Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire was one of the few Star Wars games that hadn't yet been released digitally, but that has changed just in time for May the 4th, aka Star Wars Day.
The Nintendo 64 and PC action game first released way back in 1996. Now, you can snag it from GOG.com for only $4.79.
That's a special discount price in honor of the unofficial holiday, so you'll want to buy it sooner rather than later. That being said, Shadows of the Empire doesn't hold up exceptionally well in 2016. The controls are a little wonky, and the visuals leave plenty to be desired. This isn't a classic, by any means.
However, it is still Star Wars, and as such, more than a few fans have fond memories of playing it back in the day. The game's storyline served to bridge the gap between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, introducing fans to the criminal overlord Prince Xizor. Protagonist Dash Rendar is little more than a poor man's Han Solo, a mercenary for hire with a ship that even looks mighty similar to the Millennium Falcon.
Rendar seeks to aid Luke in rescuing Princess Leia from Xizor's grasp, for a fee, of course. The pair would eventually enlist the help of other iconic Star Wars heroes like Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca to save her, with the game culminating in Dash sacrificing himself to defeat Xizor ... or so it seems.
Shadows of the Empire is widely remembered today for its stellar opening level. Rendar is swept up in the Battle of Hoth, allowing players to pilot a Snowspeeder and take out an AT-AT like never before. Sprinting around Echo Base blasting Stormtroopers and Wampas alike also proved entertaining.
Unfortunately, the rest of the game simply didn't meet the high bar established by the first level, making it hard to recommend for modern-day players. Much of the game's importance in the wider Star Wars expanded universe has now been rendered obsolete as well, thanks to Disney declaring all non-film stories from prior to its acquisition of the franchise no longer canon. Xizor popped up in a few expanded universe stories after his debut in Shadows of the Empire, but now, the character is simply a memory of the Star Wars canon that was.
However, for only $4.79, Shadows of the Empire is worth checking out for the first time or worth coming back to for a trip down memory lane. Plenty of other Star Wars games are currently on sale over on GOG.com too. You can check out the full sale here.
