Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

by LucasArts

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000K516
• Media: CD-ROM
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,094 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Enter Prince Xizor, Lord of the Black Sun crime ring and mastermind behind a brazen plot to assassinate Luke Skywalker. But you, as maverick mercenary Dash Rendar, have other plans. Stop Xizor, protect Luke, and rescue Han Solo from the carbonite-cold clutches of Jabba the Hutt and BobaFett. Will light emerge from the shadows? With your help it can.

Product Description

A gripping Star Wars plotline, with new characters and fresh environments. Over a dozen new, cinematic cutscenes in 10 immense levels in a faste, sharper Star Wars universe. Five gameplay modes - space combat, snowspeeder, speeder bike, hovertrain and jet pack. Enhanced 3D graphics designed to support PC 3D accelerator cards.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very fun, February 19, 2000

By 

Nathan (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (CD-ROM)

Shadows of the Empire is a very fun, engaging game, but it does have its share of problems. It has amazingly high-res graphics for when it came out, with pretty good but not great animations. Basically following the life of Dash Rendar during the whole Shadows of the Empire story, this game fills in the plot in the same way the Phantom Menace game was meant to with that movie.

On easy mode, this game is unbelievably simple, but on any of the other three difficulty levels it is near impossible after the first 4 levels. However, it is neat that there are so many different game engines. There is the 1st/3rd person engine which graphics put Jedi Knight to shame, and you can switch to 3 or 5 different camera angles to help with those difficult jumps and leaps. There is in the gunwell mode where the ship is on autopilot and you just aim and shoot (a la rebel assault), there is flight-sim mode where you control the ship, and there is a swoop racing level. All of these are well implemented and it provides an amazing level of variety to the gameplay.

Also, the graphics are simply superb in all details, and the levels are broken up into segments so they don't seem to stretch on forever. And one of the biggest plusses is that we get to hear what all of those SOTE character' voices sound like.

I'm surprised that this game wasn't more popular, as it is a much better game than the similar The Phantom Menace, and its replayability level is pretty high. I'd recommend getting this one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must own for all Star Wars fans, February 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (CD-ROM)

So my computer can't do the fog effects. The remaining graphics are stunning and the stereo sound is superb. The challange level is very good and the gameplay very entertaining. But above all, this is Star Wars at its very best. It has some Dark Forces, some Rebel Assault, and some Rogue Squadron all on one CD-ROM. For its price, you cannot beat the value.

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the great gaming experiences., October 22, 2010

By 

Raisuli the Magnificent (SF Bay Area, CA United States) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (CD-ROM)

I'm on a Star Wars review kick for some reason, even though I'm not that big of a Star Wars fan.

Even so, at the time, I purchased this title after being bored by all the other games on the market. Shadows offered something a bit different than the aging Dark Forces series. It once again placed you in the Star Wars galaxy, filled with monsters, space ships and of course, the Galactic Empire.

The thing that made this game enjoyable was the detail given to the graphics. According to an online interview some 12 years ago the render and game engine in large was still the same as that used to make the Jedi Knight titles, but one clearly sees that the renderer had been given limitations to accomodate smoother gameplay on home systems that simply weren't that robust. At $1500 a unit, PCs at the time were not cheap, and the good folks who made this game realized that. So even though you can't see far, your Dash Rendar character is detailed as are all the maps and characters. In addition the movement is very smooth. Playing this game on an old PC is like playing the latest title on a PS3 or Wii. It's that good in terms of graphics.

The maps are equally impressive, and because of the reworked graphics engine truly huge and massive maps were able to compliment this game. Most notably is the magnetic train ride. A level that is huge in scope (if somewhat physically limiting), and that takes you literally for a ride in a very impressive CGI Star Wars reality.

Other maps and gameplay are all equally immersive and fun. But the thing that drives this game is the story and the incredible John Williams' score augmented by Joe McNeely's orchestrations.

All in all a fun ride of a game. It'll probably feel dated by everything else that's out there, but if you can find yourself a cheap copy, then give it a chance.