Star Wars: Obi-Wan

"...A diamond in the rough? Maybe."

Introduction

Obi-Wan Kenobi lives another day in Lucas Art’s new Star Wars installment, Star Wars: Obi-Wan. Another game in the wildly popular Star Wars franchise, this game is here to please on the Microsoft X-Box. But will it live up to Lucas Art’s mediocre Star Wars titles, or will it be a diamond in the rough?

Gameplay: 8.1

SW:O offers many lightsaber and force tricks that you will like for the first couple of levels. However, after you get used to these Jedi tricks, you will find yourself wanting more of a game. You will just be running around aimlessly, killing tons of very weak opponents. This turns the game from a Star Wars wonder to a dull game of pong. Sure, you can use some special techniques, but it is just the same old game. There is no difficulty setting, making the game a cakewalk after you master it. Even when not using any force tricks at all, you will still find yourself killing the enemies in a couple simple blows. SW:O is fun, at first, but it gets old quickly both in difficulty and fun.

Visuals: 4.9

A failing feature, SW:O falls flat on it’s back in graphics boasting 32 or possible 64 bit type visuals. This might work with systems like the Playstation or Nintendo 64, but not for the visually enhanced Microsoft X-Box. When playing SW:Ogame you will be reminded of the old Harry Potter installments for the Playstation. These graphics are dull, and not detailed. Sadly, the graphics are exactly like this. Most of the characters faces look un-detailed, and there mouths are made up of one small black line. The enemies are almost always identical, only giving us three or four face designs per level. The game is colorful, however, and looks like the Star Wars era completely. In the end, this games graphics look like the designers just took it from another Star Wars game, not thinking about how the visuals on the X-Box should be spectacular.

Storyline: 10

One of the best aspects in SW:O is the storyline, for the simple reason that it has to do with Star Wars. The events that are revealed in SW:O are directly before the horrific era of episode I. It pretty much follows what would have happened before episode I, having you as a young padawan still learning the ways of the force. Throughout your journey you will fight alongside many Jedi masters, including your master, Qui-Gon. All these details make the game wonderful for any Jedi-fanatic, making this one of the best features in SW:O.

Audio: 5

You have to laugh at what I gave this. The music in the game is pretty bland, and uninteresting. The designers should of ripped the music from the Star Wars movies and put it in the game. That would have been a lot better then what they did, which is make up new music that is supposedly Star Wars. The voice acting is worse. Obi-Wan’s voice sounds like a radical teen that is drunk, and his voice doesn’t get much better throughout the game. He doesn’t say many things, but when he does, you have to get a smirk on your face. The voice actor just acts so bland, so pathetic, that you want to mute the volume. The other characters talk like should, wise and old. The only other complaint I have in the voice-acting department is the training course instructor. The voice crumbles a lot, and is hard to hear. If the producers were thinking of it as a droid, they should of at least gave it a droid-like voice. Instead, it seems like they get “Joe Schmoe” and have him do the voice acting. These points are begging for a pathetic score, and that is what is will get.

Controls: 7.6

The controls are very difficult to get used to. You will find yourself ducking when you should be sidestepping, rolling when you should be jumping, and using all your force points to throw your lightsaber instead of doing a force push. After a couple hours of playtime, you will finally get used to using the regular controls of the game. Then they throw things like “force jump” and such into the mix and you get confused again! The lightsaber controls are awkward at first, seeming like it is in the wrong place. After a while of playing, you will finally get used to it. Then, the fun begins. You can thrust your lightsaber a couple ways and deflect blaster shots. It’s all good. Or mediocre, if you are like me and didn’t bother to play the game for a couple hours.

Life Span: 9

Another good aspect if you decide to play this game long enough. This game boasts long missions, covering the acts before Episode I. These missions get more difficult, but still remain the very original “hack at 20 enemies then open the door.” There is also the aspect of battles, where you can face off against a friend and show him what you can do. This is a great aspect of this game, if your friend actually bothered to get good at the game. You get to choose from many Star Wars character, and that’s cool.

Final Verdict

Gameplay: 8.1
Visuals: 4.9
Storyline: 10
Audio: 5
Controls: 7.6
Life Span: 9
Overall: 7/10

Recommendation
Rent this game for the good of the force, and yourself. If you like the feel of it, and don’t like care for the pathetic visuals, then go buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/28/03, Updated 07/28/03