E3's doors opened and the Death Star immediately found itself under attack by the Rebel Alliance. This is Red Five, I'm going in!
You've all seen the screen shots. Let me tell you that the game looks even more impressive in action. A quick glance shows you a level filled with Imperials with more detail than the Sega arcade game...though Rogue is completely free roaming and is really in a whole different league.
The lighting effects were very nice and especially noticable with all the enemy fire going on. The play control was as smooth as the N64 version and the analog L and R buttons are great for braking and accelerating (though with the X-Wing I had some learning to do, as clicking the button all the way down closes the S-foils, leaving me unable to shoot).
Also noteworthy is the targeting scanner that you can bring up. An orange overlay (just like you'd expect from a real X-Wing) moves into view over the action. Targets are all identified with this view (allowing you to see exactly how many Imperials there are). Critical target are highlighted in yellow and lesser targets were a purplish color.
The sound is simply stunning. If you go into the curtained screening room, you can hear the Williams soundtrack in all its glory. Surround sound is in full effect and it really sounds like you're inside the cockpit with Ties and Laser Towers going from left to right, front to back.
The only criticisms I have are that some of the edges on the canopy seemed jaggy, and I also hope they work on the thrust effects on the ships. Of course, these are minor complaints as the whole package is sweet and should make any fan of Star Wars and videogames run out to pre-order a GameCube a.s.a.p.