I managed to rustle up a copy of Star Wars: Episode
III: Revenge of the Sith, and I'm kind of conflicted with myself
right now. First off, I will say that I'll keep this
spoiler-free. I really do not want to ruin anything for
anyone. You see, I really, really enjoyed the game. The
game really does take you through most of the action sequences (that I
believe are) in the movie, and it does it quite effectively. The
story is pretty basic, because they really try to stay away from
spoilers at all costs, and fortunately, they really don't spoil some of
what are sure to be the best moments of the movie.
The combat in
Episode III is extremely fun. For those of you that don't know,
The Collective, the same guys that worked on the original Buffy: The
Vampire Slayer game for the Xbox are the ones who are responsible for
the Episode III game. In fact, Episode III is built on their
engine named, "Slayer", which is from Buffy. I have to give them
a lot of credit for just how much fun they made the lightsaber
dueling. There are tons of combinations you can do in
the game, and you can unlock more as you beat levels because of the
RPG-lite leveling up system that gives you a bit of incentive to
smash every single droid and other enemy coming at you.
Fighting enemies in the game never gets old, mainly because the enemy
variation stays fresh and changes every level or two, and the
environments change just as often as well.
There are a
few cutscenes directly taken from the movie and then blended into
gameplay a'la EA's Two Towers and Return of the King, and they do
contain some spoilers, but I'd say that about 50% of all of the
cutscenes are already common knowledge, and they don't really spoil any
of the combat or huge story twists because you're mainly playing
through those. If anything, I think that the game does a great
job of getting people even more hyped for Episode III because it leaves
so many questions to be answered.
So why did I say I was
conflicted? Well, as fun as the game is, it's very short. I
mean REALLY short. I was able to beat the game in one
sitting. One sitting. That's just a little over 4
hours, and yes, I am including the bonus missions as well. If
you're halfway decent at the combat, and you know how to handle
yourself within the Star Wars world, you'll probably be able to do
exactly the same when you go through it. There are some really
cool unlockables, one of which made me smile with glee when I unlocked
it, and you can spend a while playing the bonus missions, which let you
play as other characters in the storyline besides Anakin and
Obi-Wan.
So is it worth it? Well, I'd really have
to say, "kind of". As I said earlier, the game is short, but
there are some extras there that can keep you entertained for a little
while, but I can't help but be a little bit disappointed with just how
short the game really is. I would definitely recommend that every
Star Wars fan play this though, as it really is a pretty fun
game. May the Force Be With You.
-Jack
