By Reece Merryweather-Brown
Yeah, I know, you’ve probably heard of this. And if you haven’t excellent. One of Lucas Arts’ last games (before the b****** mouse shut them down, got rid of Star Wars 1313 and then decided to ride the movie franchise for its miniscule worth) was far from met with critical acclaim. Or any sort of acclaim really. No-one liked it. Except me. And here’s why.
Yeah, I know, you’ve probably heard of this. And if you haven’t excellent. One of Lucas Arts’ last games (before the b****** mouse shut them down, got rid of Star Wars 1313 and then decided to ride the movie franchise for its miniscule worth) was far from met with critical acclaim. Or any sort of acclaim really. No-one liked it. Except me. And here’s why.
Now, before I begin, I’m not just going to tell you it’s amazing, it’s not. Far from it. It could’ve been a lot better and there are a lot of problems. For instance the story. It doesn’t really make that much sense, even in a sci-fi game with glowing sticks of death and planets with two Suns (seriously, not possible.) But seriously, who cares? How much does everyone love Mario? A lot right? I’ve got to be honest here but for me personally, I never really got drawn into the hole ‘Fat Italian plumber who doesn’t know how to fix a pipe for toffee, but stomps on stuff (because why not?), goes to save princess who gets kidnapped as a hobby.’ And the amount of films that throw a completely rubbish story at you so they can smash you in the face with giant robots vs. some alien thing that looks like a bat that came from the sea is quite considerable (and highly rated…oddly) so why can’t it be the same for games? But regardless, I enjoyed this story devoid, compressed title, and I’m going to do my best to convince you, dear reader, that I have not lost my mind.
This is going to be difficult
For one, who reading this article would not like to be a Jedi? If you raised your hand or…mouse then leave the room…or this article. Point is, everyone loves the idea of being a Jedi (or a Sith, whatever.) You have a sword that can be whatever colour you want, and the power to move stuff with your mind (and strangle, electrocute, trick and crush anyone or anything.) I mean, you’ve seen the films, it was all about saber-play, and the Force was never used to do much more than trick some dudes and mildly irritate a combatant. But that’s all changed now. With a press of a button you can send a ball of solid-energy into stormtroopers to send them hurtling towards their death. Another can electrocute enemies to stun them, in preparation for the multitude of sabre combos you can unleash upon them. And hey, look! Dismemberment! Yes indeedy, instead of lightsabers acting like baseball bats they act like, y’know, glowing swords that harness the power of a star. Arms, heads, bodies, all can be removed from the helpless NPC’s body with anything from one to multiple strikes (depending on the enemy.)
Prepare yourself for a severe case of no-headitus
The scenery is beautiful, from the rainy cloning facility on Kamino to the deserted corridors of a dying frigate. Everything looks amazing, and everything works in relation to other things. Upon throwing your lightsabers, if they are blocked (by certain resistant enemy types) and drop to the floor, upon their return they will very rarely pass through inanimate objects, and enemies who stray too close are caught unawares as a returning saber renders them headless. Character movement is smooth and there’s no horribly cheesy death animations, just simple ‘drop like a sack of potatos.’ And, while there is a premature, deformed story behind it all, the game is fun enough to make up for all that.
I told you guys! I have problems with my personal space!
In addition to the story mode, there’s also a host of collectibles. Holocrons which give you a health, force or money increase can be found, as well as ones which can give you different lightsaber colours (it’s a nice touch.) There’s challenge maps aplenty so there’s still loads to do (and there’s even an unofficial way of making your own game mode where you can just fight wave after wave of enemies and have as much fun as you want.)
Overall, the game could’ve been much better. The story is pointless, it’s crammed full of QTEs every time you fight something larger than you and it could've lasted more than 6 levels. But I’ve never played a video game that has made me feel like an actual Jedi, and even rarer still that I’ve played a game that gives the player so much power to wield and so many various ways to wield it. The videogame’s been out for a while now so it’s going to be really cheap and I can heartily recommend it to you. Ignore the story, the QTEs and the length of it and focus on the sheer joy you get from charging forward and decapitating a stormtrooper, or lifting up a guard and slamming him face first into the ground. It’s cheap, it’s purrrty and above all it’s good, silly fun. So buy it.
Overall, the game could’ve been much better. The story is pointless, it’s crammed full of QTEs every time you fight something larger than you and it could've lasted more than 6 levels. But I’ve never played a video game that has made me feel like an actual Jedi, and even rarer still that I’ve played a game that gives the player so much power to wield and so many various ways to wield it. The videogame’s been out for a while now so it’s going to be really cheap and I can heartily recommend it to you. Ignore the story, the QTEs and the length of it and focus on the sheer joy you get from charging forward and decapitating a stormtrooper, or lifting up a guard and slamming him face first into the ground. It’s cheap, it’s purrrty and above all it’s good, silly fun. So buy it.
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