The premise for this game is plausible and full of potential, but the result is drab and unremittingly dull, containing nothing worthy of the Xbox. The box strapline says "The fate of a Jedi. The destiny of a galaxy". Unfortunately, in light of this dismal effort, all that seems to be at risk is the fate of Star Wars games.GRAPHICS:
A long time ago... we expected levels in 3D games to look this way, but a lot has happened since the days of Doom and, frankly, this game looks practically antique. This is compounded by the fact that, after a few minutes of play, the words drab, boring, monotonous and dull spring to mind.
Each level takes place in bland, barren spaces made up of boxy flat surfaces wrapped in unconvincing-looking bitmaps. No attempt has been made to dress the scenes or give them life. Skies are a unimaginative and unconvincing swathe of blue or red, given some life with a sunburst. The depiction of trees is, frankly speaking, a joke, looking more like disfigured telegraph poles that trees. There is no distance fog, which might add something to the otherwise meaningless expanses of floor and walls. Considering this is on Xbox, the total lack of lighting effects is not acceptable. Compare this with Halo, Unreal Championship, or just about any other Xbox shooter and the difference is apparent immediately. On the plus side, the water in streams is done well, though not so well as in DOA 3. Indeed, the good-looking water resides uncomfortably amongst the otherwise uninspiring scenery.
SOUND:
The soundtrack includes the classic Star Wars theme and scrolling storyline, which no official Star Wars game has ever been without. However, the rest of the soundtrack is atrocious. Just keep the menu onscreen for a while and you will hear the same brief musical loop several times, with the same six-note rhythm going on and on to the point where you start hunting the Options page for a way to switch it off (which thankfully there is). Indeed, the game cries out for custom soundtracks, to relieve the tedium of the game, but, alas, this is not a feature of the game. Weapons have the customary blasts and ricochets and, thank goodness, the light sabre makes the correct noises.
GAMEPLAY:
Most characters are unconvincing mannequins that run around as if their knee joints are stuck, making them look a little like granny running for the bus. The Jedi Council, which appears in the training level, is so low-res one wonders why decided to do close-ups on them. Cut scenes are dire, featuring cardboard-looking characters on a plain background. I winced at every one of them.
Gameplay is reasonable but manages to avoid any hint of excitement. Enemies appear from nowhere whenever your back is turned. This might be acceptable on an ancient PS1 title, but it feels very cheesy on Xbox. Frequently the game grinds to a halt, with frame rates plummeting to a frame a second in places, even though very little is happening on the screen to cause a slow-down. Again, this is unacceptable in today's games.
The light sabre is cool to use, and makes glowing marks if you slash a wall with it. However, despite the various tricks and throws that you can do with your sabre, I felt myself wanting a decent machine gun with which to annihilate the enemies quicker and get the levels over with. Nevertheless, a one-on-one against the AI does give a competent (for once) and even swash-buckling clashing of swords, with the appropriate sounds.
In short this is a game that makes no attempt to be exciting, and is not even interesting to look at. It is unrewarding and monotonous to play. It makes no attempt to exploit the power of Xbox, and is likely to leave any purchaser feeling short-changed.
I played this game for just half an hour before a grew bored of cringing at the naff graphics, limp storyline (linked by even limper cut-scenes). In the end I did the decent thing and ejected the CD and ended the torture, restoring my faith in Xbox by playing a level of Halo.
If you are thinking about buying this game, I suggesting renting for a night first. I doubt you will want to buy it after that experience.
SUMMARY:
Good:
[] Light sabre is fun to use.
Bad:
[] Levels are empty and bland.
[] Poor character animation and cardboard backdrops.
[] Appalling cut-scenes.
[] Looks like a PS1 game, lacking lighting effects, atmosphere or depth.
[] AI is uninspiring and foes are tiresomely repetitive and predicable.
[] Missions are unoriginal and far too linear. We get nothing new in this game.
