Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

"Everyone who bashes this game is now an enemy of the Republic."

Ah, LucasArts, you lovable game developer, with your hit or miss games. This is the first game in a while that I've seen spark so much intense opinion on both sides of the spectrum. Many people think this is one of the best games of all time, which I disagree with completely, and many think that this game is complete and utter garbage, which I also have to disagree with. It is, in my opinion, better than the Jedi Knight series.

If the game has any major weak point, it's probably the graphics. They are not terrible by any means, but they aren't that great. Everyone looks like who they should look like, but they are pixelated and grainy. There is very little attention to detail. The graphics are simply rough and unpolished. While they aren't bad, I expected more from the Xbox.

If the Star Wars games have any overall consistency, it's in the sound department. The music is familiar, bringing you all of the John Williams classics. The voice actors are the same actors used for the Clone Wars animated series, so they aren't too bad, even if the voice actor for Anakin sounds bored out of his mind half the time. The sound effects are great as always, bringing loud blaster shots and crisp lightsaber clashes. No complaints here.

The controls are smooth and, for the most part, responsive. Three buttons control your lightsaber swinging. It's certainly a step up from Jedi Academy's "press the swing button millions of times and jump around like a moron hoping to connect" style of lightsaber fighting. The only major problem I had is that the Forcce Grip/Push button, the R button, sometimes didn't respond. When you're in a heated lightsaber battle with the boss of a stage, you want that Force button to work. That, however, is the only complaint I have in the controls department.

This game is a hack and slash, similar to the Lord of The Rings games. You run around slashing up droids and soldiers, and other enemies depending on the level, and you fight a boss. There's really nothing more to the game than that. I've seen a lot of people claim that this game is too hard on normal mode. I'm sorry, but that is simply not the case. This game is not difficult in the slightest. It was a blast chopping my way through the game, but I beat it in a few hours. The boss fights are great fun, even if they can be a tad cheap at times. Have fun fighting Count Dooku for the first time. The Force powers become a great asset to the game. Force Lightning is always fun, Force Grip/Push is a great way to throw enemies over a ledge, and Force Heal speaks for itself.

There is a two player co-op mode, but it's only for specially designed levels.

There is a versus mode in which two Jedi/Sith face off. It's kind of like Masters of Teras Kasi but good. That's always fun.

Sadly, this game suffers from a lack of replayability. I had fun going through the game, but after I did, I have no real reason to pick it up again. It's an easy, short game which really doesn't make you want to pick it up again. If you're a diehard Star Wars fan, go ahead and buy it. Otherwise, rent it. I assure you, you will beat this game in a rental.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/10/05