There are far too many Star Wars games to recount here, but that won't stop us from talking about our favorites: those games set in the Star Wars universe we played the most and remember most fondly.
Evan's Pick:
Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
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| Luke be a Jedi tonight. |
The Empire Strikes Back is the best movie of the original Star Wars trilogy, so why shouldn't it also be the best game of the Super Star Wars trilogy. Super Empire Strikes Back (SESB) mostly follows the arc of the movie, although several of the environments have been embellished to make the game a longer, more interesting, and, ultimately, more rewarding experience. For example, Luke never explored labyrinthine ice caverns on Hoth before a final showdown with a gigantic Wampa. Like its predecessor Super Star Wars, SESB is a very demanding game with a high difficultly level. Luckily, LucasArts introduced a password save system that allowed players to pick up at a checkpoint if they ran out of continues. SESB has great presentation, graphics, control, and sound, but it's greatest feature it its diversity. Players can choose to fight through levels as Luke, Han, or Chewie, each with his own strengths and weaknesses. There are also flight stages, where players control a snowspeeder or the Millennium Falcon, which break up the traditional run-and-gun sidescrolling stages. One of my favorite games of the SNES era, which is saying a lot.
Cameron's Pick:
Star Wars: Rebel Assault
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| This might happen in the game. We're not sure. |
Star Wars: Rebel Assault is absolutely the most simultaneously difficult and
memorable game of my childhood. My 15 year older brother, Carl, gave me Rebel Assault
for my 8th or 9th birthday – the force is strong with him to say the
least. This rail
shooter puts you in the cockpit of a Skyhopper in Beggar’s Cannon to avoid some
cliffs, random obstacles, and to shoot practice drones before heading off to an
asteroid field where you blast celestial rock to your heart’s content. Then it's on to what I can only assume is shooting some Galactic TIE fighters near the
Death Star. I never
made it beyond the asteroid belt.
Beyond that, I really don’t know what happens for a variety of reasons. First, the game was a nightmare for the joystick and only made worse by the fact that we would play the game in an uninsulated room that mom used as a walk-in refrigerator in the winter. Trading off between my best friend and I wasn’t etiquette or courtesy, it was mandatory to get the circulation back in your fingers. This, plus by my feeble hand-eye coordination, the frail processors of the early '90s, and the various points in which the game would just crash, made Rebel Assault unfathomably challenging. Despite all this, Rebel Assault holds the fondest of memories and valuable lessons of tenacity, perseverance, and friendship. I can still see my best friend’s breath as we are huddled over a foggy monitor for hours on a snow day in the middle of an arctic Hoth winter. Happy Anniversary Star Wars!
Beyond that, I really don’t know what happens for a variety of reasons. First, the game was a nightmare for the joystick and only made worse by the fact that we would play the game in an uninsulated room that mom used as a walk-in refrigerator in the winter. Trading off between my best friend and I wasn’t etiquette or courtesy, it was mandatory to get the circulation back in your fingers. This, plus by my feeble hand-eye coordination, the frail processors of the early '90s, and the various points in which the game would just crash, made Rebel Assault unfathomably challenging. Despite all this, Rebel Assault holds the fondest of memories and valuable lessons of tenacity, perseverance, and friendship. I can still see my best friend’s breath as we are huddled over a foggy monitor for hours on a snow day in the middle of an arctic Hoth winter. Happy Anniversary Star Wars!
Elizabeth's Pick:
Lego Star Wars
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| Thank goodness there's no friendly fire. |
Lego Star Wars (the first, featuring Episodes I, II and III) was the first "Lego" based video game I ever played as well as the first co-op game I had ever played through to completion. Needless to say, I enjoyed it immensely and it remains in my opinion one of the most enjoyable games for the GameCube. There are many reasons why I consider Lego Star Wars to be an exceptional game, but perhaps the most important one for me (and the reason I was able to stick with it and in fact pester Evan to play it all the time with me) is because it is great for all ages. An action game with limitless lives so that you can keep coming back for more, Lego Star Wars encourages you to jump all around, have fun, collect as many studs as you can find (more on this later), and generally have fun without taking the game too seriously. In fact, the Lego platform doesn't take itself seriously at all. It's laugh-out-loud funny at times (picture Ob-Wan with a storm trooper hat on), and other times it just makes you smile as you rampage through clones collecting studs, or twirling around in Yoda's little floating chair.
The fun moments, combined with great co-op functionality, make this game the perfect choice for two people. Drop-in/drop-out co-op mode allows you to drop out if you have to run to the bathroom or something, and also to switch around characters. This is great because if you're like me and you're not very good with the grapple hook, or with jumping, you can switch between characters with your teammate/playing partner who might be better than you (cough, cough, me and Evan). It also means that game play is equitable for two players, since there is no "dominant character." Combined with a lack of violence -- okay yes, there are light sabers and you can dismantle your Lego enemies into pieces with them but really, pretty low on the violence scale -- this is a great game for kids.
The fun moments, combined with great co-op functionality, make this game the perfect choice for two people. Drop-in/drop-out co-op mode allows you to drop out if you have to run to the bathroom or something, and also to switch around characters. This is great because if you're like me and you're not very good with the grapple hook, or with jumping, you can switch between characters with your teammate/playing partner who might be better than you (cough, cough, me and Evan). It also means that game play is equitable for two players, since there is no "dominant character." Combined with a lack of violence -- okay yes, there are light sabers and you can dismantle your Lego enemies into pieces with them but really, pretty low on the violence scale -- this is a great game for kids.
Lou's Pick:
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
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| May the Force be with you (and your teammates). |
Playing Knights of the Old Republic from Bioware and Lucasarts was engaging, immersive, and well executed in every way. Not just the best Star Wars game I’ve ever played, but also one of the best RPG’s I have ever experienced.
The trip around the galaxy far far away feels familiar and nostalgic, but in a way that can only be experienced first-hand in a video game. A customizable character, whose fate is shaped by you the player, leads a cast of loyal, or disloyal depending on dialogue choices, companions on a quest to stop, or join, the Sith. You must choose Light or Dark Side, the color and style of your lightsaber, and which force attributes to put skill points into (the correct answer: Force Choke and Force Lightning).
Initially I was worried about Carth Onassi, suspicious that the game was simply trying to recreate the Episode IV formula, and this guy was supposed to be a Han Solo Clone (Han Clono? And his trusted sidekick Chew-backup*). Carth, along with HK-47, were some of the most captivating and well-written characters in video game history. However, nothing tops the experience of composing a team of three Jedi with diverse skills and strengths, and assaulting the Sith head-on in the epic final confrontation. The gameplay delivers in exploration, combat, item management, and simply being awesome. I’m already over my word limit but it is worth mentioning that Bioware set the standard for Western RPGs with this game, and for non-PC gamers it was a killer app that helped Xbox sales. If you haven’t played it, I envy you. There is nothing like experiencing it for the first time. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Star Wars and/or RPGs.
Initially I was worried about Carth Onassi, suspicious that the game was simply trying to recreate the Episode IV formula, and this guy was supposed to be a Han Solo Clone (Han Clono? And his trusted sidekick Chew-backup*). Carth, along with HK-47, were some of the most captivating and well-written characters in video game history. However, nothing tops the experience of composing a team of three Jedi with diverse skills and strengths, and assaulting the Sith head-on in the epic final confrontation. The gameplay delivers in exploration, combat, item management, and simply being awesome. I’m already over my word limit but it is worth mentioning that Bioware set the standard for Western RPGs with this game, and for non-PC gamers it was a killer app that helped Xbox sales. If you haven’t played it, I envy you. There is nothing like experiencing it for the first time. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Star Wars and/or RPGs.
* Credit: Evan
I just re-read my blurb and i think I use the word "experience" about 7 times lol. In case I didn't make it clear enough, the experience of playing Knights of the Old Republic is an experience that you should get some experience in experiencing as soon as you can possibly experience it.
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