Star Wars: Obi-Wan

"How could I like such an unpolished game?"

To many, Obi-Wan is up there with Kabuki Warriors and Bruce Lee as one of the worst Xbox games out there. I can see why some would feel that way. Star Wars: Obi-Wan is quite unpolished in all areas, except for the controls. This is where the fun from the game can be taken from as it has little to offer besides that.

Graphics-6
On the Dreamcast these graphics would be ok, but the Xbox is another story. The textures are bad the character models as weak, especially the faces of the characters. The backgrounds are awful in many levels and parts of the game. Obi-wan attempts to implement drastic shadow effects in some areas, these attempts fall flat on there face. The only bright spot is the water, its some of the best looking water in any game.

Gameplay/Controls-9
Yes this is where Obi-wan shines. The lightsaber and force power moves are a breeze to pull off and are most satisfying. The lightsaber duels is where the best moments of the game occur. You face off against other Jedi and Sith knights in extremely fun lightsaber duels. Maybe Lucasarts should have just focused on the lightsaber duels and made a 3-D Jedi fighter?

Sound-8
Well of course this is going to be a fairly solid area, this IS a Star Wars game were talking about. The music is great and everything else is simply ''ok''. So the great music is off set by the ''ok'' sounds in the rest of the game.

Story-7
It tells the story of Obi-wan before Episode I. The story actually falls over into events in Episode I, so its not entirely a prequel. Considering how good the Star Wars movies storylines are, you would think that Obi-wan would tell a great story. Well it really doesn't, it could have been a great story, but the presentation is rather poor and in the end its simply not much to get excited about.

Replay-8
I found myself glued to this game for a while after I originally completed it. It was the great lightsaber control system that brought me back. How much you play it after you complete it will depend on how well you liked the lightsaber system.

Buy or Rent?
Star Wars Obi-wan is currently at the Platinum Hits price of only $20. At this price I would recommend buying this game. Especially if you've always wanted to have a game where you could use some cool lightsaber attacks and Jedi powers.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/03, Updated 06/04/03