Introduction

Set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire tells the story of Prince Xizor's quest to replace Darth Vader as the leader of the Sith, and wipe out the Rebels' chances of victory. The only man that can stop him is the interstellar bounty hunter Dash Rendar. The game is based on the novel of the same name, with locations including ice planet Hoth, Mos Eisley and the sewers of Imperial City, all in full 3D.

Levels each have very different objectives, ranging from piloting snow speeders on Hoth and racing speeder bikes on Tatooine to shooting stormtroopers and droids on foot throughout the galaxy. Dash primarily uses a blaster with unlimited ammo, but can also find more powerful weapons with limited ammunition. Each level has optional "challenge points" that are hidden throughout the level, and finding all of them will unlock a cheat dependent on which difficulty setting the save file is on.

Story

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... As Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance struggle to defeat Darth Vader and the Empire, a new threat arises. Dark Prince Xizor, head of the Black Sun crime syndicate, aspires to take Darth Vader's place at the Emperor's side. To do that, he must eliminate young Skywalker. As Dash Rendar, it is up to you to protect Luke and help the Alliance defeat the evil Xizor. Watch out for infamous bounty hunters and deadly stormtroopers! May the Force be with you!

As Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance struggle to defeat Darth Vader and the Empire during the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, a new threat arises. Dark Prince Xizor, head of the Black Sun crime syndicate, aspires to take Darth Vader's place at the Emperor's side. To do so, he hatches an evil plan to eliminate young Skywalker. As freelance adventurer Dash Rendar, it is up to you to protect Luke and help the Alliance thwart Xizor's deadly plot. Before reaching Black Sun HQ, you must tangle with the notorious Boba Fett, savage sarlaccs, deadly stormtroopers and merciless AT-STs!

Crafted by the game gurus at LucasArts, Shadows of the Empire remains faithful to its Star Wars roots while venturing in bold new directions. Ten richly varied stages and four difficulty levels guarantee maximum replay-ability. Shadows boasts a fully digitised Star Wars soundtrack and top-notch graphics that do ample justice to the game's big-screen heritage. The action begins with a bang, with Dash and his faithful droid sidekick, Leebo, hurled into a ferocious dogfight with gigantic AT-ATs on the wintry planet of Hoth. Most of the later stages take an over-the-shoulder perspective as Dash stealthily escapes from Echo Base and rides trucks rumbling through the Ord Mantell Junkyard. Dash must also battle TIE fighters in deep space and speed through the twisting back alleys of Mos Eisley on a swoop bike.

Packed with great graphics, great shooting action, great hidden items and great sound, Shadows of the Empire is the perfect game for anyone who's ever dreamed of filling the sandals of a Jedi knight. Be warned, though: on the advanced difficulty levels, it seems that the enemies never miss. By all means start this game on the Easy setting!

The game is divided in four parts (or chapters). The first chapter takes place during the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back. Dash Rendar is trapped on Hoth when the Imperial forces attack. As the player, you have to pilot a snowspeeder in the Battle of Hoth destroying AT-ATs, AT-STs and Imperial probes. Then you must fight your way through Echo Base back to your ship the Outrider. After escaping Hoth you must fight your way through the Hoth asteroid field and the several waves of TIE Fighters before escaping into hyperspace.

In the second chapter, Dash tracks down some of the bounty hunters that had been dispatched to capture Han Solo. Fighting his way through several trains and finally confronting IG-88 on Ord Mantell and assaulting Imperial outposts throughout canyons, on Gall to finally find and attack Boba Fett.

In the third chapter, Boba Fett has escaped and the player's mission changes: you must now protect Luke Skywalker from an assassination attempt ordered by the Black Sun's Prince Xizor, by fighting a deadly gang of swoop bikers through Mos Eisley and Beggar's Canyon. Dash then recovers Imperial secret plans of the second Death Star, that are being carried aboard the freighter Suprosa.

Finally, in the last chapter, Dash, along with Luke and Lando Calrissian, travels to Imperial Center to rescue Princess Leia from Prince Xizor's stronghold by infiltrating Xizor's palace through the sewers below Imperial City, fighting their way through the castle and eventually engaging in a space battle above the planet. The game's greatest surprise comes at the end, when Dash flies within Xizor's space station to destroy it. In the game the player is led to believe that Rendar perishes in the blast, with a secret ending on harder difficulties revealing he secretly survived; however in the book Rendar does not participate in the stations destruction, remaining outside in his ship with the rest of the fleet.

Gameplay

tar Wars: Shadows of the Empire tackles many different forms of gameplay. These include third-person shooter/platforming levels, maintaining turrets on his ship (the Outrider) in an on-rails sequence, and total-control vehicle levels. Only the final level switches between different forms of gameplay mid-game.

Shooter/Platforming Levels

In most levels, the player controls Dash Rendar himself, running around and gunning stormtroppers, droids, and other enemies. The player can choose between third-person and limited first-person views. Dash uses a variety of weapons (though primarily his Laser Blaster, which has infinite ammo), including seeker missiles, flamethrowers, pulse cannons, stunners, and disruptors. In later levels, Dash obtains a rechargable jetpack, which helps him fly over difficult platforming areas.

The Shooter/Platforming levels and the Swoop Bike level contain "challenge points" which are scattered throughout the level, seen in the form of a rotating chrome Rebel Alliance emblem. These are often put in hard-to-reach areas, encouraging the player to explore the vast levels. Collecting all of them in certain difficulty levels allows certain codes and privileges to be triggered, including gaining all weapons and invincibility, changing to an X-Wing or TIE Fighter in the final level, and allowing wampas to fight on the player's side in the second level.

On-Rails Turret Levels

In some levels, the Outrider is piloted by Dash's robotic co-pilot, Leebo, as Dash maintains the ship's guns. Hazards, such as asteroids and enemy ships, must be blasted before they damage the ship.

Flight Levels

There are three levels in which Dash maintains full control of a vehicle: the beginning of the game (where he pilots a Snowspeeder), the middle of the game (where he controls a Swoop Bike), and the end of the game (where he pilots the Outrider).

Description

The game is divided in four parts (or chapters). The first chapter takes place during the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back. Dash Rendar is trapped on Hoth when the Imperial forces attack. As the player, you have to pilot a snow speeder in the Battle of Hoth destroying AT-ATs, AT-STs and Imperial probes. Then you must fight your way through Echo Base back to your ship the Outrider. After escaping Hoth you must fight your way through the Hoth asteroid field and the several waves of TIE Fighters before escaping into hyperspace.

In the second chapter, Dash tracks down some of the bounty hunters that had been dispatched to capture Han Solo. Fighting his way through several trains and finally confronting IG-88 on Ord Mantell and assaulting Imperial outposts throughout canyons, on Gall to finally find and attack Boba Fett.

In the third chapter, Boba Fett has escaped and the player's mission changes: you must now protect Luke Skywalker from an assassination attempt ordered by the Black Sun's Prince Xizor, by fighting a deadly gang of swoop bikers through Mos Eisley and Beggar's Canyon. Dash then recovers Imperial secret plans of the second Death Star, that are being carried aboard the freighter Suprosa.

Finally, in the last chapter, Dash, along with Luke and Lando Calrissian, travels to Imperial Center to rescue Princess Leia from Prince Xizor's stronghold by infiltrating Xizor's palace through the sewers below Imperial City, fighting their way through the castle and eventually engaging in a space battle above the planet. The game's greatest surprise comes at the end, when Dash flies within Xizor's space station to destroy it. In the game the player is led to believe that Rendar perishes in the blast, with a secret ending on harder difficulties revealing he secretly survived; however in the book Rendar does not participate in the stations destruction, remaining outside in his ship with the rest of the fleet.

Controls

Snowspeeder Controls

Move

Standard Setup

Thrust

Fire

and Brakes

, , , and Harpoon

Switch camera angles.

Camera

Traditional Setup

Fire

Thrust

, , and Brakes

, , and Harpoon

Switch camera angles.

Move

Outrider Controls

Move turret or ship

Standard Setup

Fire (asteroid field) Thrust/Roll (skyhook)

Fire

and Change camera angles

Fire missile (asteroid field) Brake (skyhook)

Fire missile

Fire missile (asteroid field) Roll (skyhook)

and Missile

Camera

Traditional Setup

Fire

Missile (asteroid field) Thrust (skyhook)

Missile (asteroid field) Change camera angles (skyhook)

Missile (asteroid field) Brake (skyhook)

Missile (asteroid field) Roll (skyhook)

Missile (asteroid field) Change camera angles (skyhook)

Camera (asteroid field) Missile (skyhook)

and Fire (asteroid field) Missile (skyhook)

Move

Swoop Controls

Move

Standard Setup

Thrust

Brake; Go backward

and Ram left

Ram Right

Change camera angles

and Thrust

Brake

Change camera angles

Traditional Setup

Brake; Go backward

Thrust

and Ram left

Ram Right

Change camera angles

and Thrust

Brake

Move