There is no greater space battle than the one George Lucas unveiled in 1977.  For more than 20 years storytellers, game developers and amateur filmmakers have tried their best to extend or re-tell the beloved Star Wars trilogy.  George Lucas is extending the life of Star Wars by making three prequels, the third and final saga due for release in May 2005.  Even if the movie itself doesn't make me cry, the first teaser trailer, which is expected to carry the tagline, "The Saga Concludes May 2005," most certainly will.  This isn't just a conclusion to a story.  It's an end to a part of our lives.

Although Lucas insists he'll not touch the Star Wars saga once Episode III is complete, game developers have no desire to stop keeping the Saga alive.  The third (and perhaps final) chapter in the Rogue Squadron saga is Rebel Strike.  I say final not because this is the last of Factor 5's unbeatable Star Wars games, but because this title covers all three movies in the original trilogy.  Now that one saga has concluded, it's likely they'll move onto the prequels.

As exciting as it is to think about the future, let's not get ahead of ourselves.  Right now we have what has turned out to be the most diverse of the three Rogue Squadron titles.

Rebel Strike is a new beginning for the series.  The series wasn't getting old, but it was entirely made up of flight battles, usually taking place in space.  In Rebel Strike you get the chance to jump out of the cockpit and engage in some laser blast battles with Stormtroopers.  You'll also get to ride a speeder bike and fly through the mountains.  You have access to ground cannons and other unique defense options that weren't available before.

Despite these new gameplay variations, the majority of the game centers on Star War’s most prominent powerful form of combat: space battles.  Your spacecrafts will get much closer to the ground this time around, with several missions involving the protection of allies or the destruction of enemies.

Rebel Strike must use every technical trick the GameCube has up its sleeves.  I couldn't possibly list them all even if I knew every term.  You may remember how much praise Rogue Leader received for its explosions. Rebel Strike is no different.  You can look at the pictures and see how pretty the textures are, but still images cannot compare to how it looks in motion.  I don't know they did it, but Factor 5 has created explosive effects that never look exactly the same!  It's like that fact you heard about snowflakes when you were a kid, only this pertains to a man-made game, something that does not exist naturally.  They found a way though, and the result is an array of bursts of flames that ignite in more formations than your eyes will ever be able to keep track of.

The graphics aren't perfect though.  During ground battles you'll notice that Luke runs like the guy in that "where are you when your diarrhea comes back?" commercial.  He ran the same way in the previous games.  You'd think that by now he would have taken medicine for that.  Maybe Ex-Lax wasn't available on a galaxy far, far away.

As much as Star Wars fans love diversity, the ground battles don't live up to expectations.  Developers have been trying to make a third-person Star Wars shooter for years.  It didn't work perfectly in standalone games like Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast.  And it works with even less efficiency here.  All you have to do to win a gunfight is run around in circles and press the A button until every Stormtrooper has been eliminated.  This is true regardless of where the ground battle takes place.

That doesn't mean this isn't a great game.  Lucky for us, there aren't too many battles that don't involve at least one spacecraft.  And the battles that don't are easy and can be completed very quickly.  It's not the end all and be all of Star Wars games, but it is a classic that fans will want to have in their collection.

Let's suppose that, for whatever reason, you're not a fan of Star Wars.  However, you really enjoy flight/combat games.  You might be wondering: is Rebel Strike getting praise because it's a fun game or because it's a fun Star Wars game?  The sights and sounds will appeal most to those who like Star Wars, but the gameplay remains unchanged.  Any way you look at it, Rebel Strike is a really good game.

Gameplay: 8.5
From exciting space combat to less-than-exciting ground battles, Rebel Strike brings more Star Wars elements together for one game than any other title.  The space battles still provide some of the best times you’ll have on the ‘Cube, though you may begin to wonder why the objectives are all very similar.  A few new and unique objectives would have been nice.

As flawed as it is, I still really enjoyed this game.  It’s a lot like the Star Wars game Sega developed exclusively for arcades (it has yet to be ported to a game console).  If the Force is strong with you, let your powers take control and enter Factor 5’s latest Star Wars saga.  If the Force is weak, give it a rental.

Graphics: 8.7
It wouldn't be crazy to assume that GameCube's lifecycle is half over, and while you may have assumed that the console's power had been maxed out with Rogue Leader and Resident Evil, think again.  Factor 5 continues to squeeze more power out of a console that is, by technical specifications, above PlayStation 2 but below Xbox.  Regardless, Rebel Strike looks better than most top-tier Xbox games.

The reason why is obvious: there are few artists in this world that can compare to those associated with Star Wars.  The backgrounds literally pour graphic effects into your eyes.  The detail is unmatched, even by its own GameCube predecessor. 

Sound: 8.5
Rebel Strike has crisp, crystal-clear sound effects that, as old as they are, end up being some of the most impressive you'll hear on the 'Cube.  Everything is pure Star Wars.  The voice-over quality is great when taken directly from the film but the new voices are terrible.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Thanks to the new shoot-to-win battles, Rebel Strike is the easiest game in the series.  Some of the space battles are a challenge, but they're nothing a Rogue Leader master won't be able to plow through in a day or two.

Concept: 7
Rebel Strike tries to cram too many gameplay options into one game.  The effort is appreciated, but a dedicated flight/combat game like its predecessors would have been much more enjoyable.

Multiplayer: 8.8
Besides the Endurance and Tag & Defend multiplayer modes, gamers will be thrilled by Rebel Strike's most astonishing feature: a two-player version of Rogue Leader!  You and a friend can jump in the cockpit of an X-Wing and take on every mission from the biggest third-party launch title on GameCube.  Not one to overlook any detail, Factor 5 went through the trouble of upgrading Rogue Leader's graphics to match those of Rebel Strike!  Split-screen gaming is usually degrading to the graphics (for technical reasons), but here it's actually improved.

Overall: 8.5
If I could hum the Star Wars music with letters, that's exactly what I'd be doing now.  Rebel Strike is a get-up-and-cheer kind of game.  It'll make you lose interest in whatever else is going on your life, and will increase your interest in Star Wars.  It'll take you back to the memorable moments you had watching the Star Wars films on the big screen, and will make you anticipate the conclusion even more.  It will also make you want to watch the movies again, which in return will make you want to play Rebel Strike.  It's an endless circle that you can't escape from, so don't even try.

If exclusive third-party Xbox and PS2 games made you jealous, Rebel Strike will help you get your revenge.  This game is 100% exclusive to GameCube.  There are no loopholes like the one that enabled Rockstar to release Vice City on Xbox.  At best, you could hope for a PC port.  But Rebel Strike will never, ever be released on Xbox or PS2, that's guaranteed.  So if you want it, you're going to need a GameCube to run it.