Star Wars: Rebel Assault

Last updated
Star Wars: Rebel Assault
Swrebel1.jpg
Developer(s) LucasArts
Publisher(s) LucasArts
Director(s) Tony Van (original concept)
Vince Lee
Designer(s) Vince Lee
Programmer(s) Vince Lee
Artist(s) Ron Lussier
Aaron Muszalski
Composer(s) Michael Land
Peter McConnell
Platform(s) DOS, Sega CD, Macintosh, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
ReleaseNovember 25, 1993 [1]
Genre(s) Rail shooter (Interactive movie)
Mode(s) Single player

Star Wars: Rebel Assault is a rail shooter video game developed and published by LucasArts for DOS, Macintosh, Sega CD and 3DO Interactive Multiplayer systems, set in the Star Wars universe. Released in 1993, it is the first CD-ROM-only game to be published by LucasArts. [2] The game's story focuses on a young pilot called Rookie One as they are trained by, and subsequently fights for, the Rebel Alliance in the Galactic Civil War.

Contents

The game features digitized footage and music from the original movies (although most of the original footage is replaced by CGI rendered sequences), and full speech. Rebel Assault is one of the oldest titles to make use of extensive full-motion video (FMV) on the PC.[ citation needed ] The video was used to display pre-rendered 3D graphics that were far ahead of what a contemporary PC could render in real-time. Developers pre-rendered various environments and battles and the player flew through these environments.

Gameplay

The game consists of four mission types: three spaceflight types, and one on foot. The three spaceflight mission types are third person (levels 1, 3, 5, 7, and 11), overhead view (levels 1 and 13), and first person (levels 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 15). In all three types, the ship generally follows the same cursor which aims its gunfire. If the player moves the targeting cursor after firing, the shots that were already fired will follow the cursor. 9 of the 15 levels are first person, which has movement more restricted than in other modes. As such, enemy fire cannot be dodged in this mode; instead, the player must shoot the enemy within a set time frame in order to avoid taking damage, much like in a light gun game. Only level 9 falls into the on foot mission type. This level puts the player in a series of three stationary settings, though the player character can be maneuvered horizontally in order to avoid enemy fire. In a few stages, there are branching points, much like those in Panzer Dragoon II . Bonus points are awarded for accuracy and whether secondary objectives are accomplished.

In some cases, original footage was filmed for the game with actors, and a Star Destroyer model was digitized (a mini camera 'flew' around it) for a certain mission. Most of the graphics were prerendered in 3D.

Story

The game follows the adventures of a young pilot known only as Rookie One, a moisture farmer from Tatooine in the style of Luke Skywalker. The game largely takes place during the events of Episode IV: A New Hope ; however, the sequences on Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back are included.

The game begins with Rookie One's training, followed by an attack on the Star Destroyer Devastator, after its capture of the Tantive IV in the events of the film. The rebel squad then defends the Rebel base on Hoth from the attack shown in the Empire Strikes Back, and finally launches an assault on the Death Star, with the player taking the place of Luke Skywalker in destroying the battle station. Each of the 15 chapters features its own brief "alternate ending" clip which plays if the player runs out of lives and therefore fails the mission.

All of the original characters are replaced by new characters and voices, and in some cases, new situations. For example, Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon are replaced by Rebel Commander Jake Farrell in an A-wing who saves Rookie One just before he has to take the final shot on the Death Star.

The game was followed by Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire .

Version differences

The Sega CD version is missing Chapter 7 (Imperial Probe Droids) and skips straight to Chapter 8 (Imperial Walkers), renumbering all subsequent chapters accordingly. The Sega CD version's graphics are also considerably less sharp and detailed than those of the PC and 3DO versions, and it also lacks the possibility to play as a female Rookie One.

Reception and sales

Star Wars: Rebel Assault was a commercial hit. LucasArts shipped 110,000 units to retailers in the game's first day, [9] and global sales reached 400,000 units by mid-1994. [10] By summer 1994, this number rose to 500,000 units. [11] The game sold 1.5 million copies. [12]

Computer Gaming World in February 1994 said of the DOS version that "In some ways, Rebel Assault is a breathtaking game, yet it comes up a few light sabers short in some key areas". While praising the graphics as "the best yet delivered in a PC action game", the reviewer complained that the story "essentially replays several scenes from the movie" even though the plot "required a knowledge of the movies to make sense of it". Gameplay was "an odd mix of challenging and mindless levels", with enemies attacking in the same easily memorizable patterns. The magazine concluded that "Rebel Assault is a gorgeous, fast-paced shooter that is a lot of fun to play. The problem is, the fun is too short lived" and without replay value. [13] In April 1994 the magazine said that Rebel Assault "seems to have split gamers into two camps—those that absolutely love it, and those that absolutely don't", with some criticizing the "very limited and very repetitive" game play despite "incredible" graphics. The magazine concluded "Come to this one expecting a good show, but be sure your trigger finger knows what your eyes and ears are getting it into". [14]

GamePro gave the Sega CD version a negative review. Though they praised the music, they described the graphics as "grainy, soupy, and very pixelated" and said that the controls are poor enough to all but eliminate the fun factor in the game. [15] Electronic Gaming Monthly scored it a 5.75 out of 10, commenting that the music is excellent but that the graphics suffer from an extremely limited color palette, which even interferes with the gameplay, making it difficult to tell when the player's ship is going to crash into something. [16]

GamePro gave a somewhat more positive review of the 3DO version, praising the audio and the "awesome graphics", but again concluded that the controls all but completely ruin the game. They remarked that the directional movements are twitchy and that the need to push the cursor to the edge of the screen in order to maneuver the ship in first person is a major problem. [17] A reviewer for Next Generation likewise said that the graphics and music are impressive, and the port is overall "a very close conversion of the PC CD-ROM game", but that "The control is none too solid, and game play is rudimentary." He gave it two out of five stars. [6]

Next Generation's review of the Macintosh version remarked that the game's recreation of vehicles and scenarios from the Star Wars universe would make it very appealing to fans of the franchise, but that the on-rails gameplay would get old quickly for general gamers. The review also commented on the usual long delay between the release of the PC and Macintosh versions, and scored it two out of five stars. [7]

Rebel Assault was a runner-up for Computer Gaming World's Action Game of the Year award in June 1994, losing to Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame . The editors wrote that Rebel Assault "established a new record for CD-ROM game sales as well as a new model for action games based on film properties". [18]

MacUser named Rebel Assault one of the top 50 CD-ROMs of 1995. [8]

Entertainment Weekly gave the game a B and wrote that "You've got to hand it to the folks at LucasArts — they wring every drop of juice from a game platform, whether it's PC CD-ROM (where Rebel Assault has been a best-seller for the past eight months) or Sega CD (which is just releasing the same game). The trouble is, Sega CD doesn't have that much juice to begin with: Thanks to the system's slow disc access and limited color capabilities, this version of the Star Wars fighter ship never quite reaches light speed." [19]

Related Research Articles

<i>Descent</i> (video game) 1995 first-person shooter game

Descent is a first-person shooter (FPS) game developed by Parallax Software and released by Interplay Productions in 1995 for MS-DOS, and later for Macintosh, PlayStation, and RISC OS. It popularized a subgenre of FPS games employing six degrees of freedom and was the first FPS to feature entirely true-3D graphics. The player is cast as a mercenary hired to eliminate the threat of a mysterious extraterrestrial computer virus infecting off-world mining robots. In a series of mines throughout the Solar System, the protagonist pilots a spaceship and must locate and destroy the mine's power reactor and escape before being caught in the mine's self-destruction, defeating opposing robots along the way. Players can play online and compete in either deathmatches or cooperate to take on the robots.

<i>Star Wars: Dark Forces</i> 1995 video game

Star Wars: Dark Forces is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by LucasArts. It was released in 1995 for MS-DOS and Macintosh, and in 1996 for the PlayStation. The story is set in the fictional Star Wars expanded universe and begins shortly before the original Star Wars film, before flashing forward to a year after the film's events. The game's protagonist and playable character is Kyle Katarn, a mercenary working on behalf of the Rebel Alliance who discovers the Galactic Empire's secret Dark Trooper Project, which involves the development of a series of powerful new battle droids and power-armored stormtroopers.

<i>Flashback</i> (1992 video game) 1992 video game

Flashback, released as Flashback: The Quest for Identity in the United States, is a 1992 science fiction cinematic platform game developed by Delphine Software of France and published by U.S. Gold in the United States and Europe, and Sunsoft in Japan.

<i>Alone in the Dark 2</i> (video game) 1993 video game

Alone in the Dark 2 is a 1993 survival horror video game developed and published by Infogrames. It is the second installment in the Alone in the Dark series. It was ported to the PC-98 and FM Towns in 1994 and to the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer in 1995 under the same name, and to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1996 as Alone in the Dark: Jack is Back in Europe, and renamed as Alone in the Dark: One-Eyed Jack's Revenge in North America.

<i>Syndicate</i> (1993 video game) 1993 video game

Syndicate is an isometric real-time tactical and strategic game from Bullfrog Productions created in 1993, and released for a variety of platforms beginning with the PC and Commodore Amiga. It is the first title in the Syndicate series. Set in a dystopian future in which corporations have replaced governments, Syndicate puts the player in control of a corporation vying for global dominance.

<i>Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire</i> 1995 video game

Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire is a 1995 video game developed by LucasArts. It is the sequel to Star Wars: Rebel Assault, set in the Star Wars expanded universe. It is played as a rail shooter; the player proceeds down predetermined paths, but has the ability to control aiming, shooting, and dodging. The player character, Rookie One, pilots ships such as a YT-1300 Corellian Transport, a B-wing, and a Y-wing, and encounters new enemy ships, including TIE Interceptors. They uncover, and eventually disable production of, a new TIE variant known as the TIE Phantom, which has the ability to cloak.

<i>Star Wars: X-Wing</i> (video game) 1993 video game

Star Wars: X-Wing is a space simulation video game, the first of the X-Wing combat flight simulation games series. The player's character flies starfighters, including the X-wing, for the Rebel Alliance. The narrative precedes and parallels the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

<i>Crime Patrol</i> (video game) 1993 live-action video game

Crime Patrol is a live-action LaserDisc video game released by American Laser Games in 1993. American Laser Games released a sequel, Crime Patrol 2: Drug Wars later that year.

<i>Wing Commander</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Wing Commander is the first game in Chris Roberts' space flight simulation Wing Commander franchise by Origin Systems. The game was first released for MS-DOS on September 26, 1990 and was later ported to the Amiga, CD32 (256-color), Sega CD and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and re-released for the PC as Wing Commander I in 1994. An enhanced remake Super Wing Commander was made for the 3DO in 1994, and later ported to the Macintosh.

<i>MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat</i> 1995 video game

MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat is a vehicle simulation game developed and published by Activision, released in 1995 as part of the MechWarrior series of video games in the BattleTech franchise. The game is set in 3057, and is played as a tactical simulation that incorporates aspects of real-time first-person combat and the physical simulation of the player's mech. It is a game recreation of the "Refusal War." The player can join one of the clans, Clan Jade Falcon or Clan Wolf while engaging in up to 32 missions.

<i>Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger</i> 1994 video game

Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger is the third main game in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulation video game series, developed and released by Origin Systems in December 1994. It was a departure from previous games in the series in that it uses extensive live action full-motion video to add an interactive movie-style presentation to the space combat gameplay, emphasized by its advertising slogan, "Don't watch the game, play the movie!". The game's more than two hours of video featured a number of prominent movie stars including Mark Hamill as Colonel Christopher "Maverick" Blair, Malcolm McDowell as Admiral Tolwyn, John Rhys-Davies as James "Paladin" Taggart and Thrakhath nar Kiranka, and Tom Wilson as Todd "Maniac" Marshall.

<i>Iron Helix</i> 1993 video game

Iron Helix is a FMV adventure video game made for Windows, Macintosh, and the Sega CD. It was an early example of a CD-based game, including video elements integrated with conventional 2D maps and controls. The game was designed by Drew Pictures and distributed by Spectrum HoloByte, with Peter Stone of Xorcist creating the soundtrack as well as all sound design.

<i>The Need for Speed</i> 1994 video game

The Need for Speed is a street racing game developed by EA Canada, originally known as Pioneer Productions, and published by Electronic Arts for 3DO in 1994. It allows driving eight licensed sports cars in three point-to-point tracks either with or without a computer opponent. Checkpoints, traffic vehicles, and police pursuits appear in the races.

<i>Creature Shock</i> 1994 video game

Creature Shock is a 1994 sci-fi first-person crawler game released for MS-DOS and 3DO. It was developed by Argonaut Games and published by Virgin Interactive. The game was later ported to the CD-i, Sega Saturn and PlayStation video game systems.

<i>Star Fighter</i> (video game) 1994 video game

Star Fighter or Star Fighter 3000 is a 3D flight-based shoot-em-up developed and published by UK company Fendet Software, and released in 1994 for the Acorn Archimedes. The gameplay is mission based and involves elements of strategy and planning. The player can order wingmen to fly in formation and attack specific targets.

<i>Star Wars: TIE Fighter</i> 1994 video game

Star Wars: TIE Fighter is a 1994 Star Wars space flight simulator and space combat video game, a sequel in the Star Wars: X-Wing series. It places the player in the role of an Imperial starfighter pilot during events that occur between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

<i>Shockwave Assault</i> 1994 video game

Shockwave Assault is a science fiction combat flight simulation video game developed by Advanced Technology Group and published by Electronic Arts for various home video game consoles and PCs. The player takes control of a futuristic fighter plane to defeat extraterrestrial ships and tripods.

Star Wars: X-Wing is a series of space flight simulator video games based in the Star Wars media franchise that attempts to simulate the fictional experience of starfighter combat, while remaining faithful to the movies. The player took the role of a pilot of the Rebel Alliance, and, in later games, the Galactic Empire. To complete the games, players must complete missions such as simple dogfights with opposition starfighters, reconnaissance and inspection tasks, escort duty for freighters or capital ships, or attacks on larger opposition ships. In addition to dogfighting designed to resemble the free-wheeling duels of World War I, the games also offered the challenge of managing power resources and wingmen, and using weapons effectively.

<i>Robinsons Requiem</i> 1994 video game

Robinson's Requiem is a 1994 survival simulation video game developed and originally published by Silmarils exclusively in Europe for the Atari ST, Atari Falcon and Amiga. Taking place in the 22nd century where Earth and colonized planets are facing overpopulation, the game sees players assuming the role of Robinson officer Trepliev 1 from the Alien World Exploration department in his attempt to escape imprisonment from the fictional planet of Zarathustra alongside another AWE Robinson named Nina1, while facing several hostile creatures and dangers in order to survive.

<i>Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine</i> 1994 video game

Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine is a video game developed and published by Rocket Science Games for the Sega CD in 1994 and MS-DOS compatible operating systems in 1995.

References

  1. "Just Arrived!". The StarPhoenix . November 25, 1993. p. 24. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  2. Michaud, Collette; Muszalski, Aaron (Winter 1994). "3D Will Change the Way You See Games". The Adventurer . No. 7. LucasArts. pp. 8–9.
  3. "Star Wars: Rebel Assault (Sega CD) Review". Archived from the original on 16 November 2014.
  4. "Rebel Assault". Edge . No. 5. February 1994. pp. 64–65.
  5. Schoffel, Julian (February 1994). "Rebel Assault". Hyper . No. 3. pp. 64–65. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Rebel Assault". Next Generation . Imagine Media (3): 89. March 1995.
  7. 1 2 "Star Wars Rebel Assault". Next Generation . Imagine Media (12): 195. December 1995.
  8. 1 2 Echler, Nikki; Olson, Rebecca (October 1995). "Top Spins: 50 New CD-ROMs". MacUser . Archived from the original on July 26, 2001.
  9. Smith, Rob (November 26, 2008). Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts . Chronicle Books. p. 78. ISBN   978-0-8118-6184-7.
  10. Cooper, James Paul (June 1994). "Target Your Game: Computer vs. Console" (PDF). Game Developer (2): 15.
  11. Anderson, Diane (December 1994). "MTV Meets CD-ROM!" (PDF). Game Developer (4): 40.
  12. "Star Wars". January 1, 2000. Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  13. Schuytema, Paul C. (February 1994). "Beggar's Canyon, Anyone". Computer Gaming World. pp. 178, 180.
  14. "Invasion Of The Data Stashers". Computer Gaming World. April 1994. pp. 20–42.
  15. "Rebel Assault". GamePro . No. 58. IDG. May 1994. p. 36.
  16. "Review Crew: Rebel Assault". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 60. Ziff Davis. July 1994. p. 38.
  17. "ProReview: Rebel Assault". GamePro . No. 68. IDG. March 1995. p. 96.
  18. "Announcing The New Premier Awards". Computer Gaming World. June 1994. pp. 51–58.
  19. Strauss, Bob (July 15, 1994). "Rebel Assault". Entertainment Weekly.