Exactly one thing about Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike--the laser-hot GameCube-exclusive sequel to Cube-launch hit Rogue Leader--will not surprise you: When the game zips from hyperspace this fall, it'll pack a level on Hoth, the tundra-topped planetoid that has served as a seemingly Constitutionally mandated locale in nearly every Star Wars game set in the classic trilogy. "I can't remember how many times we've gone there," says Julian Eggebrecht, president of Rogue series developer Factor 5. "To quote the guys in the meetings at LucasArts [Rebel Strike's publisher and co-developer]: 'Are you nuts? You want to go to Hoth again?'"
But Factor 5 didn't return to the ice world just out of habit, and we guarantee Rebel Strike will have you doing things on Hoth that you've never done in a Star Wars game before. You'll just have to pick up the June issue of EGM--which hits newsstands May 6 (subscribers get it this week)--to see how Factor 5 has re-written the rules of the Rogue Squadron games.
Meanwhile, you'll find several hints in the seven exclusive screens presented here. For starters, it looks like players can now exit their vehicles, eh? And when they're not blasting stormtroopers in third-person levels, players will hop aboard everything in the Star Wars trilogy that moves--from whizzing speederbikes to chicken-walking AT-STs to ponderous TIE Bombers (which fire multiple lock-on missiles Panzer Dragoon-style). But the ultimate surprise: Expect the most souped-up two-player cooperative mode ever. Let's just say that once you play Rebel Strike's cooperative campaign with a pal, you might consider selling your used copy of Rogue Leader. You won't need it.
Enough with your Jedi mind tricks--we're not revealing any more info. You'll just have to pick up the June EGM for all the exclusive details and nearly 40 screens you won't find anywhere. Oh, and come back here in mid-May for a spectacular two-minute gameplay movie that'll rule the galaxy.
