Star Wars Shadows Of The Empire is yet another example of my fondness of expanding the Star Wars universe into interactive video game form. I am particularly fond of this title as it released near the very launch of the N64, was very ambitious for its time, and turned out to be great fun. Lucas Arts would develop better looking and controlling games in the N64s future , however this game was amazing for a launch title on a brand new 3D system.What made Shadows Of The Empire great was that it incorporated a multitude of game play types into one fun experience. Do you like 3rd person shooting, racing, jet packing, platforming, 1st person shooting, space ship combat, boss fights and more? This game had it all. Hell , you even fight the legendary Boba Fett in this title, what more could you ask for? All this ,of course, taking place in that new “full polygonal, textured 3D “, thanks to the cool new N64. The classic Star Wars sounds & soundtrack were also very well done for a launch title and really helped with the over all experience. Another interesting thing about this game is the story took place in between the start of The Empire Strikes Back & Return Of The Jedi allowing us to encounter both classic locations and characters while discovering all new ones as well. While navigating fast moving snow speeders across the frozen terrain of Hoth and taking down Imperial Walkers may be overdone at this point in video game history, believe me, it was amazing doing it for the first time ever in 3D . Looking back at some of the blurry, repetitive textures and minor control issues , a part of me wishes this title came out near the end of the N64 life cycle. This game would have greatly benefited with the much larger cartridge sizes, RAM expansion pack, rumble pack support, and the over all experience developers gained while discovering the world of 3D gaming on the N64. That said, its was a great, ambitious title set in a cool time in the Star Wars universe with great diversity of game play.

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