Oops, this blog has become all Star Wars! Bear with me, it’s drawing to an end soon. So here’s something I never considered looking into because I don’t care for the latter two prequels. But when I saw the sprites on the back of the box in a shop I had to check it out!
Episode II had a very janky-looking tie-in game only for GBA that was an action platformer. They obviously put some more money into the Episode III tie-in project with a console version for all three current platforms and a GBA/DS crossover title. The latter is basically identical between platforms, except that GBA gets bonus link cable co-op missions, and DS gets extra ship levels with chunky 3D graphics inserted into the campaign (as well as a multiplayer ship battle mode). These are kind of jarringly different from the “main” gameplay, but they’re at least competently done, comparable to other handheld Star Wars ship gameplay I’ve had recently. Although there seems to have been a mistake with swapping two ship levels between Obi-Wan and Anakin’s campaigns.
Speaking of which: the main game is a belt-scrolling beat-em-up with some RPG elements that let you upgrade your stats and Force abilities. As in the film, Obi-Wan and Anakin’s paths diverge (in more ways than one) so there’s two stories to play through. Their different approaches to their powers (because one is good and one is teh evulz) make them feel different enough to play as, despite most levels playing out similarly. Walk to the right in a static hallway, smash some droids/people, with the occasional environmental hazard.
What stood out to me initially is what I enjoyed the most as I played through: the spritework is just beautiful, especially in motion. Characters are fluidly animated, which is especially important in the duel-like boss fights. This is backed up by responsive controls with just the right level of complexity, although in pressure situations remembering what your special move combinations are can be tricky. Luckily the DS’s bottom screen has shortcut buttons; thank you dual-screen hardware.
I do think the story of this movie is stupid, but it provides a decent enough framework for the game with varied enemy types; of course, the game fleshes this out a fair bit with some huge new droid designs, entire clone platoons to fight off, and plenty of Jedi to mow down as Vader. Unfortunately this version of the game replaces Serra Keto (the cool new character introduced in the console game as a Jedi Temple boss fight alongside Cin Drallig) with a generic padawan. Still, I must commend this game for beating the “licensed game curse” by being a fun, nice-looking beat-em-up. Give the license back to Ubisoft I say!
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