STAR WARS™ Shadows of the Empire™

Shadows of the Empire is a classic. This game doesn;t control the best. HELL. It doesn't look that goods either however it tells a heck of a story plus this version has the rendered FMV's that got cut in the N64 version so thats a nice touch. All of the levels have a little gimmick and the weapon selection is nice as it the freakin JET PACK even if it's somewhat of a pain to control. I do recommend for the avg Star Wars fan

I was really excited when I saw this game come to GOG, as I had played the bejesus out of it on N64 as a kid. Coming back to it on PC, I was happy to see it in 60fps and with PC controls; except the PC controls are terrible. Somehow, it's not possible to rebind movement from the mouse (which is also shared by WASD - no problems there) which leads to some often unfortunate platforming. Overall, it's a nice addition to my collection, but I feel like the N64 gamepad was a better way to play. That doesn't mean the game itself has aged poorly, which is so far still quite fun and enjoyable.

Alright, let me get this out of the way first. The controls. Yes, the controls on this thing are crazy weird getting used to, especially if you have never played this game before on the original N64. But make no mistake, this is no Fortnite, this kind of game was never meant to be an easy experience to endure. The contollers were never easy getting used to begin with. I can remember the ridiculous amount of times I had to go through levels like Gall Spaceport or Ord Mantell Junyard where you have to keep your motor skills sharp just to avoid tipping all over the place. And now, this kinda sounds so stupid. So how come, can anybody on earth enjoy a gameplay like that? Well folks, the answer is simple. In the past, the N64 version was just so castastrophic because you could hardly make out the enemies on the way, the rendering and fog was no good, resolution was terrible especially when playing on a little screen. But this time, this has all changed. You get the nice HD graphics, proper fog effect, the enemies can be seen at a distance. And the music is beautifully clear and just keeps you going. So yes, this is the same messy gameplay you all know from the N64 version except its better, with the music, the graphics, the effects. A classic, just like the good old days. 4/5 stars because come on, why would you not develop proper rendering on the menus for 1980x1080? At least give us the option to bring back the static cinematics. And the Main Menu music, no reason at all to take that one away.

The foundation of this game is heavily flawed: the movements. So much depend on it and many failures will root on, that your PC simply behaved in an unexpected way. The first level is flying and probably the best one. Bringing down an AT-AT with a rope is satisfying and not easy to do, making it very satisfying. Starting with Level 2 you control a human with which the problem starts; but the second level itself is just a corridorshooter with a few bulletsponges and not many chances the controls to reveal their true nature. Only your accidental movement or slow down may be annoying, as moving the mouse up and down duplicates the functionality of the W/S-keys. Moving the mouse sideways is used for aiming and as long as you do it correctly your movement won't be affected. Level 3 is a short turretsection, which became a bit annoying because of the repeated sounds of me spamming around. Level 4 is the first chance to abort the game: a platformer on a moving train with obstacles (to duck or jump over). Newton's law does not apply here, meaning the PC is not having the train's momentum as soon as he is in the air. Imagine a platformer where the ground just moves around. This level ends with a bossfight and reaching it has cost most of the available attempts, that are granted per level. Level 5 is like level 3, but this time not in save corridors, where you can not fall off, but in a canyon. I noticed several times, how my character suddenly slips in a direction as if he were on ice, leading to his death. This is were I paused the game. Also sometimes the HUD is not visible, which displays HP and the currently selected ammo, but that may be related me using Voodoo.

returned when i saw this little message on gog: "star wars, sote on gog". i was like "WHUUUUUUUUUUT?" because i thought sote was n64 exclusive, i never heared of a pc-port. i considered this to be a cruel joke, until i bought, downloaded and installed the game. and voila, i am the 13 year old kid again flying the snowspeeder on hoth hunting spy-drones, at-st`s and at-at`s, or running through the second lvl murdering storm troopers en mass. and everything with higher resolution (which doesnt make the game look better) and 60 frames per second. ow, and there are animated cutscenes, something that was impossible on the n64. realy cool stuff indead. however, playing this game with a xbox 360 controler is something i cant recommend.