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by LucasArts
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Although
the games for Episodes I and II are just as good as the games based on
the original trilogy, I find that I enjoy the originals even more. As I
played through Clone Wars, I was enjoying myself thoroughly, but I
didnt feel the sense of urgency or excitement that I felt when I played
through Rogue Leader last year. I knew that I had to make it to the
final Death Star level in Rogue Leader; in Clone Wars, finishing the
game never seemed as important. Ironically, in many ways Clone Wars is a
more impressive game. The scale is much grander and I like the controls
even better, but the game just didnt speak to me in the same way. Its
amazing how ones sense of nostalgia has the power to color virtually
anythingespecially the games that we play.
I
thought my little Gamecubes powers were limitless. Until today, I had
never seen a game that the system couldnt handle with ease. I dont
know if they needed a little more time with the game to tailor it to the
Gamecubes strengths, or if the little guy is starting to show its
limits. In the thick of massive battles, there are some real drops in
framerate, which almost seemed to affect gameplay. Thats not to say
that its a failure by any stretch of the imagination. Its just that
Im not used to such a low framerate. At points in the game, there were
so many enemies and explosions stuttering around the screen that I
didnt know where to aim or what weapon to shoot. I actually kind of
enjoyed the chaos. It made the game more immersive.
There
are moments in Clone Wars that will simply take your breath away.
Regardless of how you might feel about Episode II, there can be no
contesting its visual appeal. As I watched the movie again on DVD the
other day, I found myself wishing that I could just turn off the sound;
no thats not true, the score and sound effects were wonderful, I just
wanted to turn off the dialogue and enjoy the movie on its most basic
level. Lucas has composed each shot with an incredible attention to
detail and has been able to create a film whose scale seems almost
limitless. He just cant write dialogue to save his life. Some of the
most impressive moments in the film came at the end where Lucas
unleashed hordes of clone troopers, battle droids, and limitless tanks
and gunships. The first time I saw the movie, the ending sequence felt
like the best game that I had absolutely no control over. Clone Wars for
the Gamecube gives you the opportunity to relive that experience with a
controller.
Clone
Wars uses Episode IIs final battle as a starting point. You take on the
roles of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Mace Windu throughout the course of the
game. I found that I actually enjoyed the attempts to further the
narrative of Episode II rather than developing an inconsequential side
story. You get a real sense of the Republics breakdown and how
overwhelming it is for the Jedi. For those of you that cant possibly
wait for Episode III, Clone wars will give you a little bit of narrative
to help you along the way. Its not badly written and the voice acting
is actually pretty good.
The
levels are vast, and there are plenty of goals to keep things
interesting. I really enjoy the evolving nature of the games goals. It
adds a little suspense to the game when you dont know exactly
everything that youre going to have to accomplish. The pacing of the
game is incredibly fast. There wont be much time to stop and smell the
beautifully rendered roses, no matter how much youll want to.
The
graphics are outstanding for the most part. Aside from the drops in
framerate, everything from the massive number of ground troops to
explosions look fantastic. It really puts you in the thick of things.
The Dolby Pro Logic II is also used to good effect. You are in the thick
of things both visually and aurally. The games controls are intuitive
and very tight. The more I play with the Gamecube controller, the more
convinced I am that this is the best controller ever. The analog
joystick moves you around and the A and B buttons work for primary and
secondary weapons. The use of the left and right shoulder buttons for
strafing was also a nice touch. I really felt in control of my vehicle
no matter what the situation.
LucasArts
has taken the tried and true formula that was established with the
original Rogue Squadron on the N64 and shifted the focus to more land
based vehicles. It felt a little like Star Wars Demolition at times, but
thats not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the multi-player aspect of
the game felt just like Demolition only with better controls and no
pop-up. Clone Wars multi-player mode is the icing on a very delicious
cake. It gives the player many reasons for returning to the game once
its been beaten. Theres nothing particularly innovative about the
multi-player set-up; its just very well done with enough options to
keep everyone happy. King of the hill mode is my personal favorite.
Most
developers would have been content with just focusing the game on
vehicular combat, but LucasArts was a little more ambitious than that
this time. There are a few chase sequences where youve either got to
catch someone or escape from something. I have to admit that I enjoyed
the break these levels provided, but they felt so narrow and
constraining compared to battle sequences that I wasnt terribly
impressed. Clone Wars has also incorporated a hack and slash section in
the game that might make you yearn for Jedi Power Battles. You want to
give credit to LucasArts for adding a little bit of variety in the
gameplay, but its inclusion feels so much like an afterthought that its
almost a chore to play. You have two moves: swing your lightsaber or
throw your lightsaber. And although its kind of fun to slice your way
through thousands of Genoshans, it soon feels repetitive and tiresome.
It was a nice thought to add a little variety, but I would have
preferred to have seen a little more attention paid to the game itself.
If this game has faults, it is in aspiring to be more than it
possibly could. The developers had a vision that needed more time to
realize and probably a system with a little more power behind it. Often
in todays gaming environment, developers are too afraid to push the
envelope. They content themselves with the mediocre. Clone Wars is a
game that has problems, but it tries so hard that youll have a hard
time holding those faults against it.
Jason Frank (12/01/2002) |
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Snapshot
Ups:
Great graphics; huge batles are a lot of fun; gets
you into the bigger conflict.
Downs:
Some framerate drops; lacks the immediacy of Rogue
Squadron.
Platform:
Gamecube
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