star Wars: Squadrons Review:
Great Graphics Can't Overcome Tedious Gameplay
----------------------------------------------
Rating: 8.0 out of 10

Cast: Peta Sergeant ....... Terisa Kerrill
Phil Morris ......... Lindon Javes
Alistair McKenzie ... LT-514
Noshir Dalal ........ Varko Grey
Helen Sadler ........ Havina Vonreg
Jim Pirri ........... Shen
Sofia Pernas ........ Rela Sol
Rebecca Wisocky ..... Kierah "Gunny" Koovah

Star Wars: Squadrons Review
In EA's Star Wars: Squadrons, players commandeer an assortment
of vehicles from that galaxy far far away, including X-Wings,
Tie Fighters, Y-Wings, etc. and engage in ferocious dogfights
set amidst the backdrop of battles immediately following the
events of Return of the Jedi.

The first level plops the player inside a Tie Fighter and then
blasts them off into space where the goal is to shoot dozens
of X-Wings and zip around giant starships, avoiding an endless
barrage of laser fire and missiles. In one of the more
inspired aspects of the game, players can redistribute the
ship's power to their liking. So, when faced with enemy laser
fire, one can choose to divert power to the front shields
before redirecting that power to the laser canons when the
time comes to retaliate. Or, put all power on the thrusters
and outrun enemies long enough to recharge your systems.

All of this is quite thrilling...for the first few levels. 
After an hour or so of gameplay, each sequence starts blending
into the next leaving one longing for a more varied
experience.

Sure, there are cool scenarios involving the capturing of a
downed Star Destroyer or the destruction of a rebel space
station, but mostly each level features the same basic
concept: fly around and shoot waves of enemies. It's
basically Space Invaders, just in 3D.

Perhaps that's why EA chose to sell the product at a
decidedly marked down $40 price tag, which is far below the
$60 cost of less-than-stellar offerings like the recent Fast
and Furious: Crossroads and Predator: Hunting Grounds; and, in
all fairness, a smart marketing decision.

The plot involves competing squadrons from the flailing Empire
and New Republic as they duke it out during the final stages
of the original Star Wars trilogy. A fun variety of characters
pop up throughout, although neither leaves much of a mark
outside of a few stirring cut scenes. In fact, most of the
character beats are reserved for skippable exchanges between
missions and really don't affect the overarching story or
gameplay; and function mostly as bonus footage.

To that end, Star Wars: Squadrons feels a tad undercooked. As
though the creators came up with a kernel of an idea but
weren't quite sure how to extend it in a satisfying manner.
As such, the game feels more akin to a simplistic arcade
experience rather than anything new or groundbreaking for
consoles.

Yet, despite these gripes, the game is fun when played for a
few hours at a time. As stated, deploying various strategies
to take down squads of enemy craft is thrilling; and the
combat is explosive and engaging. Although, at times, being
set in space is more of a detriment to the experience as your
craft feels more like a floating capsule than a speeding
bullet of mass destruction. The only time you truly feel a
rush is when you get close enough to the hull of a Star
Destroyer or the occasional sequence that forces you to fly
through debris or asteroids. It would have been cool for the
makers to set a few missions on a planet's surface - a mission
equivalent to the battle at the end of Rogue One, for example
- or create moments like the trench run from A New Hope to
really emphasize the speed of your ship. Hell, even an option
to switch to third person would have provided a welcome
change of pace.

As is, Star Wars: Squadrons entertains and deserves marks for
its well-executed controls and graphics. And, considering the
price, it's hard to complain too much about the lack of
variety. Overall, this is a nice start to a potential
franchise that will likely soar to greater heights with
future entries.


< https://www.comingsoon.net/games/reviews/1151398-star-wars-s quadrons-review-great-graphics-cant-overcome-tedious-gamepla y>
  Switch to threaded view of this topic Create a new topic Submit Reply
Previous Topic: XanaNews Statistic for rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc. 10/1/2020 6:10:29 AM
Next Topic: [NEWS] "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series to start filiming in March 2021
Goto Forum:
  

-=] Back to Top [=-
[ Syndicate this forum (XML) ] [ RSS ] [ PDF ]

Current Time: Thu Mar 28 22:38:27 EDT 2024

Total time taken to generate the page: 0.00259 seconds