Star Wars™: Rebel Assault 1 + 2

What I always wanted in a Star Wars game - and on Gog.com. I was never a great fan of the X-Wing series, but that makes me no less a Star Wars maniac. I always fancied the idea of fighting Stormtroopers on foot, flying the Millennium Falcon, and riding a speederbike through Endor. You can do ALL of these in this game Rebel Assault II ! And more, of course. And the cutscenes were great too - featuring of course FMV, and not the previous computer graphic cutscenes of the Star Wars games before these. Okay so the speederbike level was utterly infuriating and had me pounding on the desk a lot, and the music made you even MORE tense than you were already. But it's overall a brilliant experience and I can't wait to play through it again. That was mostly about Rebel Assault II. Unfortunately I bought the original Rebel Assault some years after I'd bought that and was more than a little disappointed - there are BIG leaps in how smooth everything looks in the latter of these 2 games. But overall, even though a few of the levels do rely on the very limited 'AI' of the time involving FMV Stormtroopers popping out at set times from set places, it's a brilliant way to pass the time until they release the "Complete" edition of the new Battlefront game due this year.

I remember RA2 came on 2 CDs (I still have the original box/CDs!) and I've failed to get it working on a number of occasions. Firstly, thank you GOG.com for keeping this classic alive, and for enabling a simple medium to replay this staple of my childhood gaming. Anyway, to the review: I'd definitely avoid playing Rebel Assault 1. The controls are pretty dreadful and it's a really, really frustrating experience. Rebel Assault 2, however, is considerably better. The great thing about it was it utilised a lot of video animation while the level is going on. For instance, you'd be flying in an asteroid field, and you'd have asteroids floating around everywhere in the background. Sure, you didn't interact with many of them, but it really gave this game a depth of vision and immersion that was sensational for 1995. I still think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Also, the video cuts between each level are so cool. They are fully shot/acted, so you really feel like you're watching a Star Wars story unfold (from the Rebels' perspective). Plus there's so much to do here: you have levels which are FPSs, a speeder bike level, 3rd person shooter levels, and so much more. The controls are still going to be a little clunky, however joystick support is surprisingly smooth. Mouse control is very uncontrolled and keyboard support is just too slow to properly navigate some of the levels. One thing I'd put my salt on; if you give Rebel Assault 2 a playthrough and a decent chance - be patient and remember it's a 20-year-old game - I really think you'll have a rewarding experience. The storyline and videos alone will put a smile on your face, and this really does hold a great nostalgia value that most can appreciate (even if you never played the game).

GOG should consider adding the 3DO version of Rebel Assault to this package. Unlike the Sega CD release, the 3DO version features graphics comparable to the included MS-DOS version, but with vastly improved controls. This isn't an exaggeration—the 3DO version is genuinely playable, with responsive input that eliminates the frustration many remember from the PC release. The MS-DOS version suffers from overly sensitive controls that make it nearly unplayable. If GOG wants to offer the best experience, including the 3DO version would be a great step.

This is one of very few Star Wars games I never played so when it was on sale I decided to try it. It came as Rebel Assault I and II. This is mainly about Rebel Assault 1: This game did not age well. To my surprise, I was able to get my joystick to work with little effort, but the graphics are so bad that I could barely make out what I was doing. Also, while my joystick did work, it was mildly quirky making the beginning canyon run a lot more challenging. I just could not get past the target practice mission though. It is too unstable and I was running it at 15FPS and 10FPS, but it made no difference. As for Rebel Assault 2 - this shows more promise as I was not only able to make the joystick work with no effort, but got through the first mission no problem. Not mad that RA 1 doesn't work, the sale price was worth it to just have RA 2

I bought this game, having played Rebel Assault 2 on the PS1. What I didn't know was the differences between this game, and the PS1 edition. To start, the Playstation 1 edition had a small text bubble stating "custom Playstation edition". I thought it was just a buzzword until I finally played this. The PS1 version actually has polygonal models for the playable and enemy fighters. However, while PS1 version does look prettier, the controls are terrible. The game does not lend itself well to a gamepad. With a mouse, it is INSANELY easier to control, and makes the game semi-decent. The acting, at the very least, is somewhat better than the prequel trilogy, if that counts for anything. The overall graphics have not aged well, and the resolution of game is locked at 640x400 (which is not surprising) . I would not recommend purchasing this game unless you have some sort of predisposition and/or nostalgia. For the sake of nostalgia though, this game is somewhat worth the money. Rebel Assault 1 looks terrible, and the controls are also awful. Play at your own risk.