Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike (Game Cube, 2003)

The lack of Star Wars titles on Nintendo's Gamecube is rather disappointing, but the Rogue Squadron series has found an exclusive home on the 'Cube for its second and third chapters, and they blow all others away. Rebel Strike focuses around the adventures of two characters (Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles). The new land-bound missions are a nice way to break up the sometimes-similar flying ventures, but the controls are noticeably lacking. In general though, this system is passable. Flying in this game is very similar to Rogue Leader (the second instalment in the series), which is to say EXCELLENT. It is in this area that the Rebel Strike really shines. Multiplayer has finally been added to the series, and it fits very well. Whether playing cooperatively through the ENTIRE set of missions from Rogue Leader, or against one another in intense dogfights, you'll never notice the hours passing. It's certainly a pick-up-and-play type of game, for the story mode isn't very in-depth. I often find myself coming back to this game months after I thought I was finally finished with it, and playing it all over again. It's just that good.