Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Score: 85% ESRB: Teen Publisher: LucasArts Developer: Pandemic Studios Media: GCD/1 Players: 1 - 4 Players Genre: Shooter
Graphics & Sound: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... Aw, c'mon, after the number of Star Wars related reviews, previews, and news stories I've done, I had to start one off like that eventually! By now I'm sure most, if not all of you have either seen or heard about that little movie called Star Wars: Attack of the Clones that was released a few months ago, so I'll just jump right into the review since I really want to get back to playing the game. Clone Wars isn't one of the more impressive games I've seen on the GC as of late, but by the same token its not the worse either. The game does an excellent job of bringing all the grit and epic action from the silver screen to your console. All of the game's ships look exactly like they do in the movie and animate just as well. It's neat to see all of the little details on ships such as vents moving on your ship when you turn (or strafe) or cannons recoil. I was especially impressed with all of the details that were thrown in such as smoke trails, dirt being kicked up, and those nice flashy explosions no Star Wars license would be without. As with most Star Wars games, Clone Wars features the award winning John Williams score straight from the movies. Instead of limiting itself to just music from Episode II, the game takes themes from all of the movies and does a very good job pairing them with the appropriate situations. There's just something about hearing the 'Trade Federation Theme' when a group attacks or hearing the not-to-subtle Imperial March theme while on the bridge of my Command Cruiser that made me want to keep playing the game. The only aspect where the game stumbles is the quality of the voice acting. As usual, the developers did a fantastic job with finding convincing sound-alikes, but the quality of the recording was so poor, that there were times where I could barely make out what I was being told with all the explosions going on around me. But then again, I guess that's just how things are during a war.
Gameplay: For years, Star Wars fans have looked at the Clone Wars with the same sense of awe that American History fans have the Civil War or WWII. These were the battles where Obi-Wan made himself a war hero, Anakin began his decent towards the dark side, and the Empire was born. Until now, little was known about what really happened at the Clone Wars, but by the end of the game most questions will be answered. Surprisingly enough, the game starts right before the end of AotC. Jar-Jar has just screwed the entire galaxy by voting to give Palpatine the powers to create an army, Yoda has set out to Kamino to inspect the clone army, and Mace and the Jedi are on their way to Geonosis to rescue Anakin and Obi-wan. In many ways, Clone Wars serves the same purpose Shadows of the Empire did on the N64 by acting as a bridge between movies. The intention of the game is that you'll participate in the battles that will never make it to the movies, since Episode III is supposed to open up with the last battle of the war. In addition to Geonosis, battles span across six different worlds including Raxus Prime, Rhen Var, and Kashyyyk. At its core, Clone Wars is a straight out vehicle shooter such as Twisted Metal combined with the layout of Rogue Leader or Starfighter. At the beginning of each mission, you will be assigned a vehicle and charged with mission objects, usually meaning just blast the hell out of anything that isn't on your side. These are obviously some of the more intense parts of the game - especially missions that have you rescuing prisoners or refugees. As great as these parts are, there is one major flaw that can ruin parts of the game. At certain points in the game, your Jedi leaves his ship in order to take out a power station or make it to another ship. The problem is that the engine has a very hard time handling these areas, turning what should be agile, mystical warriors into cumbersome, mystical warriors. There's really no way you can make these areas easier - just grin and bear it. The multiplayer options in Clone Wars are what make this game a keeper and are good enough to make you forget about the Jedi issue. Of course, two-player split screen isn't my favorite thing and it never gets as intense as in the story missions, but it's still fun.
Difficulty: When historians go back and review the records of what happened during the Clone Wars, they'll find that most of the fighting was done by either Mace, Obi-Wan, or Anakin. Yes, despite all of their resources, clone armies, and Jedi-Mace, Obi-Wan, and Anakin were the only ones who did any actual fighting. Or at least this is the impression I had while playing through the game. Much of Clone Wars feels like a 'one-man versus the world' scenario - making the game incredibly hard at points. Even when playing on the Padawan level, some missions are outright impossible because of the lack of participation by any of the other soldiers in your army. Sure you have wingmen during missions, but honestly they are about as useful as Jar-Jar Binks in a dogfight. For example, early in the game you are charged with transporting a convoy of Jedi to the arena on Geonosis. Despite having a wingman to help you out, the game throws way too many obstacles in your path, making it an extremely unbalanced battle.
Game Mechanics: Players familiar with Rogue Squadron or any of the other Star Wars vehicle-based games (including Demolition), will feel right at home with Clone Wars. Although the schemes do vary slightly based on which vehicle you're using, they are all easy to use and shouldn't throw anyone for a loop. It is still advisable to take a few minutes at the beginning of each mission so you're not searching for the missiles or turbo button when you need it in a mission. Even with most of it's problems, Clone Wars is still a fun title - especially for Star Wars fans. Whether it's the high-impact vehicle battles, the multiplayer options, or the numerous unlockables, there's always something about Clone Wars that will have you going back to play it just one more time. Which is where I'm going right now...
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Jeremy McGrath Supercross World Turok: Evolution