When the GameCube launched, the Squadron sequel Rogue Leader wowed more than its fair share of gamers and achieved a new level of X-Wing goodness. The question begged to be asked, then, what Factor 5 and LucasArts could do to build upon the successful model to keep the series from getting stale. All they could do was take a chance, of course. And take it they did in Rebel Strike.

Rebel Strike capably carries the air-combat torch from its predecessors, but it ups the ante with some dramatic out-of-cockpit gameplay, adding a third-person-shooter element to multiple levels. The game also includes several ground-based vehicles, including AT-STs, speeder bikes, a land speeder and even a Tauntaun. And did I mention you can play some of these third-person levels as Wedge Antilles, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker?

For the most part Factor 5's risk paid off, and the third-person elements mesh pretty well in the grand scheme of things. They even allow for some creative new scenarios, some of which enable players to re-enact classic moments from the original trilogy (rescuing Leia from the Death Star and capturing the Endor base in an AT-ST, for example). It's too bad, then, that the unwieldy controls and a poor third-person camera undermine all the good done by the new gameplay, leaving Rebel Strike solid but somewhat less majestic than its predecessors.

Don't get me wrong, the air-combat in Rebel Strike is as frantic and refined as you'd expect, and you'll once again find yourself awestruck by the sheer number of Tie Fighters and things happening on screen. That magic is definitely still there. So is the multiple-objective structure, where you'll just finish knocking out 12 Tie Hunters only to discover that you need to attack a land-based laser in your Y-Wing before time runs out. Fret not, the aerial combat is intact, and it's as outstanding as you remember.

It's the out-of-cockpit play where your love of all things Rogue Squadron may start to diminish. Take, for example, the level "Relics of Geonosis," a microcosm for all that goes right and wrong in Rebel Strike. The beginning of the level finds you in an X-Wing fiercely battling Tie Fighters and a well-armored destroyer. After completing the first space-based objective, you enter a cutscene in which you're forced to land on the Episode-II planet Geonosis.

After landing, you enter one of the new third-person-shooter levels, armed only with a blaster and your sheer determination to protect an R5 unit. On the ground are multiple platoons of battle droids and Storm Troopers, all of which need your blaster's careful attention. Aiming for them is as simple as moving the analog stick in their direction and pressing the A button, and in theory you can auto-target them by pressing the left trigger.

Problem is, the auto-target (or target-lock) often targets enemies that are dozens of feet away from you, leaving you completely vulnerable to the four droids immediately to your right. Deactivate the auto-target and you can move your gun in the correct direction, but your accuracy will invariably go down and thereby hinder your chance of getting a gold, silver or bronze medal for that level.

Of course, you'll only be able to tell that there's a droid to your right if he fires at you, because the game doesn't have a manually controlled camera that would allow you to see him. In the aerial-combat sequences a static camera works just fine, because you want to keep your enemies in front of you. In the new third-person sequences, though, being able to peek around corners or see the enemies around you is essential. The static camera is particularly troubling on Dagobah, when your Jedi platforming training is hampered by a camera that gets stuck behind trees and/or doesn't move as quickly as Luke does, letting him fall to his death on several occasions.

But back to Geonosis. After making your way to the end of the valley, you face a boss that requires you to enter a turret. Power good. Aiming bad. In an aircraft, rack-and-pinion aiming is to be expected, but in a game that switches to a third- (or in this case, first-) person mode, it's important to keep the aiming as steady as possible, not constantly trying to re-center itself. If you can stay on target you'll unleash havoc, but the chances of keeping a steady aim are frustratingly slim.

If this turret sequence was an isolated event, it would be easy to overlook, but the third-person aiming on the whole suffers this way and is only compounded by a camera that screams for user control. In the end, these issues drive home just how smooth and refined the aerial gameplay is, while the non-cockpit aspects leave much to be improved in the next Rogue Squadron.

Fortunately, while the game introduces many of these troubled third-person scenarios, the majority of Rebel Strike still takes place in vehicles. And if Rebel Strike does anything right, it's vehicular combat. If you've played any of the previous Rogue Squadron games, you already know about the pleasure of the series' dogfights. Taking a page from the Clone Wars book, though, Rebel Strike throws some unique non-aerial vehicles into the mix. Anyone for a Tauntaun ride over Hoth? How about a Redwood-dodging cruise on a speeder bike? What would you say to a trigger-happy escapade in an AT-ST? I hope you'd say "yes" in every case. But even if you don't, believe me when I say you'll be screaming it over and over again after playing in these vehicles.

Aside from the new craft, one of the most welcome additions to Rebel Strike is the inclusion of multiplayer. Now you can take on another Star Wars fan in head-to-head gameplay modes such as Dogfight, Rampage, Tag & Defend and Race. Like the best multiplayer games, you can manipulate such settings as the time limit and point/kill total, significantly boosting the amount of time you'll spend in front of the TV.

In a unique twist, the multiplayer aspects aren't just confined to Rebel Strike, though. The game also includes the full version of Rogue Leader, albeit in a co-op only mode. Taking on the Death Star trench run with a buddy is darn near euphoric, and that's just the first level of the co-op experience.

It's not entirely ironic that this review ends with the in-cockpit components of Rebel Strike. The third-person aspects, as unpolished as they are, still have that redeeming quality of inserting you directly into classic Star Wars moments, but it's the aerial combat that really sticks with you. Factor 5 and LucasArts spiced things up with Rebel Strike, and with a little more polish, they could have created quite possibly the perfect Star Wars experience (Knights of the Old Republic not withstanding). Here's hoping the next chapter in the Rogue Squadron franchise gets that extra bit of attention to really push it over the edge.

See more screens on the Star Wars: Rebel Strike media page