I remember playing this game back on the PS1. The main character is a badass who works as a Merc for the Rebellion. Due to this flexibility, he isn't a main part of the alliance, but he certainly prefers it than working for the empire.

The story to this game is you play as this character during the events of Star Wars Episode IV, and V I believe, it has been a while since I completed this game. The first mission involves you doing something none of the other Rebel Infiltrator's had done, retrieve the blueprints to the death star. As any Star Wars fan knows, the plans are what revealed a weak point in the Death Star's defences and the leader even mentioned how they lost many men attempting to get that information.

You are then called in because a Rebel base when silent from an attack, but this was no ordinary attack as the entire base was taken out and if it was a army, they would've seen it coming and evacuated or at least shot many of them down before going into hiding. It's then revealed that one of the most interesting enemies of the Star Wars franchise is created here. The Dark Troopers. Commando Troopers that are far more powerful and destructive than you're average trooper as they can take out entire bases by themselves.

Many weapons you get are references to the ones from the film such as blaster pistol, blaster rifle, Thermal Detonator and quite a few interesting and creative weapon designs.

It's well worth a play if you can get a hang of the controls and remember how Lucas Arts used to make years ago as this was during the age they made adventure games and before they went lax and started making half-assed games.

*Beat with 2024 remaster

Pretty alright overall. Feels the most "doom 1" compared to other "doom-likes" of the era (which makes sense, we were only 2 years removed from doom 1's release) and I mean that for the better and worse.

Story isn't much, but it works for what it is. Cool for someone like me who grew up with the prequel era to see the origin of smaller legends aspects like the Dark Troopers and Kyle Katarn as a character.

Combat is pretty good too for the most part. Almost all the weapons have a use up until the final levels, save for the fusion cutter (it never did the damage I felt it should've) and the mortar canon (with how close quarters most encounters are in this game it feels more like an easy way to kill yourself then anything else).

Biggest thing that makes this game fall down a good few notches is the level design and the lives system. There's a few good streightfoward ones here and there, but the game'll also throw some labrythian mazes and the odd puzzle every so often which is a real pace breaker. Doesn't help how there's no real conveyance in most instances in terms of where to go with how most areas look the same. The later half of levels also like to get really annoying with enemies being thrown (namely nar shadaa with all the thermal detonator dudes) and ESPECIALLY the mines. Seriously, on the last few levels they're placed in such cheap locations and have an explosive damage range that I swear is much larger then it appears to be. I'm glad I played on medium because I know for a fact levels like nar shadaa would be red dicking me on hard.

The lives system is the only aspect I downright don't like and I wish ND changed with the remaster. You start every level with 3 lives, and you respawn at a pre-determined point in real-time as you die, prodeus-style. Most of this game on medium is pretty comfortable save for the last few levels, and I just felt this was unnecessary more then anything else. I only had to restart two levels (Jabba's Ship and the final level) because of how cheap the enemy placement was. Sure, you can find more lives through secrets and whatnot throughout the level, but I don't understand why they couldn't have put in a more conventional quicksave system, at least as an option for people. Other then that, pretty fun, but definitely make or break for some people.

Aged horrendously

So a lot of people say this is a DOOM clone, which it isn't! It's a very unfair thing to call it, that's like calling literally any 3D shooter a call of duty clone. This game is not DOOM. It is objective based, its levels are designed way differently, it has cutscenes, the way you go through levels are completely different. It's just a different game that looks like a non-3d shooter. It's a boomer shooter simply.

The game is just way too confusing at times. There are so many puzzles and questionable level design choices, I have no clue what the developers were thinking. I had to look up where the fuck I was supposed to go after scavenging the level for like an hour 2 times. I dropped this game 3/4ths of the way through, I've seen all I need to see and the game is just a bust.

Looking up and down sucks, it gives a lil motion sickness, and the controls are just weird.

The gunplay is actually fun and fine, but the game is just more of a headache than it is fun. Also the midi music doesn't work in its favor the way it worked for the X-Wing games.

Honestly, I would've played this game all the way through and had given it a higher rating if it wasn't for the god awful level design. Just convoluted labyrinth-like design that plagues a lot of shooters from the mid-90s, this type of design is just a total chore to get through in any game.

(See all my Star Wars Rankings and reviews on my profile here, the list is titled "Star Wars Ranked.")