Shadows of the Empire was one of the first post-launch games released on the Nintendo 64 and also the only Nintendo 64 game that I was somewhat interested in when it was announced. At that point in time, PC games had really taken over my love for video games and my only remote interest in any console gaming was on the PlayStation platform.

So what did Shadows of the Empire have that I couldn’t get on the PC? Certainly the 1st person elements of Shadows could be easily produced and played on the PC in a better experience with Star Wars: Dark Forces. However, what any Star Wars PC game didn’t have at that time however was a kick ass way to experience the Battle of Hoth! Shadows of the Empire had this and it reproduced the scale of that battle extremely well.

While that one level wasn’t enough to get me to fork out the dough for a Nintendo 64, I did finally get chance to play it at a friend’s house. I spent the night there and we dove into Shadows for a non stop play session throughout the early AM. While I didn’t find the later levels and the first person prospective sections as great as the Hoth battle, I still had tons of one with it. Having an opportunity to fire it up for the first time in a few years, the Hoth level still holds up pretty well. The rest of the game…that’s debatable!

May the 4th be with you!