Star Wars: Rebel Assault II - The Hidden Empire Play Online

Summary

Star Wars: Rebel Assault II – The Hidden Empire pushes the rail‑shooter formula forward with a blend of original live‑action footage and high‑quality full‑screen video. The PlayStation version adds fifteen varied missions across land, sky and space, four selectable skill levels, and a fully digitized John Williams score backed by authentic Skywalker Sound effects, giving the experience a cinematic punch that feels fresh even decades later.

Players take the helm of iconic vessels—X‑wings, B‑wings, speeder bikes, the Millennium Falcon, and even a YT‑1300 Corellian Transport—while battling stormtroopers, TIE fighters, a Super Star‑Destroyer, and the newly introduced cloaking TIE Phantom. The game mixes first‑person cockpit aiming with third‑person ship navigation and on‑foot cover mechanics, all guided by a gamepad that lets you dodge, shoot, and steer through pre‑rendered video sequences.

Behind the scenes, director Hal Barwood orchestrated live‑action shoots with actors like Jamison Jones as Rookie One, using blue‑screen sets and real Lucasfilm props. Developed by a 15‑person LucasArts team in 18 months, the PlayStation port swapped digitized sprites for polygonal models and boosted FMV quality. Critics praised the visual and audio upgrades but noted the controls felt loose and the difficulty modest, making it a nostalgic showcase rather than a deep challenge.

Storyline

Star Wars: Rebel Assault II – The Hidden Empire opens in the Dreighton Nebula, where Rookie One joins a Rebel scouting patrol to investigate a spate of vanished Rebel ships. The nebula is steeped in legend, recalling early hyperspace travelers and even two entire Clone‑War fleets that were swallowed by its storms. These myths set the tone for the mysterious disappearances the rookie is sent to probe.

While on patrol near the planet Dreighton, Rookie One and his wingman answer a distress call from the Corellia Star, a YT‑1300 transport under attack by TIE fighters. After fending off the fighters, the wingman is killed by an unseen attacker and Rookie One’s X‑wing is shot down; he ejects and crash‑lands on Dreighton. He infiltrates an Imperial station, rescues the transport’s data, and escapes through mining tunnels back to Pinnacle Base, where Admiral Ackbar reveals the Empire’s secret mining facility in the Arah asteroid belt, supplying ore for the new V38 “Phantom” TIEs equipped with cloaking devices.

Rookie One leads a squadron of X‑wings to destroy the hidden facility, navigating derillium minefields and battling TIE Interceptors before blowing up the reactor core. After the loss of squadron leader Ace Merrick and wingman Ina Rece, he later teams with former instructor Ru Murleen to infiltrate Imdaar Alpha, steal a TIE Phantom, and board Admiral Sarn’s cloaked Super Star Destroyer Terror. The Terror is destroyed from within, Vader kills Sarn, and the cloaked facility on Imdaar’s moon is eliminated. Back at the Rebel base, the leaders thank the pilots, while Vader reports the events to the Emperor as the stolen TIE Phantom self‑destructs.

Edited by Maya Carter