Especially when you consider that while the experience of flying spacecraft of one class (whether in terms of handling, offensive capabilities, speed or the ability to absorb damage) differs sufficiently from that of the next, there are dissimilarities between the Republic and Imperial vessels of the same class.įor instance, in the Fighter class, I found the Republic's X-Wing to be a little more agile than the Imperial TIE Fighter, while the latter's weaponry seemed more powerful than that of the former.
Being able to zoom, stalk, prowl or drift across the galaxy in eight different starfighters is a mouth-watering prospect in itself. You get to fly eight starfighters in total: Two of each class - Fighter, Interceptor, Bomber or Supply - and one apiece from each alliance.
Squadrons is a Star Wars space flight/combat simulator that puts you in the cockpits of starfighters belonging to the Galactic Empire and the New Republic. And that problem is that while gameplay mechanics lend themselves to what is inarguably a rollicking good time, it all gets very old very quickly.īut we'll get to all that in good time. The biggest problem, ultimately, with Star Wars Episode I: Racer was the same one that presently afflicts Star Wars: Squadrons that made its hyperspace jump onto PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 2 October. And for a while, it was an incredibly exciting game that kept you coming back for more.
If that wasn't all, the game was an absolute blast when played with a friend ( or enemy too, I suppose) in split-screen multiplayer mode. To my 15-year-old self, the podrace had been one of the most thrilling parts of what I felt back then was a pretty entertaining enough film (the present-day me could not sit through it long enough to get beyond Qui-Gon Jinn's explanation about Midi-chlorians) and the game most certainly did it justice.įrom perfectly replicating the acrid dusty environs of the Boonta Training Course on Mos Espa and capturing that oddly satisfying ' wug-wug-wug' sound of a podracer as it makes a sharp turn, to featuring the ultimate Sebulba fanboy, that lovable scamp Watto, who even takes the time to hum Mad About Me (more popularly known as 'The Cantina Band Song') to himself, Racer seemed to have it all. Star Wars Episode I: Racer on the Nintendo 64 was the first Star Wars game I ever played - at around the turn of the millennium.