I just finished playing this game for an upcoming Let's Play on my YouTube Channel. I selected it largely because I'm a huge Star Wars fan, and it is a game that is really ment to play with a controller and I had recently purchased one.

Star Wars Starfighter is a simple arcade flight shooter game. Most of the levels are as simple as fly here and shoot the enemies, with bonus objectives of various difficulties.

Pros:
-Star Wars
-N-1 Starfighter
-Nym
-A decent storyline about a royal naboo pilot, teaming up with a scavenger and a mercenary. Also the invasion of Naboo.

Cons:
-Some objectives not clear
-Steep difficulty curve on the final level

Other thoughts:
-Graphics are dated and should be expected
-You have to remap the controls for a Xbox 360 controller. Some of the controls you end up with are still odd.

Are you looking for an arcade-y space combat game? Then yes, play this. In a world where space combat sims grew on trees, I might say this game was too mediocre to recommend, but in a world where this genre has been in hibernation for a decade, and Rogue Squadron doesn't work on any computer newer than Windows 98, it's hard to pass this one up.

You get to fly three different ships. One is a bomber, in which you'll do a lot of airstrikes and ground based targets. One is a dogfighting specialist, with totally awesome and totally OP homings lasers. The last is the N-1 as seen in Episode 1, a powerful all around fighter.

Mechanically, the game is solid, with one exception: the ridiculous camera shake whenever you get hit by anything. Which makes it almost impossible to react meaningfully if you're ever under attack, so you usually take several more hits as a consequence.

The game's biggest issues come from level design, though. Some missions are straightforward and fun. However sometimes the difficulty ramps up for what usually feels like ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ reasons, in most cases an over-abundance of tanks or turrets that are way too accurate, do way too much damage, and make your camera shake like a maraca. And then there are friendlies you have to escort that have no interest in their own survival. There's one mission towards the end that starts out positively frantic, then you spend the rest of the mission boredly waiting for NPCs slowly move down a path. Basically, the mission design is totally inconsistent in terms of fun and the difficulty curve is whack, which is a shame because you end up spending more time retrying the frustrating bits than you do enjoying the fun parts.

The story is shoddy, but serviceable. It's not well developed, and the dialog is lacking, but you can tell what they were going for, and it doesn't get in the way. Some parts rely on the movie to fill in what would be huge gaps. And yes, the plot is focused largely on the invasion of Naboo, so if you can't handle the stink of Episode 1, then don't bother, but that really shouldn't be the reason to avoid this game.

There are also some unlockable bonus missions, and mission medals to earn if you want more from the game. It's just the right amount of extras, IMO.

The graphics show their age, but there's nothing to complain about.

Like most games in this genre, you really want a joystick, but a console controller will do. Mouse and keyboard will NOT. Note: You can't rebind keys or change other options from in the game, but you can do it from the Windows game launcher that opens before the actual game starts up. Which is kind of annoying.

This review probably sounds pretty negative, but overall the game is fun. There's just not much to say about it aside from the complaints. You fly a spaceship and blow up other spaceships, what more do you want?

Each level is so difficult its like parcouring without arms, dehygerated, dying of starvation, depression, fatigue, all while having a heart attack, and trying to finish a buffet. The last level is so horrendously hard because there are dang missle launchers everywheres in the last level along with a boss who wont die, you need full health till the very end, hundreds of enemies shooting you half way through the level. and then it has a time limit plus you have 10 limited missles that do a lot of damage to the boss that miss extremely easly. Oh and his missles go through your sheilds but yours dont go through his. By the way, this is only on easy.
Screw this game!
I rage quit life!
10/10

It was a great and fun game, really... until 11th mission which is unbelievably hard and stupid.
I recommend a controler if you really want to play this game.

It's not the best Star Wars title out there, but it is one that hits me at heart. I use to play this on the PS2 when I was younger, and it was the FIRST PS2 game I ever owned. Nostalgia hit me hard when I saw Steam had this and had no choice but to by and play. I don't regret it. It's a game I have had a lot of fin playing, and the only thing that could make it better is if Jedi Starfighter became available.

Basic concept of the game you play in three different ships running through various missions during the timeline of just before and during Episode I: The Pahntom Menace. You can win fairly easily, combat is okay but ONLY if you have a controller or joystick. It's difficult to manuever your hand as the game asks you to, since rolling left and right to keep yourself straight is the E and Q keys. Either have something on standby, or change the config before you tear your hair out trying to play the game.

I'd rank the game on a personal level of a 6 or 7. It's fun if you don't mind spending the money, just don't expect endless hours of replay value, maybe just a small handful. Still a decent game in my opinion for fans of flight simulators and or Star Wars.

Its fun. But not really a game you would play for a long period of time.

I remember playing this on PS2 years and years back xD


6/10

This game is...Well, decent. But that's all I can really say about it.


It's ridiculously short, and it's hard to play without a joystick....Well, I have a joystick, but this should be SOMEWHAT playable with a keyboard and mouse.

The game is essentially about the exploits of Naboo pilot Rhys Dallows, mercenary Vana Sage, and pirate Nym. They eventually form an unexpected alliance and they basically protect Naboo from the Trade Federation attacks from The Phantom Menace.

You use the joystick or keyboard and mouse combination to move your starfighter. The game didn't come with a manual, so you'll need to look up the controls yourself. It's somewhat sluggish, to be perfectly honest. A joystick is recommended for this, even though it isn't anywhere close to a flight simulator.

The game's levels are decent. Heck, you can even (sorta) recreate the finale from The Phantom Menace! There's some variety in terms of flyable ships. There are also unlockables, but you can easily cheat for everything with the OVERSEER cheat. Enjoy the cheating.

Everyone is complaining about the game's difficulty, but it honestly wasn't that hard. And that ruined it for me. I like challenge in my games, and flying games are certainly no exception. The adventure lasts about 2-4 hours, and there's no extras besides bonus missions and unlockables.

Did I mention there was no multiplayer? One small question - WHY!? This game would have been a great multiplayer game and multiplayer alone would possibly redeem this game. Heck, the PS2 and Xbox versions had local multiplayer! WHY DIDN'T THIS HAVE MULTIPLAYER!? And did I also mention that a boxed version of this game (without the fixed engine introduced with the Steam release) will lag constantly due to Microsoft software updates?

Anyway, would I recommend it for 1-2 quid? Yeah, it's a decent flying game and I recommend that you pick it up when it's on sale. However, if we're talking about full price....Just wait for a sale. This should have had more levels, multiplayer, etc. It's decent, but that is all I can really say about this. Really, it was a missed opportunity.

I might do a video on this game, putting everything into more detail (hopefully). But that is a maybe.

This game might not appeal to everyone, but it's an excellent game for its time and price. If you're a fan of using starfighters in other star wars games, I might suggest this to you. The controls might be a bit annoying to some people, but you get to play with a Joystick. I usually play with an XBOX 360 controller and it works good.

7/10

An arcade space shooter set in the prequel universe, specifically around the time of Episode 1. Gameplay is pretty fun with 3 different ships in various missions. Extra bonus goals help increase the longevity of the game's 15 missions and make it a real challenge.

Starfighter has a long history behind it, and a lot to stand up against with the X-Wing series and the first Rouge Squadron both having been released prior. The history of Star Wars flight sims is one of beauty and challenge . The X-Wing series is hailed by many as they best Star Wars flight sims ever produced. Perhaps a little complex for some players to grasp, the X-Wing series gave the player a level of control over their ship that hasn’t been seen since. But I’m not reviewing that game, I’m reviewing Starfighter.

As mentioned in the Wikipedia blurb, the story follows three different pilots, from three different backgrounds, that end up working together. You’ve got the new recruit in the Naboo forces, a mercenary, and a pirate captain. The story doesn’t have the cohesive flow one hopes to find in most video games. Instead it has that quick mashed and thrown together vibe. It, mostly makes sense, and so long as you don’t question much, you can follow it easy enough. But I personally, kept asking why, and didn’t get many answers back.

You fly three different ships, however you don’t get to pick which ships. Each level is assigned a different ship, and while this makes sense on the early levels. The later ones where all the characters are fighting together, an added feature of pick-your-ship levels would have been nice, and even added a little replay-ability. Replay factory is something this game does give you. As it tracks if you’ve beaten each mission on each skill level, as well as each mission has bonus objectives to accomplish. So right out the gate you can play every mission three times with a little personal goal of 100% completion. There are also unlockable missions, both single and multiplayer. These add a little more playtime, but not a whole lot of fun. As I noted before, the multiplayer is pretty lacking.

Graphically Starfighter isn’t bad, it’s what I call PS2 graphics. Which makes sense since that is what the game was built for. But PS2 is also a good marking point on the graphic timeline. If there is one constant from Lucas Arts, it’s that their games always seem to be at the top of the line for graphics.

The controls were a little poor. But I have to admit that this was probably due to the Logitech software more so than the game. Some of the buttons weren’t mapped how one would have expected them to be, while others not used at all. This can be fixed in either the Logitech software or in the games settings. But since you have to exit the game to adjust the controls I never bothered, and just learned to work with it. Maybe it’s just me, but when I play a combat flight sim, I expect to have to lead my targets. If we’re both moving I shouldn’t be able to just put the cross hairs over the target and hit it. I should have to send the shots ahead of them, so they fly into them. Is this not accurate? Because Starfighter doesn’t do that, here you just put your cross hairs over and fire.

One of the big problems about the game, and more so writing about it, is that it doesn’t leave anything with you. You play it, you beat some levels, and that’s it. There really isn’t anything that you take away, no real moment that you reflect on later. It’s almost just a sort of time filler for everything else you do. Its not a bad game, its not a great game, its just a game. Stuck in this sort of grey zone of quality. I cant say I hated it, nor can I say I loved it, and I’m pretty sure in a few days I’ll have forgotten I even played it. I guess that’s what leaves the biggest mark on this game, when its not there right in front of your eyes you forget it even exists.

One thing of note, if you want to check this game out, and you opt to go with the PC version. Get it on Steam. I’ve read some various things around the web that say the original released version is pretty much borked on Windows now. But that the games engine was fixed for it’s Steam release. However I would personally recommend PS2 for this. Unless you have an epic joystick, in which case that might improve controls improving the whole experience.

I didn’t play any of the multiplayer, for a few different reasons. One being that unless the game is only multiplayer, I don’t use that as a measuring factor of it’s quality. I’m anti social remember, I prefer to play solo. The other being that I didn’t have anyone or the means for multiplayer. I’m assuming it’s not network/internet capable with the multi, and that it’s just a split screen venture.

If you are a Star Wars fan and enjoy arcade-style shooters, you'll probably really like this game. Players looking for a more challenging or in-depth simulation, though, might be better off looking elsewhere.Although improvements to the game’s length would have been welcome, changes to the controls are definitely not. Unfortunately, that appears to be exactly what has happened and calling it an improvement would be a significant misstatement.Starfighter looks great and has a good story, though not all its missions are engaging, and they start to feel repetitive as the game goes on. The game doesn't last that long, either.Most of the praise should be given to the music and sound effects; basically, a blast festival of famous Star Wars weapons accompanied by the magnificent music score of John Williams.An unpolished, but solid, port of a good console game.

NOTE: Your gameplay experience will be INFINITELY better if you use a flightstick (remember people who still use those things?) or a gamepad, especially a PS2-style gamepad. You will want to have your controls properly configured - take the time to do this or else you'll find yourself fighting with the controls instead of using them. You are a PC gamer, keyboard and mouse is great, but this game was based off a console game, and this game is not the only console-style game out there, please take the money to get a gamepad. It'll make your overall PC gaming experience even better.

I played the X-Wing Collector's CD-ROM on my Mac Performa 637CD over a decade and a half ago and I had a blast. I also enjoyed the immensely popular X-Wing vs TIE Fighter when it came out later and really enjoyed the space assault missions in Star Wars Battlefront 2. I saw this on sale during the "May the 4th be with you" sale for $1.69, and I have to say, for less than the cost of a drink, it's a really good deal. Once you get your controls in order, the game feels really good.

It's an arcade space flight sim, much along the vein of Rogue Squadron 64, so you don't have to worry about things like managing your front and aft deflector shields or figuring out how much power you want to get into your engines, etc. If you've played the space assault mode in SWBF2, this game plays exactly like that. I suggest mapping your your boost/brake not to your triggers, but to your right analog up/down - it makes flying around much easier to deal with.

The missions are extremely fast paced and most of them are pretty short. This game is great for quick "get in, get out" play sessions. Unlike X-Wing, where a lot of time is spent on the buildup towards the missions, this game gets you right into the thick of the action.

The story is so-so, three random people end up teaming up together by chance to take on the evil Trade Federation. You've heard it before and like any game, it adds to the universe that these games have built up. Granted, if you've heard the news, Disney-LucasArts have officially said that none of the games or books are canon, but I'd say considering the amount of milking they've done of the franchise, they're still good enough to stand as their own stories.

Word of warning, although the game runs fine on modern systems, the highest the game will run at (without registry edits) is at 1280 x 1024, and most of the textures are upscaled so they'll sometimes look blotchy. However, it's a 12 year old game, so that's to be expected. I've been told that the Steam version of this game was "GOG'ized" to make it run on modern hardware and to detect modern gamepads, so that's definitely a plus. For $5, it's a bit too much, but if you can get this during a Steam sale, definitely get it.

all you need is proton bombs
thank you based Nym

Best game ever. I always wanted to play space games with real flying sensations, 3D combats in space, with beautiful graphics and full immersions, fast and reliable, the real Star Wars adventure ! This game is totally what I've been dreaming to play all my life and is the reason why I wanted to play video games.
You can fly in space, shoot ennemy spaceships, fly around the big cruiser ships, bomb them, exactly like in the movie Star Wars. You can do loopings, shoot robots in some canyons, fly about some factories on the land, there are tons of different landscapes, planets, vessels, space areas, asteroid fields,...

It is real 3D, I mean not like in usual games, which are 3D but in fact you move in a plan, so you play 2D (like all the FPS Call of Duty, etc, etc..). This one is real 3D, you have to move in all directions (3D directions !), you fly in real space. People are not used to that. So it takes time ; took me about a week to just know how to fly and start aiming my targets and all.

It goes beyond sensation and imagination, I've been playing for a long time and was not very aware of the games released recently, but I must say that this one -released in 2002 only- has it all and is incredible. I can't think that there is possibly better games than that one nowadays and I wonder how it is not more famous or how I didn't get to know it at that time (back in 2002). This game is so cool that you can't possibly want to play another game after it.
Well, so I grade this game 22/20. And I triple it. And put exponent 4 and square it.

I FIND THE LACK OF OPTIONS DISTURBING!

I think its a good game... sadly its unplayable...
there are no options to change the sensetivity or the resolution...

also i find it hard to see the enemies...

it is a good game but its hard to play (for the wrong reasons)

This is a blast from the past!

I used to own this game on PS2 and I never knew it was on steam till about a week ago.

The controls are very easy to use. My mouse is a crap cheap one so I have a lot of problems keeping my mouse steady (The laser is messed up!)

I read someone elses review before buying this game and he said 'Will there be a jedi starfighter on steam?' The matter of the fact is no the game was only released on PS2 and the orilgial Xbox. Sadly that is a no. But however there could be a verison coming 2015? (Episode 7???)

Since it was the may 4th star wars day sale I fought why not! (£1.01) Every penny was worth it (inc the £0.01!)

Check out my youtube channel www.youtube.com/DarthVaderFan92

Jar Jar Binks meets X-Wing V Tie Fighter.

I've played a number of the Star Wars games over the years and this is the first one that has truely disappointed me.

During the 90's we had X-Wing, TIE Fighter and X-Wing vs TIE Fighter. Then there was X-Wing Alliance. All extremely fun to play and all with good interfaces which really brought Star Wars space combat to life. We also had the Wing Commander series and its Privateer spin-offs. Great games all.

Perhaps I'm just spoilt, but Starfighter was a complete letdown. The graphics were disappointing even for its time and the gameplay ridiculously simplistic. It also gives the impression that you're "boxed in" whether you're flying in open space or across the surface of a planet.

Was I expecting too much because it's a Star Wars title? Perhaps. But considering what we've been graced with previously, I would've honestly expected more from the developers.

For any die-hard Star Wars fans I'd say this. It was worse than watching The Phantom Menace. For space-sim fans in general: Taking the Steltek drone on using the Tarsus in Privateer would be more fun.

For everyone else: Don't waste your time. This game fails even as a bit of cheap arcade escapism.

Horrid controls. Very Arcady. Full of glitches and incredibly short. I beat the game in 3 hours. The Final mission was the worst you spend upwards of 5 minutes traversing inside a trade federation ship flying after a mercenary ship that takes 100000 blaster bolts to kill and is only killed after a certain amount of time passes his death triggered by the event of Anakin skywalker blowing up the vessel from the inside. Then I thought I escaped the Federation ship to discover I had entered another dimension technically still inside the ship. I was half way back to naboo when I realized the mission wasnt going to end and only half of the trade federation construction was behind me with its interior showing. Due to glitches missions like the final mission took multiple tries. Most missions were destroying droid star fighters and tanks before they could do harm to something that was on your side like allied transports and turrets and overall most of the missions were just an utter bore.

So, you like Star Wars games, and you like space combat games. Well this little gem here has both.