You gotta play this and you gotta play it with a joystick. This game slays. I got it running through Crossover some time ago because it didn’t run well on newer versions of Windows - so many hoops, so worth it. Now we can play it properly. This game is tough. Those delicious upgrades you bought for speed and acceleration? Well, say goodbye to how good those are if you’ve crashed 5 times in the last race. Buy loads of pit droids as they’ll repair damage incurred. You might start this and think it’s easy. Oh, just a few corners, give Sebulba the finger, shout “Cho skrunee dopat, sleemo” when you cross the line, and the announcer booms that you’ve set a new lap record. Oh, you poor, poor soul. Just wait till it steps up. These tracks get monsterous. That one on that strange cloud track where there are loads of different heights, and if you fall off the top one you’re practically immediately in 8th place? Yeah you’ll be cursing. You’ll wish you used that air brake. And you’ll wish you took it easy on the last lap. This is glorious. All your favourite racers from Episode I, who you see fleetingly and whose backstories aren’t explored at all. There’s Dug Something. Ben Quadengines. Eevee Eeveecott, who probably evolves when you give him a stone. This is tough. This is fun. This is podracing.
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).
