<s>
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
:	I-Application
Shadows	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
is	O
a	O
third-person	O
shooter	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
LucasArts	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
and	O
published	O
by	O
LucasArts	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
on	O
December	O
3	O
,	O
1996	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
on	O
September	O
9	O
,	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Good	O
Old	O
Games	O
re-released	O
it	O
on	O
May	O
3	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
compatibility	O
update	O
for	O
64-bit	B-Device
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
:	I-Application
Shadows	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
multimedia	O
project	O
and	O
has	O
a	O
backstory	O
between	O
The	O
Empire	O
Strikes	O
Back	O
and	O
Return	O
of	O
the	O
Jedi	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shadows	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
is	O
the	O
third	O
top-selling	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
game	O
for	O
1997	O
,	O
with	O
more	O
than	O
one	O
million	O
copies	O
sold	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
:	I-Application
Shadows	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
plays	O
primarily	O
as	O
a	O
third-person	O
shooter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
later	O
levels	O
,	O
Rendar	O
acquires	O
a	O
jetpack	B-Application
to	O
traverse	O
larger	O
gaps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
jetpack	B-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
under	O
water	O
in	O
the	O
sewer	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
lives	O
can	O
be	O
acquired	O
,	O
however	O
if	O
the	O
player	O
runs	O
out	O
of	O
lives	O
a	O
game	B-Application
over	I-Application
sequence	O
occurs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
"	O
Part	O
III	O
:	O
Hunting	O
the	O
Assassins	O
"	O
,	O
Jabba	O
sends	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
swoop	O
bikers	O
to	O
Obi-Wan	O
Kenobi	O
's	O
home	O
,	O
where	O
Luke	O
is	O
practicing	O
his	O
Jedi	B-Application
skills	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Luke	O
informs	O
Dash	O
of	O
a	O
secret	O
imperial	O
supercomputer	B-Architecture
aboard	O
the	O
Imperial	O
Freighter	O
Suprosa	O
,	O
containing	O
unknown	O
important	O
Imperial	O
construction	O
plans	O
for	O
the	O
Death	O
Star	O
II	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
work	O
on	O
Shadows	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
project	O
started	O
in	O
late	O
1994	O
with	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
making	O
a	O
side	O
story	O
to	O
the	O
movies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jon	O
Knoles	O
,	O
who	O
was	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
senior	O
artist	O
and	O
animator	O
and	O
previously	O
worked	O
on	O
other	O
LucasArts	O
games	O
for	O
PC	O
and	O
SNES	O
,	O
is	O
credited	O
with	O
bringing	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
Shadows	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
and	O
placing	O
it	O
between	O
the	O
films	O
The	O
Empire	O
Strikes	O
Back	O
and	O
Return	O
of	O
the	O
Jedi	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
LucasArts	O
used	O
the	O
level	O
editor	O
of	O
the	O
Jedi	B-Application
engine	I-Application
,	O
previously	O
used	O
on	O
its	O
games	O
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
:	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
Forces	I-Application
and	O
Outlaws	B-Application
,	O
to	O
create	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
3D	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
programmed	O
in	O
the	O
language	O
C	B-Language
.	O
The	O
game	O
was	O
originally	O
planned	O
to	O
have	O
19	O
levels	O
,	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Power	I-Application
reported	O
a	O
reduction	O
to	O
12	O
levels	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
final	O
release	O
has	O
10	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LucasArts	O
's	O
choice	O
to	O
be	O
an	O
early	O
adopter	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
came	O
from	O
what	O
company	O
leaders	O
believed	O
were	O
missed	O
opportunities	O
for	O
revenue	O
on	O
game	O
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
work	O
began	O
on	O
Shadows	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
,	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
hardware	O
had	O
not	O
been	O
finalized	O
by	O
Silicon	O
Graphics	O
(	O
SGI	O
)	O
and	O
Nintendo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
SGI	O
approximated	O
the	O
console	O
's	O
performance	O
and	O
functionality	O
profile	O
using	O
a	O
SGI	B-General_Concept
Onyx	I-General_Concept
supercomputer	B-Architecture
with	O
the	O
RealityEngine2	O
graphics	O
subsystem	O
with	O
the	O
Performer	O
3D	O
API	O
—	O
the	O
architecture	O
which	O
had	O
originally	O
inspired	O
SGI	O
's	O
design	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
LucasArts	O
developers	O
already	O
had	O
extensive	O
experience	O
with	O
the	O
SGI	O
platform	O
,	O
which	O
eased	O
the	O
prototyping	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
approximately	O
18	O
months	O
until	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
hardware	O
was	O
finalized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eventually	O
,	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
hardware	O
cards	O
were	O
released	O
for	O
SGI	B-Operating_System
Indy	I-Operating_System
workstations	O
,	O
and	O
given	O
to	O
the	O
team	O
to	O
replace	O
the	O
software-based	O
profile	O
on	O
Onyx	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
team	O
's	O
SGI	O
expertise	O
and	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
's	O
design	O
heritage	O
from	O
the	O
Onyx	O
,	O
they	O
ported	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
the	O
console	O
in	O
three	O
days	O
and	O
continued	O
development	O
on	O
Indy	O
,	O
while	O
still	O
performing	O
large	O
environmental	O
precalculations	O
on	O
Onyx	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Motion	B-Application
capture	I-Application
was	O
done	O
at	O
LucasArts	O
's	O
sister	O
company	O
Industrial	O
Light	O
&	O
Magic	O
(	O
ILM	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
recorded	O
animations	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
unusable	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
redone	O
manually	O
using	O
keyframes	O
in	O
Alias	B-Device
Power	I-Device
Animator	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Shadows	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
multimedia	O
project	O
,	O
a	O
full	O
soundtrack	O
was	O
composed	O
by	O
Joel	O
McNeely	O
and	O
recorded	O
with	O
the	O
Royal	O
Scottish	O
National	O
Orchestra	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
unique	O
among	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
games	O
for	O
using	O
a	O
digitized	O
orchestral	O
soundtrack	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
synthesized	O
music	O
like	O
that	O
in	O
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
:	I-Application
Rogue	I-Application
Squadron	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cygan	O
reprises	O
his	O
role	O
in	O
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
:	I-Application
X-Wing	I-Application
Alliance	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
much	O
greater	O
storage	O
space	O
available	O
with	O
a	O
PC	O
,	O
LucasArts	O
added	O
full	B-Application
motion	I-Application
video	I-Application
(	O
FMV	O
)	O
cinematic	O
sequences	O
and	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
additional	O
speech	O
clips	O
to	O
the	O
Windows	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Knowles	O
,	O
when	O
working	O
on	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
,	O
the	O
development	O
team	O
could	O
have	O
adapted	O
the	O
Windows	O
version	O
's	O
FMV	O
sequences	O
into	O
animated	O
cutscenes	O
using	O
the	O
game	O
engine	O
(	O
which	O
would	O
have	O
substantially	O
lower	O
quality	O
than	O
FMV	O
,	O
but	O
use	O
only	O
a	O
tiny	O
fraction	O
of	O
the	O
storage	O
space	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
this	O
would	O
have	O
severely	O
delayed	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
release	O
,	O
so	O
they	O
used	O
just	O
still	O
images	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
's	O
cutscenes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
supplemented	O
with	O
a	O
3D	B-Device
acceleration	I-Device
card	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Windows	O
version	O
runs	O
at	O
a	O
resolution	O
of	O
pixels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
runs	O
at	O
a	O
320	O
x	O
240	O
resolution	O
with	O
hardware	O
based	O
blending	O
and	O
anti-aliasing	B-Algorithm
features	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
difference	O
in	O
resolution	O
less	O
obvious	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
demonstration	O
at	O
the	O
1996	O
Electronic	O
Entertainment	O
Expo	O
met	O
with	O
mixed	O
reactions	O
,	O
LucasArts	O
canceled	O
its	O
plans	O
to	O
release	O
it	O
with	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
North	O
American	O
launch	O
,	O
postponing	O
it	O
until	O
December	O
to	O
give	O
the	O
production	O
team	O
a	O
few	O
more	O
months	O
for	O
quality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shadows	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
December	O
3	O
,	O
1996	O
,	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
,	O
three	O
months	O
after	O
the	O
console	O
's	O
launch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
developer	O
reporting	O
more	O
than	O
one	O
million	O
copies	O
sold	O
by	O
1997	O
,	O
It	O
is	O
the	O
third	O
top-selling	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
game	O
for	O
that	O
year	O
(	O
September	O
1996	O
to	O
August	O
1997	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
third	O
top-selling	O
game	O
on	O
any	O
system	O
for	O
the	O
1996	O
Christmas	O
shopping	O
season	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
version	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
September	O
17	O
,	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
coming	O
decades	O
,	O
compatibility	O
problems	O
arose	O
,	O
so	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
re-released	O
for	O
64-bit	B-Device
Windows	O
systems	O
on	O
May	O
3	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
through	O
Good	O
Old	O
Games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
26	O
,	O
2019	O
,	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
was	O
re-released	O
in	O
both	O
a	O
standard	O
and	O
Collector	O
's	O
Edition	O
in	O
limited	O
quantities	O
by	O
Limited	O
Run	O
Games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shadows	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
has	O
received	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
from	O
critics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
many	O
other	O
critics	O
,	O
Shawn	O
Smith	O
of	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
asserted	O
that	O
all	O
the	O
gameplay	O
styles	O
in	O
Shadows	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
are	O
done	O
extremely	O
well	O
,	O
and	O
said	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
best	O
Star	O
Wars	O
game	O
he	O
had	O
played	O
on	O
either	O
console	O
or	O
PC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EGM	O
named	O
Shadows	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Empire	I-Application
a	O
runner-up	O
for	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
,	O
behind	O
Super	O
Mario	O
64	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
noting	O
little	O
competition	O
for	O
this	O
category	O
,	O
because	O
only	O
eight	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
games	O
were	O
released	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
in	O
1996	O
,	O
they	O
called	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
a	O
tour-de-force	O
that	O
all	O
Star	O
Wars	O
fans	O
must	O
check	O
out	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
named	O
it	O
a	O
runner-up	O
for	O
Best	O
Music	O
,	O
behind	O
Wipeout	B-Application
XL	I-Application
.	O
</s>
