Star Wars Arcade

"Star Wars Arcade: Good Thing They Added "Arcade""

Star Wars Arcade could have been more. Alas, it's not. But what it is is a superior arcade format game on the Sega Genesis 32X. Sega screwed up badly by not supporting this console add-on better and so we never got to really see its potential. Star Wars Arcade reveals that. There's a lot of good with this game, but it feels rushed. It's almost as if they knew Sega was going to pull the plug on the project before they had time to finish it.

There are one and two-player modes but the game offers the same either way. Some say it's easier playing with two-people while others claim it's easier to concentrate alone. It's up to the player I would say. It's a nice choice though, but an inconsequential one.

The graphics were for their time outstanding. Polygon-based, asteroids explode when you shoot them and you can fly right through the remains. Ships swoop by in front of you and you can chase them through three-dimensional space. It doesn't seem like an awesome concept now but it sure was then. And the result is that the space battles are typical of the kind of space battles we're accustomed to seeing as a result of the Star Wars movies. They're fun, and you've got the freedom to move around rather than follow a set pattern. There's some difficulty, but nothing you can't handle. Unfortunately that changes with some of the levels, where you find there's only a narrow path to follow. And some of these levels are just plain hard and frustrating. Plus, there's the unfortunate aspect of repetitiveness about the levels between various game modes. They're the same thing, only slightly different. After a while, that gets tiresome.

So is it worth playing? Yes and no. Star Wars Arcade showed the promise of the 32X, a promise that was cut short by Sega. They should be ashamed of themselves, but in the end it was their own throat they cut. If they'd kept the line longer and put more effort into the games rather than rushing them to completion, it would have been an awesome platform with some pretty impressive games. But alas they did not do so. That's why people play the Playstation today and not a Sega console. But a long time ago in a galaxy not so far away, the 32X produced a pretty good game.

Control: 7
Game-play: 6
Graphics: 9
Sound: 6
Originality: 6
Replay Value: 5
OVERALL: 6

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/05