Star Wars Arcade

"Destroy all enemy fighters...AGAIN!"

Star Wars Arcade is supposedly one of the few good 32X titles out there. Well after playing through it when I got my 32X I have to say I don't see how this is possible. Even when I played it back then I didn't think it was very good. The worst thing about this game is the terrible look and the very limited mobility. But we'll go over that in the review.

Presentation

The game starts with an opening demo with a crappy 1st generation 3D remake of the first few minutes of Star Wars Episode IV. It actually looks pretty cool but still, not terribly impressive if you know what I mean. Then we move on to a menu where you choose to either play the 32X version of the game with “More challenging and extended levels” or Arcade which is obviously just the way it played in the Arcade. In the game you have two views, cockpit and behind the X-Wing. Cockpit is the only way you can see how many torpedoes you have, for some reason it isn't displayed in the X-Wing view. Overall I think it's best to stay in the X-Wing view because it gives you more visibility.

During each level you have your shields display showing how many hits you take before you're toast, a little Tie Fighter counter that shows how many Tie Fighters are left, your score the high score and the time. The Presentation is actually pretty good, I just can't figure why you can't see how many torpedoes you have when you're in X-Wing view.

Score : 7.8 – Good

Gameplay

I mentioned that there are two modes of play, 32X Mode and Arcade. What's the difference? Basically 32X Mode is just longer levels, that means more tedious to me, if a game seems tedious to someone that's a bad thing. Arcade mode seems to be a little faster paced, so I recommend playing Arcade mode. I also mentioned something about limited mobility, well it seems like when you play in one of the open space levels it's not very open. You can only move up and down very little and you can't really bank or anything else, then again maybe I expecting a little much out of a game this old.

Most of the time you are just eliminating Tie Fighters in each level but sometimes you'll have to fly through a large spacecraft and take out an engine or a power source or something. These missions are a little more fun but also pretty difficult. There is also a two player mode where you and a buddy fly a Y-Wing, this actually makes the game a bit more enjoyable than it initially is, but then again anything with 2 Player is always a little more fun.

Score : 6.5 – Decent

Graphics

Well there really isn't much to say about the graphics. They defiantly aren't pretty. The lasers are pretty nice looking and the Tie Fighters are too. Everything else looks pretty bad though. Especially the torpedoes, they look like a child scribbled them into the game.
The explosions look pretty nice too.

Score : 5.1 – Banal

Sound

You've got your standard engine noises, laser noises and crappy explosions, followed by an ok remake of the Star Wars theme that plays in EVERY SINGLE LEVEL! You'd figure that they'd have a few different tracks but I guess not. The admiral's voice is lame and sometimes when you get hit your R-Unit always makes that annoying R2 noise whenever something bad happens to him in the movie. It translates terribly onto a 32X cart and it's one of the most annoying sound effects I've ever heard. But really all the sound effects sound like they're being done through one of those large cardboard tubes.

Score : 2.2 – Terrible

Replay

Once you play through the game by yourself there really isn't much of a reason to try again. Unless you want to attempt 32X mode but I find it way too boring. Two player mode is nice to play with a few friends if they can tolerate the game, other than that I really wouldn't see any reason to go back and play again unless you're on a nostalgia trip.

Score : 5.4 – Banal

Overview

Some people may think this a pretty good 32X game, and they're entitled to their opinions but I on the other hand don't really think this is a diamond in the rough. It may be worth getting if you've played the original Arcade game, loved it and getting the cabinet isn't an option, or if you just want to try it. I've defiantly had my fill though.

Score : 5.4 – Banal

Modified to 5/10 for Gamefaqs.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 07/24/06