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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ho-Hum..., Feb 26 2003
Being a Star Wars fan can be an expensive way to live your life- there are literally thousands of books, games, comics, and toys to choose from, and if you're on a limited budget like I am, you have to be choosey. There was a time when Star Wars games were the pinnacle of video games- back during the original X-wing, TIE Fighter and the first two Dark Forces games, Lucas Arts produced superb quality adventures with great stories. I think Episode I changed all that as the mad rush to cash in on new Star Wars movies opened the door to mediocrity. Instead of producing only a few titles, the flood gates were open.Jedi Starfighter is very much a middle of the road kind of game. It is for sure heads and tales above 'Battle For Naboo', but a far cry from TIE Fighter. The sequel to the initial Starfighter game, Jedi Starfighter incorporates a new story and the Delta-7 ship that Obi-Wan flew in 'Attack of the Clones'. The story is ironically topical with modern day real life- the Trade Federation is in cahoots with a warlord named Captain Toth to produce bioweapons, leading Jedi Master Adi Gallia to investigate. The game also brings back the Fiorin Nym and his sidekicks from the original. Game play is pretty basic- fly around and shoot things while accomplishing mission goals. Since you can fly several craft, you get a host of weapons other than lasers, but also swarmer missiles, depth charges, cruise missiles and little guided attack ships that surround your target and shoot at it. When you fly as Adi in the Jedi Starfighter, you gain the addition of Force Powers that you can use against enemy ships. A neat idea, but the execution doesn't really pay off and the abilities are not as good as the other ship's weapons. As an added bonus, when you progress you can unlock other ships like an X-wing, a TIE fighter and Slave 1. Where it falls down is that the game is too easy. I could have finished it entirely in my first sitting had I not had other things to do. Even on Hard it wasn't all that tough, plus if I died, it was usually because I crashed into something and not because I got shot down. The challenge just wasn't there. It also became frustrating sometimes during missions because of the in-game chatter between pilots that moved the story along could not be overridden so that you could issue orders to wingmen. You would have to wait till they stopped yammering before you could order someone to attack or protect your target. The graphics are so-so by Playstation 2 standards and decidedly sub-par for the PC. However, it rarely suffers from a low frame rate because of too much action o the screen, plus it's very colorful. Everything is well detailed, with well designed models. Explosions, like so many other games, are kind of lifeless. The sound is quite good, though Slave 1's weapons and engine noise are nothing like they were in Episode II. Also on the upside are a mess of extras that come with it like concept art and commentaries by the programmers, always a plus. This game is best bought as a Greatest Hits and not at full price.
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Teen
