Star Wars: Starfighter

Star Wars: Starfighter

PlayStation 2 cover art

PlayStation 2 cover art
Developer(s) LucasArts
Publisher(s)
Director(s) Daron Stinnett
Writer(s) Matthew Jacobs
Series Star Wars
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows, arcade, PlayStation Network
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Action
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Star Wars: Starfighter is a 2001 action video game, developed and published by LucasArts, that takes place right before the Battle of Naboo. The player unites alongside three starfighter pilots and is allowed to take control of several different spacecraft to help stop the invasion that threatens Naboo.[1]

Ten months after the initial release on PlayStation 2, an Xbox version was released under the title Star Wars: Starfighter: Special Edition with enhanced graphics, improved multiplayer and several other upgrades. The Xbox and PC ports were performed by Secret Level.

During Q3 2003, Tsunami Visual Technologies released the title on their TsuMo motion-base arcade platform. LucasArts re-released the game on the digital distribution platform Steam on July 8, 2009. A sequel was released in 2002, named Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter.

Plot

Gameplay

The story begins by showing one of the four main characters, Rhys Dallows, a member of the Naboo Royal Space Fighter Corps (NRSFC), piloting an N-1 Naboo Starfighter. He manages to blast one droid starfighter out of the sky, but is subsequently shot by a second one. It is then revealed Rhys was just dreaming, as he is awakened by Essara Till, who trains him in basic maneuvering and combat. The two are then relegated to defending the Queen of Naboo as they meet with Trade Federation officials. The meeting is revealed to be a trap, as Rhys and Essara are then forced to defend the royal starship until it can escape. Essara is killed by an unidentified ship, while Rhys survives and is later rescued by the Toydarian Reti.

The story at this point shifts to the point of view of Vana Sage, a mercenary employed by the Trade Federation, as she helps test the Scarab starfighter. After she destroys a number of the fighters, her astromech droid, Mod-3, intercepts a transmission about the illegal invasion of Naboo. The Trade Federation subsequently terminates her contract and sends numerous "Hunter-Killer" droids, then a squad of mercenaries after her. She manages to defeat all of the mercenaries and destroy all but one of the droids, which leads her to a droid production factory on the volcanic planet of Eos. The factory tries to trap her within a large shield, but she escapes by destroying the generators. After investigating for a while, she returns to her base of operations, awaiting Reti and Rhys.

Nym, a Feeorin pirate whom Vana had managed to capture before the game takes place, had escaped and now threatened to kill Vana. She manages to buy him off by telling him about the droid factory she discovered on Eos, which he repays by trapping her in a locker and meeting back up with his pirate group above Lok. Disabling a freighter in orbit and managing to send it crashing to the surface, Nym's pirates steal valuable supplies from the crashed freighter and return to their base. The Trade Federation strikes back, overrunning Nym's pirates and forcing him to self-destruct the base as they return to Vana's home.

After the meeting between Rhys, Vana, Nym and Reti, the four ally with each other in an attempt to stop the Trade Federation once and for all. The group conducts a guerrilla campaign against the Trade Federation as they destroy the droid factory on Eos, disable a Trade Federation freighter and steal supplies, deliver those supplies to Bravo Flight, rescue Trade Federation prisoners, and defend the Naboo Royal Guard's outpost. The final mission takes place around the Droid Control Ship Profiteer, as Bravo Flight destroys the receiver stations on the exterior of the ship. As they destroy all the droid starfighters currently deployed, the leader of the Trade Federation-hired mercenaries, the same ship that killed Essara Till, appears. The shield to one of the hangar bays opens; a landing craft leaves as the mercenary and Rhys enter. The shield closes again, trapping Rhys inside and the rest of Bravo Flight outside the Profiteer. A fierce battle throughout most of the ship ensues, with Rhys eventually destroying the mercenary.

The Profiteer begins falling apart as soon as the mercenary's ship is destroyed, which forces Rhys to blow a generator in the hangar bay. The shield is lowered, and Rhys escapes the doomed vessel. This supposedly takes place at the same time Anakin is inside of the ship in a different bay, as numerous quotes reference Anakin's Starfighter destroying and leaving the ship.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(PS2) 86.01%[2]
(Xbox) 76.70%[3]
(PC) 71.55%[4]
Metacritic(PS2) 84/100[5]
(Xbox) 76/100[6]
(PC) 71/100[7]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame(PS2) [8]
(PC) [9]
(Xbox) [10]
EGM(PS2) 7.33/10[11]
(Xbox) 5.5/10[12]
Eurogamer9/10[13]
Famitsu30/40[14]
Game Informer(PS2) 9.25/10[15]
(Xbox) 8/10[16]
GamePro[17][18]
Game Revolution(PS2) B+[19]
(Xbox) B[20]
GameSpot(PS2) 7.8/10[21]
(Xbox) 7.2/10[22]
(PC) 6.7/10[23]
GameSpy(PS2) 79%[24]
(Xbox) 73%[25]
(PC) 71%[26]
GameZone(PS2) 10/10[27]
(Xbox) 9.4/10[28]
(PC) 8/10[29]
IGN(PS2) 9/10[30]
(Xbox) 7.8/10[31]
(PC) 7.7/10[32]
OPM (US)[33]
OXM (US)7/10[34]
PC Gamer (US)79%[35]
The Cincinnati Enquirer[36]
Maxim8/10[37]

The game was met with positive to average reception. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 86.01% and 84 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;[2][5] 76.70% and 76 out of 100 for the Xbox version;[3][6] and 71.55% and 71 out of 100 for the PC version.[4][7]

Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine gave the game a 9/10 in their 6th issue, describing it as a "cool Episode 1 spin-off that puts you in the pilot seat." In Japan, Famitsu gave the PS2 version a score of 30 out of 40.[14]

Sequel

In the Episode I Two-Disc Special Edition DVD, the developers confirmed that a sequel of Star Wars: Starfighter would be developed, this time based on Episode II and would incorporate force powers in the gameplay. It was stated that this was due to the original game's success.

Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter was released in 2002.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Star Wars: Starfighter :: PS2 Game Review". Kidzworld. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  2. 1 2 "Star Wars: Starfighter for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition for Xbox". GameRankings. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Star Wars: Starfighter for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Star Wars: Starfighter for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Star Wars: Starfighter for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  8. ↑ Thompson, Jon. "Star Wars: Starfighter (PS2) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ Hoogland, Mark. "Star Wars: Starfighter (PC) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  10. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Star Wars: Starfighter Special Edition - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  11. ↑ EGM staff (April 2001). "Star Wars: Starfighter (PS2)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Archived from the original on April 18, 2001. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  12. ↑ EGM staff (January 2002). "Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition". Electronic Gaming Monthly (151): 231.
  13. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (April 3, 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter (PS2)". Eurogamer. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  14. 1 2 "プレイステーション2 - スター・ウォーズ・スターファイター". Famitsu. 915: 89. June 30, 2006.
  15. ↑ Reiner, Andrew (March 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter (PS2)". Game Informer (95): 65. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  16. ↑ Kato, Matthew (December 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter Special Edition". Game Informer (104): 109. Archived from the original on November 15, 2004. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  17. ↑ Air Hendrix (February 20, 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  18. ↑ Pong Sifu (November 27, 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 14, 2005. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  19. ↑ G-Wok (February 2001). "Star Wars: Starfighter Review (PS2)". Game Revolution. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  20. ↑ G-Wok (December 2001). "Star Wars: Starfighter Special Edition Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  21. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (February 16, 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  22. ↑ Rivers, Trevor (December 7, 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition Review". GameSpot. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  23. ↑ Varanini, Giancarlo (February 1, 2002). "Star Wars Starfighter Review (PC)". GameSpot. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  24. ↑ Carlock, Jamie (March 15, 2001). "Star Wars: Starfighter". PlanetPS2. Archived from the original on June 6, 2001. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  25. ↑ Padilla, Raymond (December 29, 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition (Xbox)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on April 14, 2002. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  26. ↑ Wessel, Craig (February 2002). "Star Wars: Starfighter (PC)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 27, 2004. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  27. ↑ Da bomb mom (March 20, 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter Review - PlayStation 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 10, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  28. ↑ Lafferty, Michael (December 11, 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition Review - Xbox". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  29. ↑ Rgerbino (February 1, 2002). "Star Wars Starfighter Review - PC". GameZone. Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  30. ↑ Zdyrko, David (February 21, 2001). "Star Wars: Starfighter (PS2)". IGN. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  31. ↑ Boulding, Aaron (December 5, 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition". IGN. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  32. ↑ Butts, Steve (February 1, 2002). "Star Wars: Starfighter (PC)". IGN. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Star Wars: Starfighter". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. April 2001. Archived from the original on April 18, 2001. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition". Official Xbox Magazine: 80. February 2002.
  35. ↑ Morris, Daniel (April 2002). "Star Wars: Starfighter". PC Gamer: 84. Archived from the original on May 1, 2005. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  36. ↑ Saltzman, Marc (March 21, 2001). "'Starfighter' soars". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on February 11, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  37. ↑ Boyce, Ryan (February 21, 2001). "Star Wars Starfighter (PS2)". Maxim. Archived from the original on August 7, 2001. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
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