The graphics in XWA are second to none. I played the game using my pair of Monster II cards, but found the Viper 550 AGP card achieved a faster framerate and easily supported those missions where there were over 50 ships on the screen at any given time. Explosions look like they were captured from the movies and the insert window on the HUD which shows your targeted ship displays some of the finest 3D models and textures seen in any space combat sim. Tie fighters break apart and spark as each piece explodes into space dust and the larger capital ships explode into satisfying large chunks and tumble off into space. Switching to an external camera and panning around any of your ships will reveal detailed textures which were taken directly from the vaults at Lucasfilm and are advertised as being the best textures in any Star Wars game - I agree.
Scale is immense.
Some of the space stations are massive and you can even fly into them. A strafing run down the topside of a Star Destroyer can easily take 20 seconds and Vader's ship, the Executor simply fills the screen with its awe-inspiring evil presence. The background planet images look like NASA photos. Asteroids, nebula, and other fantasy space objects are rendered in almost obscene detail. Colored lighting has been added to the enhanced XvT engine to render some beautiful images.