Rebel Raiders: Operation Nighthawk – PS2 – Review

There was a
time when cheap games were cheap in quality. This was known as the PSone era;
a time when you couldn’t get a good game for under $35. Thirty-five seems
pretty low in comparison to the $60 they’re asking for Xbox 360 (and likely
PlayStation 3) titles. Current-gen titles are still hitting the $50 mark, with
some sequels retailing for ten dollars less.

Looking at
these figures, and knowing that some of the most expensive games released have
turned out to be some of the worst, what could possibly be appealing about
Rebel Raiders, a flight/combat shooter that retails for $19.99?

The
gameplay. It has
its flaws, every game does. If you’re looking for Ace Combat 3, go play Ace
Combat 3. Rebel Raiders follows a different path than the typical fight/combat
game. It’s more of an arcade-style shooter where every mission has a similar
objective: shoot the enemy’s vehicles until they’re blasted into thousands of
tiny little pieces.

Rebel Raiders pulls off this
dated gameplay with something that’s rarely found in games in this genre: good
controls. I almost felt like I was playing Star Fox with the addition of
environmental freedom. None of the levels are big enough to overwhelm, or even
big enough to impress in this day and age, but unlike the classic adventures
of Fox McCloud, you have the freedom to explore them as you desire. Miss
something along the way? Rebel Raiders isn’t on rails – go back and check it
out.

Besides
exploration, this free-roaming gameplay also lets you take out enemies in a
variety of ways. There are the traditional missiles, which can be locked-on to
nearby targets and unleashed for an attack of up to eight hits. Once eight
missiles have been shot, your aircraft will go through a one or two-second
recovery period, pushing the missiles into the firing bay. This takes as long
as the time it takes for the missiles fired to reach their destination, so
when you see them hit, you’ll be able to fire again.

Missiles may
also be shot without a specific target in mind. These attacks are much
riskier, but are necessary when fighting stationary enemies. Sometimes the
enemy will have large cannons hidden in the mountains, waiting to obliterate
the next hero who comes along. Of course, they don’t look at us as heroes –
they think we’re the bad guys. Crazy villains, always giving us a bad name.

Machine guns
come standard and last for 100 shots. After that you’ve got to reload. Only 24
missiles can be loaded at one time. Both of these deplete pretty quickly. Ammo
is unlimited, but when six planes are flying circles around you, every second
counts. The time it takes to reload could cost you in the way of your shield.
The shield starts at 100%. In some arcade games that means you have an entire
life meter to go through before having to worry about protecting your
aircraft. In Rebel Raiders, that’s the only health meter you get. When it
reaches 0%, you’re toast.

Rebel
Raiders’s best feature is unquestionably its controls, which make cruising the
skies a fun and exciting task. Players may spin quickly by tapping L1, or flip
upside down by pushing or pulling on the left analog stick. Keeping the pace
when flying in an unfamiliar position is surprisingly easy. I’m no
flight/combat expert, and I didn’t have any trouble maneuvering in and out of
the game’s tightest spots. From narrow mountainous passageways to large ships
that must be circle and attacked repeatedly until defeated, getting the hang
of Rebel Raiders’s controls was almost as easy as learning to play Afterburner
for the first time. With all the experience most gamers have had since that
time (there have been a lot more flight/combat games released), it could seem
easier.

Rebel
Raiders’s downfall – and this may not be that big of a deal for some
considering the price – is that it doesn’t feel like a PlayStation 2 game. It
runs at a higher resolution and has fewer pixelation and fog issues than a
PSone game, but the rest of the experience screams 1995. That isn’t the worst
possible thing that could happen to a game. We wouldn’t have much of anything
right now if it weren’t for the PSone. Nonetheless, there’s bound to be at
least one player out there who would rather not buy a PS2 game that feels like
it came from another generation.

It’s faster
than most PSone games and has a better frame rate – I’ll give it that. I guess
you could say that some of the enemy ships are bigger than what would have
been possible on the PSone. And the lighting is definitely better, but really,
this should be standardized stuff by now. It should’ve been standardized five
years ago. The graphics are basic 3D material, including flat water (try
crashing into it and watch it not do anything!), dated explosions, and plain
environments. They’re not ugly, but there’s nothing to them.

And then
there’s the biggie: repetition. You get this in everything from the cheapest
game to the most expensive console launch titles. At $40 I’d be telling you to
get in your car and never look back, but at $19.99, you could do a whole lot
worse. Blockbuster now charges eight bucks per rental, making Rebel Raiders
cheaper than two of those. Granted, could spend $16 and end up with two games
that are vastly superior. The catch is that you have to return them in seven
days. You could also spend $16 and end up with two flight/combat games that
are an absolute mess. As shallow and repetitive as Rebel Raiders may be, you
will get some thrills – albeit, cheap thrills – out of it.

For those
who really love the genre, it’s actually worth the price.

Review Scoring Details for Rebel Raiders

Gameplay: 6.9
Simple and
straightforward without being on rails. Rebel Raiders is quick, cheap,
repetitive action that’ll get you through in a boring weekend (and other days
when the repetition wears off and you have the desire to play it again).

Graphics: 4.0
Though not the
crudest effects on the planet, Rebel Raiders looks like a game that retails
for $19.99. Fog and pop-up appear every now and then, but even without them,
these plain visuals are pretty boring.

Sound: 5.0
Rebel Raiders
sounds like a value-priced game, too. Typical voice-overs and mission
feedback information.

Difficulty: Easy
Even those new to
the genre will be wondering where the excessive challenges are.

Concept: 4.5
Same old idea,
new low price. Less quality than some but is surprisingly higher in quality
than others.

Overall: 6.3
It’s all about
the gameplay. You either love the genre or not, and that’ll determine how much
you’ll get into this aerial adventure. The low price is appetizing, but don’t
let that be the sole reason you decide to add Rebel Raiders to your
collection.