Game Brain: The Force is strong with ‘Star Wars’ games

Like many multimillion dollar multimedia franchises (say THAT three times fast!), “Star Wars” spans everything from movies to kids’ Underoos. And of course, what “Star Wars” discussion would be complete without mentioning the video games?

For the fans of the Original Trilogy of the 70s and 80s, video games were the first new installments of “Star Wars” to follow the movies (not counting the novels). The hippie-haired youngsters of the day didn’t have to pretend that their car was an X-Wing fighter; they could grab a joystick and blast TIE fighters at the nearest arcade.

There have been dozens upon dozens of “Star Wars” video games developed in the 30 years since the original film’s release. There have been “Star Wars” games for every shape and form of video game system since then.
When you have that kind of market saturation, though, you’re bound to end up with some crappy titles.

Don’t get me wrong; there have been quite a few great games that give video games and the “Star Wars” mythos a good name. The problem is, many of them can be considered classics. That means that, in recent years, LucasArts has yet to produce a really good vintage of bottled lightning.

I am both a dedicated (not rabid) “Star Wars” and video game aficionado. For me, a video game with “Star Wars” material doesn’t automatically curry my favor. On the flip side, if the “Star Wars” elements don’t work right in the game, the game itself is dishonored in my eyes. So “Star Wars” games have quite a tall order when it comes to my standards: they must be great “Star Wars” storytelling and great games. Like I said earlier, a few have managed to pull it off.

When I was a kid, my favorite PC games were “Star Wars” related. If you have never played “TIE Fighter,” you’re missing out on great space simulation fun. “Dark Forces” was fun, but its sequel, “Jedi Knight,” was awesome and was a perennial favorite of me and my brother. And don’t forget the expansion pack “Mysteries of the Sith.”

On the console side, there was the “Super Star Wars” series for the Super Nintendo. Each of the three original films (if you can’t at least name them, shame on you) was brought to life with thumb-numbing action. Those games were brutally hard … so hard, in fact, that I only managed to beat “Super Empire Strikes Back.”

A few years later, after the release of “The Phantom Menace,” the games really started churning out and not all of them were gems. “Battle for Naboo,” however, stood out. This Nintendo 64 exclusive was a refinement of “Rogue Squadron” (also for the N64) and was more fun and had a more epic scope. The Nintendo
Gamecube kept the tradition going with its launch title “Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II.” The flight sim series got another installment on the ‘Cube in “Rebel Strike: Rogue Squadron III,” but that game was the black sheep of the series.

It’s all well and good to reminisce about the classic “Star Wars” games, but what about the newer generations? “Star Wars” games really started picking up speed with “Battlefront” and “Knights of the Old Republic” in the last decade. While most fans and gamers like those series, I never could fully embrace them.
“KOTOR” was a great step into the role playing genre, just as “Empire at War” finally integrated “Star Wars” with the strategy genre. For one reason or the other, the “KOTOR” and “Battlefront” games always disappointed me somewhat. I think that they had a bit too much repetition (especially “Battlefront”) and both series had worse sequels.

Recently, LucasArts and BioWare announced “The Old Republic,” a massively multiplayer role playing game (MMORPG). It basically takes the premise from the “KOTOR” games, set thousands of years before the “Star Wars” movies and allows players to join each other on galactic romps. I’m disappointed by it for two reasons: one, I am opposed to “pay-to-play” game systems like MMORPGs that have a monthly fee. Second, the graphics are textureless and cartoonish, without a dynamic style. I dunno, maybe the developers are just trying to save on resources.

This brings up an interesting point. I’m a big fan of “The Clone Wars”, the “Star Wars” TV series that debuted last fall. Now, the show is for kids, but fans of all ages can enjoy it. The animation is stylized and fun but still retains the grittiness of the galaxy far, far away. I like the art style, but if “TOR” is trying to capitalize on the recent artistic experimentation in “Star Wars,” it needs to do a better job.

The bottom line is that “Star Wars” is such a vast universe, with so many different ways to experience it, that fans and gamers have plenty of ways to find what they like. “Star Wars” games are a vast subject to cover, so next week I’ll be taking a look at the “dark side” of the game franchise. Fortunately for you, I’ve run out of space for “Star Wars” puns. But like the Sith, I will have my revenge … next week!

Brian Diefenbach, a copy editor and columnist for the Western Herald, is a junior majoring in imaging. He can be reached via e-mail at brian.a.diefenbach@wmich.edu. His Xbox Live gamertag is F0RCEFL0W.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=3497

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Jan 28 2009. Filed under Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com