Released in 2006, Rebel Raiders: Operation Nighthawk provides arcade style aerial warfare. In 34 missions, you are the key fighter for the Alliance, using your firepower to destroy units of the corrupt Union of World Nations.

With such a short game, cost is not a factor. However, my goal help you decide whether you’re buying a waste of space through critical analysis.

Without further ado, let’s jump in!

Graphics: 9 / 10
With surprisingly decent graphics, there’s little to complain about the well-constructed 3D models of the aircraft. The background mountains, oceans, and skies are clear and provide a large open space for gameplay.

Besides the aircraft and scenery, there’s not much else. We see a few designs made with quality. However, the lack of quantity makes the levels barren and the missions incredibly short.

Fog makes objects in the distance transparent and makes the scenery look realistic. Clouds realistically warp the sunlight of the blocked sun.

By slightly warping graphics around the aircraft, the speed is clearly shown. Other elements, such as explosions, are short but effectively bring the atmosphere of the battle.

On the other hand, the screens of different rebel leads show animated characters and look out of place with the realistic graphics of the game. Some effects are out of proportion, such as the energy-intensive explosion of the enemy carrier that turns the screen white for several seconds. However, these problems are small and inconsequential.

With very few problems in graphics, this game rates 9 / 10.

Sound / Music: 5 / 10
Playing softly, you may not notice the music while playing. Upon careful examination, a few of the short tracks sound like they would be better placed in superhero video games. While there’s no particularly horrible music track, the majority of the songs don’t fit with the game.

If you’re not concentrating on the music, they sound like arcade tracks and provide excitement. Since the game’s purpose is to provide an arcade experience, its successful in that respect but at the cost of fitting music.

The sound effects are louder than the music but do not sound annoying. In intermittent bursts, you’ll hear explosions, flight noises, and firing of weapons. They sound effects and music don’t conflict. Perhaps not surprisingly for an aerial battle, there are far fewer sound effects per second than one sees on ground battle games. Staying true to the arcade feel, the firing of shots sounds very electronic and not realistic.

The voices and dialogues of the characters are childish and appeal to younger audiences while making older players slightly uncomfortable. While I find this slightly annoying, it may not be a problem for you.

While the designers accomplished their goals with the music / sound, I found it mediocre.

5 / 10.

Addictiveness: 2 / 10
While repetition is a key factor for addiction in arcade games, I found that the repetitiveness in RR worked against its addictiveness. With shorter levels, you have instant gratification, but there are enough levels to keep the game from being a joke and waste of money.

Easy levels leave no challenge to the game and makes it boring to play many levels in one sitting. Thus, I doubt many get addicted to this game.

One major factor hurting addictiveness is the single-player restriction of the game. Playing a slightly repetitive but exciting game is easier when you’re playing with others and socializing. However, with only single-player, its flaws much easier to experience.

With very little to find addicting, the score lowers to a 2 / 10.

Story: 2 / 10

The Union of World Nations launched an offensive against the Alliance, leading to operation Nighthawk. Through the missions, you attempt to destabilize the empire. While the missions lead to a decisive victory for the Alliance, the game ends with little indication of any lasting implications; Your victory is only a “respite” for the alliance.

With a very simple story that guides the missions but had little lasting effects, this category scores a low 2 / 10.

Depth: 2 / 10
While the game is simple and straightforward, it suffers an extreme lack of depth. You complete objective and choose which aircraft to use in the level.

By completing missions, challenges are unlocked that you can play for more aircraft options.

Remembering that it’s emulating an arcade game, I’m not surprised at the lack of depth. However, if it had more depth, it would have been less repetitive and increased its overall score.

Needless to say, this category rates extremely low. 2 / 10.

Difficulty: 2 / 10
Without time restrictions and large open places to survive, the game has a severe lack of difficulty. The “hardest” levels are easily played within twenty minutes.

The lack of difficulty, once again shows the designers appealing to younger, inexperienced players while alienated older ones. I find that surprising, since younger players are less likely to have played aerial arcade games. It appeared before their time.

The total time to beat the game takes around 11 hours for inexperienced players and might be beat in as little as 4 hours if you have experience with simulated flight games. However, this time will usually be split up for an hour at a time every few days, since it’s not addictive.

I found my time spent on the game pointless, since there was very little challenge.

Since there is essentially no difficulty in RR, this category scores 2 / 10.

Overall: 4 / 10
Holistically comparing important categories yields a poor overall score of 4 / 10.

With graphics being the only strength of the game, gameplay suffered tremendously. The pronounced weaknesses, while intentional by the designers, did create the popularity that they expected. Having bought the game new at Walmart, I feel that my money went to waste. I would not recommend buying it new and if you’re not into arcade games, I wouldn’t buy it at all.

If you decide to buy it, you might do so if:
1. you’re an arcade game collector

2. you like aerial fight games and can stand the repetitiveness

3. want a quick game that can be finished in a matter of hours

For those three cases specifically, the game would suit your needs. Otherwise, don’t bother.

Thank you for reading!

Nice job. I always enjoy reading your reviews. They are always consistently good, and this one is no different. Keep it up