Star Wars Arcade

"The Force is weak in this one...."

In a long standing tradition of Star Wars games, it has had its fair share of good and bad games, with most of those laying on the later systems such as Play Station and Nintendo 64. However, in a long ago effort to breathe some diversity and life into an add-on system that was the Sega 32-X, Star Wars Arcade tried to take fans of the Star Wars Universe to a new level of gaming, and ended up falling at boarder-line mediocrity instead! Placing you in the pilot seat of the infamous X-Wing fighter, you're charged with taking out the forces of the evil Empire and the Death Star as well through several difficult and in some cases damn near impossible missions. Adding to this two different modes of play that included the 'Arcade' version of the game as well as the 'Enhanced 32-X' version, you'll be hard pressed to find any real differences in either game that make any sort of impact!

-Game Play 5/10-

Much like the old Star Wars simulation game in the Arcade that featured vector visuals instead of fully composed ones, you're put in the pilot seat of an X-Wing fighter and sent through several missions that revolve mainly around blowing up as many Tie Fighters within a set time limit before they overwhelm you! At first, the novelty of the game really shines through, but the overall boring factor sets in after the fourth stage. Now, add in the supposedly different '32-X' version of the game, and you'll find that there is no real difference between the two other than the supposed enhanced visuals!

-Control 5/10-

Very stiff and in some cases unresponsive, the Genesis controller or rather the six button controller is needed here and even then, it does nothing to help! You'll find that aiming is pretty simple, but actually controlling your fighter through the missions takes plenty of practice and plenty of patience. There is nothing like getting most of the way through a very tough mission, only to have the control spaz out on you and then you get blown into a million pieces!

-Visuals 5/10-

If you're playing the original Arcade version or the Enhanced 32-X version, you're still playing the same game with poorly drawn environments and pop up enemy fighters! Even the expansive Star Destroyers that looked so large and impressive in the moives has a hard time making a decent showing here. Explosions look grainy and horribly drawn, and the laser blasts that come at you, or away from your ship if you're firing, don't make much of an effect, and in some cases they disappear altogether!

-Audio 5/10-

The music here is supposed to be inspiring, and make you think that you're doing something good for the fate of the galaxy, but it doesn't even make a mark in your mind! The music setting and even the track is set so low, that you'll really have to strain your ears in order to hear what the game has to offer. The sound effects also run the same way, with laser blasts sounding just like they did in the movies, but the exploding ships sounding like a paper bag being popped!

-Overall 5/10-

Like most Star Wars games of its time, SW: Arcade falls flat in most areas, and will make any true fan of the Star Wars theme cringe instantly. With horrid control, mismatched difficulty and a handful of visual problems that come about with either 'version' that the title has to offer, Star Wars Arcade is more or less for fanatics who just want another piece of Star Wars merchandise to collect!

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 10/09/01, Updated 10/09/01