Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

"A "short" game is insignificant next to the power of the Force!"

A "short" game is insignificant next to the power of the Force!

I received this game as a gift and began playing it shortly after watching the film and the game's story is incredible. The storyline of the game follows the exceptionally written story of the film "Revenge of the Sith". After years of waiting, Star Wars game and movie fans will now find out how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader and why. Players are recommended to see the film prior to playing the game, as this game does give away many of the film's turning points. "Revenge of the Sith" is certainly more violent and much more darker than any other of the Star Wars films/games. I will point out that there is a Jedi battle scene in this game in which some young children may find disturbing; certainly young fans of the Jedi Knights from the first two films may find it disturbing. The game features incredible battle scenes and digital movie clips from the film. There's an addicting two player duelist battle mode which will keep players busy for hours on in. I can tell you that this game has received many mixed reviews; many people liked it while others did not. Here's why:

Graphics: 8/10
"Revenge of the Sith" features some incredible background graphics and animation. Players will certainly find the battle on the hot lava planet impressive. The enemies almost match the characters in the film and their animation could not be better. The faces of the main characters however may disappoint some Star Wars fans as their faces do not perfectly match the faces from the film. Overall though, the game has some great imagery.

Sound: 8/10
I can say that the same impressive Star Wars sound effects and music are bundled into "Revenge of the Sith". The game features music tracks from several of the Star Wars installments. Those familiar light saber and blaster sound effects are back as well. On the dark side however, heavy Star Wars fans will for sure critique the game's voice-overs from the main characters; the voices do not perfectly match the voices from the film and some of the dialogue is a bit third-class. Other than that, hook up the stereo and enjoy!

Control: 6/10
Players who like to play their games without opening the instruction manual will benefit from the on-screen instructions on how to control the character. The game also shows the player the button combinations on how to perform special moves and/or attacks. There will be too many effects to memorize however; so grab a piece of paper and a pen and make a cheat-sheet. The other downsides: Sometimes the character will not respond to the player's controls and the camera will sometimes change its position unexpectedly. Getting a character to face in a particular direction can be difficult which may cause some frustration to many players.

Fun (Single Player): 7/10
The single player game follows the well written story quite well, yet the ending will for sure come up very quickly for many players, even when the game difficulty is set to the hardest. Yes, this game is linear and pretty short for advanced players; but well worth the try for the beginner. A challenging way to get around the shortness of this game is to max-out the experience stats and beat each level 100% by collecting every secret, every max-health increase pick-up, and every max-force increase pick-up. Other than that the single player game has its typical features: A set of missions, checkpoints within the missions, and area bosses to defeat. Players can also repeat any completed mission during the game to increase experience, or simply to have fun slashing those battle droids.

Fun (Multi Player): 10/10
Boy, as soon as the kids saw the multi-player duelist battle mode, they were glued to the television set for hours. Once the day was over, they wanted to borrow my game... The battle mode features several characters and arenas based on the story. Each character has his/her own skills, making each battle a thrilling fight. There is a move where a fighter can use the Force to restore his health, making each battle a fight to death. The battle mode is very similar to a typical battle mode game: 2 out of 3 wins the game. This feature may be a good enough reason to own the game; if so, click on the "Cheat Codes & Secrets" button on the top of the Web page to download the codes which will unlock all of the duelist and arenas early. A "short" game is insignificant next to the power of the Force of two battling duelists! There are also challenging co-op modes where two players can fight against a series of enemies, but co-op is nothing like the versus mode. Both young and old Star Wars fans will have hours and hours of fun together playing this game.

Difficulty: Adjustable, but built for the beginner.

Rent or Buy:
If you're the only Star Wars fan in the house, rent, try to get the hang of the controls, and see if it is worth the buy. If you've got a group of video game buddies, buy it, go to two player duelist mode, and enjoy!

Score: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/01/05