- Improves upon the franchise
- Finally get to “use the Force”
- Solid graphics and sound
- Involving story line
- Two-player co-op mode is great fun
- Some neat extras
- Some missions are extremely long
and difficult
- Sometimes you’re not sure what you’re supposed to be doing
- Wingmen don’t do much dog fighting
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Jedi
Starfighter
Score: 8.6 / 10
“Use the Force, Luke!” Obi-Wan says from
the grave as Luke Skywalker heads toward the exhaust port of the
original Death Star.
However many times that situation is repeated in the gaming world,
gamers have never been able to actually use the Force to help them out.
You have only your skill (and a little luck) to rely on. Jedi
Starfighter (JS) finally gives you the chance to use the Force during
vehicular combat. Want to wipe out an entire enemy formation in one
shot? Force Lighting is the perfect weapon – no matter how far away the
enemy is. Too many targets to handle? Use Force Reflex to enter a
bullet-time of sorts to really cause some damage. The addition of Force
Powers has an enormous effect on gameplay – at least when you’re playing
as Adi Gallia, Jedi Master and
Jedi Starfighter is set during the events of Episode II but takes you
elsewhere in the galaxy until the latter stages of the game. Instead of
having three playable characters like in Starfighter Special Edition
(SSE), JS focuses on Adi Gallia and the pirate Nym, returning from SSE.
In short order the two become involved with a Hex Weapon plot (hex
weapons being an ultra-chemical weapon)
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then spirals into a much more pressing matter involving huge mechanical
armies fighting masses upon masses of clones. The story of JS is better
than that found in SSE, and the switches between the main characters is
smooth and logical – and manages to add suspense to the story. Just as
you’re getting into Nym’s character the story JS switches locations and
puts you in Adi Gallia’s shoes.
Those that played SSE will be able to jump right into JS. With the
exception of the Force Powers and the Secondary Weapons of Nym’s ship,
the Havoc, there’s not much new to learn. These aspects can be learned
in the optional training missions, which you should do to understand
what kind of damage each fighter is capable of. Nym’s ship can now fire
cruise and cluster missiles, and proximity mines, besides the standard
bombs (and the “secret” Plasma Scourge). Not only that, during
two-player co-op mode some missions allow the second player to man the
turret gun. The Havoc is different from the Jedi Starfighter in speed,
handling, and what’s available for secondary fire – the Havoc definitely
has an edge when attacking large targets, using brute force with a few
tactical asides. The Starfighter is a highly effective
fighter-to-fighter craft – elegance being higher on the list than brute
force. And you definitely need every possible advantage you can get
because getting help from wingmen is extremely hit and miss.
Some missions are extremely long and difficult (ranging from shooting
down Hex missiles to escorting capital ships or tugs), with very
specific mission objectives and they are made even more difficult by
wingmen that take forever to attack a target or come to your aid – at
least when you’re mixing it up with fighters. Commanding them to attack
larger ships, like Missile Frigates or Landers, they fare much better
but for the most part you’re on your own. Even when you have a fellow
Jedi on your wing basically it’s you against every damn ship the Trade
Federation can throw at you. Split screen co-op is a far better way to
play and a lot less frustrating. (At least then you can smack your
wingman upside the head if they screw up.) [Just a side note: An option
to play via LAN would have been a great addition so to avoid the curse
of split screen.
Split screen actually moves at a smooth pace, even with all the
secondary fire going on. The graphics themselves are sharp and crisp –
kind of like a healthy head of lettuce. The secondary fire, especially
Nym’s Cluster Missiles, are impressive to watch. Also fun is using Force
Reflex to really appreciate the explosions of large ships. You can play
JS in first or third-person views, but I found myself playing in
first-person for the most part and switching to third-person view when
flying indoors. Either way, there’s no slowdown and the game looks
great.
To complement the graphics is, of course, John Williams’s great musical
score. I’d like to find fault with the music, but Mr. Williams is
practically untouchable. Sound effects are good and the voice acting is
very good, although sometimes there’s so much dialogue going on it’s
hard to take it all in. This becomes a problem when you’re knee-deep in
Genoshan fighters and some vital line of dialogue is missed because your
concentration is elsewhere. This happened a few times to me, where a
vital event is taking place but I was so busy blowing something up, I
didn’t get a chance to take it in. The result is many play-throughs of
each mission, which in itself isn’t really a problem but a logbook to
keep track of the dialogue would have been appreciated if only to fully
grasp what you should be doing (since the general objectives are
outlined at the start of each mission and easy accessible during a
mission).
Replayability wasn’t that high for SSE, but JS makes up for it. Besides
the two-player co-op mode (can you tell this was a highlight for me? Of
course, if you don't have a buddy this point is moot) it has lots of
extras to unlock for completing levels and finding the hidden
objectives. One of the extras, an amusing Day at the Offices of
LucasArts, has the best musical Star Wars medley I’ve ever heard –
beating out even the disco version of the main Star Wars theme.
Jedi Starfighter is a solid game in its own right and a great expansion
of the Starfighter franchise. Besides being fun and challenging (it’s
not insane challenge all the time), it’s got a variety of different
mission types, the solid controls are easy to learn and use, the
graphics and sound are well done, and the two-player co-op mode makes
for an entertaining experience.
