By Sue Seserman

It was a momentous occasion -- the cameras were rolling, the lights were glaring, the clapboard was snapping, the director was creating, the actors were emoting, and the PA's were hopping. Rebel pilots and stormtroopers were navigating starfighters, engaging enemies and commandeering corridors. Filming had begun on one of STAR WARS®' most eagerly anticipated sequels: Rebel Assault II.

Like its predecessor, Rebel Assault II is an action-arcade game set in the STAR WARS universe. Unlike the first game, Rebel II features a completely original story and live-action video, as well as improved game play and a technologically enhanced game engine.

Rebel II focuses on two characters introduced in the original game, Rookie One and Ru Murleen. In Rebel Assault, they appeared as animated characters based on studies of real people. In Rebel II, all the characters in the game are played by professional actors who were videotaped against a blue screen while performing their lines in authentic STAR WARS costumes with actual props from the movies. Most of the background settings, however, exist only as computer-generated 3D models. The actors and backgrounds are being composited on computers in post-production, along with computer-generated special effects, to create the final shots.

"This is the first time George Lucas has let anyone else film a live action STAR WARS fantasy," said Project Leader Vince Lee. "So it's really an honor to be making this game -- and it really better be good!"

A New STAR WARS Story
Rebel Assault loosely followed the plot of STAR WARS, culminating in the destruction of the Death Star. Rebel II covers new ground, following Rookie One into a series of adventures replete with new characters, technologies and locations.

The story opens in the vicinity of the Dreighton Nebula, where Rookie One is part of a Rebel scouting patrol. He's investigating recent disappearances of Rebel spacecraft near Dreighton, a galactic equivalent to the Bermuda Triangle. Legends of the region go back to the days when early hyperspace travelers lost their bearings and disappeared in the currents, eddies and storms in the nebula. During the Clone Wars, two opposing combat fleets, at the height of battle, were swallowed up by the Dreighton Nebula, leaving it as the battle's only true victor. Now, pilots uneasily joke about the ghosts of those squadrons still roaming the nebula, eager to attack any vessel foolish enough to wander by.

Rookie One responds to a distress call coming from a ship in the nebula. Once there, he discovers an Imperial presence -- odd, since the region is not thought to have any strategic value. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that the Empire is somehow responsible for the area's history of mysterious disappearances. The Rebels suspect a new weapon -- and a growing new Imperial plot against the Rebel Alliance.

Rebel II actors were videotaped against a blue screen and composited into computer generated 3D backgrounds.

Thrilling Game Play
During the game, Rookie One faces a series of challenges as he struggles to discover, and ultimately defeat, the Imperial threat. Gameplay in Rebel II features much of the action-oriented shooting and flying of the first game, following three basic models: hand-to-hand combat, flight maneuvering and cockpit combat. Rookie One pilots various starfighters, a speeder bike and even the Millennium Falcon while battling TIE fighters, stormtroopers and a Star Destroyer. He also encounters minefields, vast Imperial military and industrial complexes and asteroid fields.

Ground combat with stormtroopers is more treacherous than ever. While good aim and quick reflexes are still key to survival, this time around Rookie One must avoid stormtrooper fire by dodging behind available shields. In flight segments, the player navigates Rookie One's ship through foreign landscapes and exotic terrain. Cockpit combat pits Rookie One against enemy targets, all while avoiding collisions with ships, machinery and space debris.

"We have so much more technology available to us than we did with the first game. Rebel II will really be like playing a STAR WARS movie," said Vince. "That, combined with an original story and improved game play, should make Rebel II a worthy sequel."

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