There haven't been many killer games so far for PS2 but Starfighter is a good start. The obvious things to note are of course the stunning graphics and musical score. The game makes use of John Williams' Episode I pieces as well as a few older ones. The music for each level fits the mission and does a great job really getting you into the action. As far as visuals go well screen shots don't do this game justice. It looks absolutely fantastic in motion. Even if the framerate drops a few times and gets a little choppy it's barely noticeable. Not to mention the infamous 'jags' problem is nowhere in sight either.
The control takes some getting used to but after awhile it becomes second nature. The zoom-in targeting feature is a real plus but a map or a radar of some kind might have been nice. The missions themselves offer a nice variety and the difficulty level is adjustable. The best part about the missions is replaying them in order to earn medals and unlock all the great bonus missions they tossed in (including a two-player mode).
All in all, Lucasarts has delivered a great game that's a real turnaround from their last few Star Wars games. If you like SW or flight-combat or maybe just want a game that makes you happy you bought a PS2 then you can't go wrong with Starfighter.

Rating: 3 [ Great Game, But Some Flaws ]

The graphics are pretty grand (in places), and I must say that I really adore the flight control on the main three ships (a combination of older Star Wars flying controls and the simpler Star Fox flying method). The on-board info (targeting system, shield indicator, etc) takes a bit to get used to, but gets intuitive real fast.
The fallbacks are not in actual gameplay, but in the fact that I've managed to lock up the game three times (on two different copies). Twice on the initual bomber stage, and once in the one with the sattelites and the planetary cannon. I also absolutely ABHOR the game boundaries. Flying into an invisible wall will shake and bounce your fighter all over the place (like you've run into a rock ledge, rather than you've hit the boundary of the level). Other than the lockups and the poor implementation of boundaries though, it's a great game (something to play on the PS2 besides SSX, and Oni... FINALLY).
If you're buying it strictly with a graphical orgy in mind, you're going to be disappointed in a lot of places, but if you're buying it for a high-paced flying game and pulling some amazing feats of dogfighting, you're in luck!!

Rating: 5 [ A polished review, for a polished game this will help! ]

Can you spell best Star Wars game ever? S-T-A-R-F-I-G-H-T-E-R! When I say best, I'm saying that you should take a look at all the star wars game failures. This game game is truly a redeemer for all the wanna bes in the past. It's not exactly X-wing VS TIE, but it gets the job done. This game has serious style and all-out fun. Starfighter really demonstrates what that confusiong "stuff" inside the Playstation 2 can do.
Level one, you smoothly load yourself into the cockpit of that gorgeous yellow ship. Essara guides you through your training down a narrow conyon. She soon tells you to fire. You press a button, wow! Did I really do that? Yep, the game is that smooth. Right after that you go into space for the real thing with bravo flight. From then on it's eplosions and dogfights galore.
The story doen't exactly pull you in, but that's what the awesome dogfights are for. You start off as Rhys, then someone destroys your ship and your friend. Soon you find yourself poking around as Vana. Nym imprisons her and you fly around as him a bit. Then your find yourself as one of the three ships rescuing or assaulting. That is until the usual fourteenth level called The Final Assault. Here's where you usually fight a boss and see a big ''splosion'' at the end, only the "splosion", isn't that great.
The graphics are great, they suit the game because if they were any better, then the game would have a low frame rate constatntly. Not to mention there are little sputters of choppy game in the loaded with action levels. While on the subject, a dissappointing thing for ps2 owners is that Starfighter will be coming out with enhanced graphics for Xbox. As for the soundtrack, well it' not too noticeable, but it's adequate. Nothing out of the ordinary for a Star Wars game. The same goes for the sound effects, mediocre.
This game is polished, very well polished. Though it seems as though the maker's batteries were running a bit low at the end, hence the small-scale "splosion". So why get this game? My reason is because it's not a sport game. Your's can be that it's fun, a reason as simple as the game. Anyone who rated this game less than 4 stars is either complaining on graphics, or controls. ... ... ...

Star Wars Starfighter (CD-ROM)

Star Wars Starfighter

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