STAR WARS™ Shadows of the Empire™

The game itself is still really fun, but the controls feel totally awful (Mouse/Keyboard and XBox 360-Controller). It's very imprecise, makes you think you're walking on an icy surface or something like that. I just played the 5th mission (Gall Spaceport) and permanently slipped into the abyss. Apart from that the game is still fun to play.

This game could've stand against the test of time of it weren't for the outdated controls. It's obviously not suitable for a modern control scheme. Moving the mouse forward or backwards moves the character and it can't be turned off. Not to mention that vertical aiming is only possible while pressing an additional button, and it keeps you stationary, leaving you open for attack. Good thing the game has some auto-aim. All these are usually just annoyances, but they can occasionally lead you to death. The game is also surprisingly shorter than I remember. You can play through the entire game in three hours. The game does provide a good variety in gameplay, giving you Rogue Sqaudronesque arcade flight, third person shooter gameplay and the occasional turret section. It feels like a complete experience of the best that Star Wars has to offer. All in all, a great piece of nostalgia if you played it back in the day, but I doubt those who didn't will find much value in Shadows of the Empire.

Is this game perfect? nope. Are the controls tight? nope. Are there flaws in it? yep. Has it aged well? that's debatable. If you've got time to kill and you want to mess around with an early story-based third-person shooter, then this might be the game for you. The gameplay is varied, as it adds snowspeeder, spederbike, and space shooter levels, all of which are pretty simplified. If you take this game for what it is in 2022 (an old game that's now a budget title) you can enjoy it. If you're expecting like The Force Unleashed then you should look elsewhere.

I have fond memories of playing this game as a kid on my Nintendo 64, so it was a no-brainer to get this PC version the moment it went on sale at GOG. Unfortunately Shadows of the Empire has aged terribly in terms of gameplay. The controls in the on-foot levels are terribly outdated and frustrating. Your character turns slowly, making it tough to move around and react to surprise enemies before taking damage. The gun aiming is slightly assisted but will consistently let you down - especially when the enemy is slightly above or below eye-level. You cannot aim manually and strafe at the same time, so you'll get blown to pieces standing still while you try to point towards your attacker (whom can always aim straight at you without any problems). And good luck running and jumping around cliff edges with the floaty Moon physics in this game. You will suffer plenty of senseless deaths as you slide off ledges like they are covered in grease. The longest level in the game, Gall Spaceport, is an absolute nightmare to navigate without hovering off ledges to your doom simply because you stepped downwards at a slight angle while getting shot at. And if you try to jump from train to train in the junkyard during a slight turn in the tracks you get to watch your character glide in slow motion towards to pool of death below. Only buy Shadows of the Empire for the nostalgia trip, the soundtrack, and the PC-exclusive 3D cutscenes. Chances are the gameplay will sour your loving memories of this one before long.

Cautious Recommendation After renting this game once or twice decades ago for the Nintendo 64, I only retained vague memories of the opening Hoth level and vivid, terrifying memories of the final boss in the sewer level. The title built up a kind of mystique in my mind over the years. Playing to revisit those memories, Shadows of the Empire more than fulfilled it's purpose. Its age is immediately apparent making it tough to recommend for the average gamer, but those interested will find a cool little time capsule of star wars gaming history. The shooter controls are quite awkward, but the game is designed well enough with these controls in mind that adjusting is an initial challenge to overcome rather than a constant annoyance. The worst is the vertical aiming, which requires a button hold and isn't nearly responsive enough, but apart from the AT-ST battle in the first level it's not too essential to do this in any timely manner. Ord Mantell's train setpiece was a standout for me. It matched the game's controls surprisingly well and I found myself recalling Uncharted 2's classic train level. Obviously that is much more advanced, but similar thrills can be found here. Sometimes the rough edges of 90s game design makes it more exciting. Echo Base and Gall Spaceport are easy choices to round out the top three levels. Of interest here is the early 3D level design. Environments are weird abstractions of Star Wars complete with some nonsensical routes and hallways jetting off at oblique angles. Cool stuff, and the more open levels still do a solid job of creating a sense of place. Vehicle missions are a mixed bag. The hoth opening is quite great and I dare say that harpooning AT-ATs feels just as good as it did in Pandemic's Battlefront games. The Tatooine speeder chase is a bit of a mess, with sections of the level being blatantly repeated. A turret section near the end is obviously designed to eat up lives, so grab extra lives and challenge points wherever you can.