Shadows of the Empire

Copyright: KBkids.com

Shadows of the Empire is a new PC version of a Nintendo 64 game from Lucas Arts. The Nintendo 64 version has been highly successful, and one would expect the move to PC to be a good one. Testers, however, found the original Nintendo 64 version more enjoyable, less hassle and better graphically than the PC version.

Dash Rendar is a mercenary for the Rebel Alliance. His job is to protect Luke, Leia and other important Rebellion Officials. He also spends much of his time scooting through the universe shooting bad guys from the Empire. In this game, you become Dash Rendar. You will progress from world to world shooting down enemies from the sky, the ground, and from other flying apparatus. Levels become progressively harder, starting with Battle at Hoth (that frozen snowy planet you saw in the movie), through asteroid fields, junkyards and space ports. Gall Space Port and Sewers of the Imperial City are among the most enjoyable levels. Once you have successfully completed a level, killed all the Empire enemies and met your assigned objectives for that level, you can access the next level, and return to older levels for fun.

This is basically a game where you will fly, or run, around and shoot at things. No gore, but a lot of shooting. This is a wonderful game and a lot of fun as far as the game play is concerned. The problem testers found was the very specific system requirements needed to make this game work. A joystick is not required for this program, but recommended. On the box you will be told that you need a 3D Graphics Accelerator. Many newer computers come with 3D graphics cards. That is not an unreasonable requirement at this point. What you will discover later, however, is that some cards work and others don't. Some cards listed as working will work only under certain circumstances, and with certain changes made to your settings. Testers were disappointed to discover that their expensive 3D card was not one which worked well. Not too fear, a note leads you to their web site where you can download patches which may make your system work. From the looks of the tech support board, there are a lot of compatibility problems with this program, both with graphics cards and joysticks. Even after downloading the patch, your system may not run the program correctly and may need additional tweaking in order to run right. The program will still run, but the graphics will not be very good. When you are hit, the smoke emanating from your tailpipe becomes a black rectangle which blocks your view. The program is useable like this, but not as enjoyable.

This is a great game, and one which your Star Wars freaks will thoroughly enjoy. You will just need to make sure that your system matches the requirements exactly. It is worth a trip to the Lucas Arts web site at http://www.lucasarts.com to take a look before purchasing this program. If you see no conflicts, you will find an enjoyable game. If you see some items which are not quite a perfect match, you are better off purchasing the Nintendo 64 version instead.

Bottom Line: A wonderful program, but a lot of hassle and extremely demanding when it comes to system requirements. Proceed with caution before purchasing this one.

Ratings: (based on KBkids.com's 4 star rating system)

Overall: 2 1/2

BrainGain: 1 1/2

FunFactor: 3 1/2

EasePlease: 1 1/2

Buy Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire at Amazon!

If this item remains out of stock at Amazon, you can find one as long as they last at CDaccess.com http://www.cdaccess.com/html/quick/005489.htm