Despite never being a fan of the Star Wars movies, I usually take a liking to the Star Wars games. Fortunately for me, the GameCube has had a decent share of games based on the intergalactic wuss known as Luke Skywalker and all his buddies from a galaxy far, far away. From the mindless, arcadey blasting in Clone Wars to the 3rd person, Tomb Raider style adventuring in Bounty Hunter, there is enough variety in the Star Wars games to suit most tastes. However, the GameCube's best Star Wars game – and perhaps the best Star Wars game ever – was Rogue Squadron 2.

RSII (otherwise known as Rogue Leader) let you control a wide variety of classic Star Wars vehicles and participate in missions from various parts of the Star Wars timeline. But this stuff, you probably already know. What you want to know is: will the next game in the series, Rebel Strike, be any better? Let's look at the facts so far.

Rebel Strike will boast better graphics than it's predecessor, which is hardly surprising when you consider that when Rogue Leader was released, developers Factor 5 were only just getting used to the machine, and though the graphics were good in Rogue Leader, Factor 5 have now had more time to get to grips with the machine, despite this being only their second game for the console.

There are now far more enemies on screen, more detailed environments and ships, and far more graphical effects than Rogue Leader. The music seems to be pretty much the same as ever – which, given those catchy Star Wars tunes, is no bad thing.

Little has changed in the way of gameplay when it comes to the flying sections, however the developers have now included new 'on-foot' sections, which take place both on the Death Star and on the surfaces of various planets. These sections seem mostly for moving from ship to ship, and seem to be shaping up nicely, acting as a welcome break from the constant flying missions of previous Rogue Squadron games.

One of perhaps two major complaints from Rogue Leader was the short game length, but Factor 5 have promised that Rebel Strike will have far more missions than its predecessor. The other major gripe with Rogue Leader was its lack of multi-player, but in an overwhelming display of generosity, Factor 5 have included a bonus disc with a full co-op version of Rogue Leader! You don't find many developers that generous nowadays…

So, all in all, Rebel Strike is shaping up very nicely, and is definitely one worth adding to your Xmas list when it is released around November.