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Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike is a Star Wars video game developed by Factor 5 and published by LucasArts exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube. The game follows Rogue Squadron, which, under the command of Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles, uses starfighters to engage and defeat the Galactic Empire. The game is set during the original Star Wars trilogy and recreates battles that take place during those films. Like its GameCube predecessor, it also includes a "making-of" documentary.
Rebel Strike was developed as a sequel to Star Wars: Rogue Squadron and Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. It added to the game the ability for the player to leave their starfighter to participate in land battle as well as to enter pilot vehicles during certain missions. The game also has a multiplayer mode that allows two players to play all but two of the missions from Rogue Leader co-operatively. Being a "second generation game" (as producer Julian Eggebrecht states in the aforementioned documentary), the production team felt the need to expand upon the game's predecessor Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader by adding enhanced atmospheric effects, (slightly) more impressive explosions and the capability of having many more enemy AI players on-screen at once-among other improvements; such as the co-op mode and various Vs. options.
Story[]
After several minor skirmishes between Rogue Squadron and the Empire — including a minor situation on Dantooine — the first major battle of the game begins on the planet of Ralltiir. The Empire received word that scientists affiliated with the Rebel Alliance hiding on the planet Ralltiir. An invasion force of AT-AT walkers was deployed while 2 Star Destroyers commenced orbital bombardment of the capital city.
Rogue Squadron members Wedge Antilles, and Lt. Sarkli, under the command of Luke Skywalker, were sent to defend the city with 3 airspeeders. Using the same towcable technique that would later be used in the Battle of Hoth, they defeated all the walkers and transports attacking the shield around the city before it was breached.
They then landed in the city itself, to escort the scientists to safety and defeat the Imperial troops. Commander Skywalker commandeered an AT-ST walker and blasted his way to a waiting Corellian Blockade Runner under the command of Lt. Derlin. He and the scientists boarded it, and Skywalker and a team of Rebel troopers beat off the last of the Imperial force who attempted the board the transport. The scientists were escorted offworld to the Rebel base on Hoth.
After the Battle of Hoth and several other skirmishes — including several tasks on the planets of Bakura and Geonosis — Rogue Squadron was sent to the world of Destrillion in the search of Tibanna gas. However, Destrillion was a trap, which allowed the Galactic Empire lured the Rebel fleet to Dubrillion, where in actuality a super laser facility was located. They fired upon the Rebel fleet and the battle began.
Antilles led an assault to destroy the radar dishes, which the Rebels assumed were responsible for the lasers accuracy. Though succeeding in destroying the dishes, the Rebels discovered that the laser was accurate even without them. A new means of disabling the laser was found.
Wedge hijacked an Imperial AT-ST and slaughtered Imperial ground forces while making his way into the heart of the facility. He then commandeered a vacant AT-AT and managed to destroy the power turbines powering the laser. The laser and the facility were then destroyed.
After stealing three TIE Hunters, Antilles and two other Rogues were sent to the Fondor shipyards, which constructed Imperial Star Destroyers. Disguised as Imperials, a "captured" Rebel transport would head on a collision course into the control center, allowing Wedge to disable the facility's shields. The station's commander uncovered the Rebel plot after realizing there was no captured transport scheduled for delivery, and that a scan revealed no life signs aboard the transport.
In the ensuing battle, the transport still managed to destroy the control center and Wedge brought down the shields. The Rebel fleet then arrived from hyperspace and engaged the Imperial forces, with a few squadrons charged with destruction of the facility.
To destroy the facility, the Rebel forces had to destroy the cloaking devices which were being installed on the Super Star Destroyer "Olympic". Wedge succeeded, the facility and the Olympic were destroyed, and "showed that they are overconfident about the upcoming battle," as Emperor Palpatine said.