Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith – PS2 – Review

Right now,
you’re stuck in one of two places: a state of awe, anticipation and frustration.
You want so badly for May 19th to come, but know that when it does, that’s it.
The Saga is complete. The trilogies are done. The world of Star Wars is forever
finished.

If you’re
not stuck in that place, then you’re probably living on Mars or looking for
proof that birds are decendents of dinosaurs. Wherever you are, you most
certainly aren’t here, because only Star Wars fans care about the videogame
that’s based on the final Star Wars film, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. And
only Star Wars fans will be able to appreciate all that it is, and all that it
isn’t.

Revenge of
the Sith comes from a legacy of Star Wars games that weren’t very satisfying.
The best Star Wars games are offshoots or side-stories. The worst,
unfortunately, were the ones based directly on the prequels.

This time
around they’re closer to achieving greatness than ever before. I swear, if there
were one or two more movies, they’d probably nail it with the final film. Since
there aren’t anymore, we’re going to have to settle for this one last hurrah.

The dark side
clouds everything.

On the Light
Side, we’re not settling – not entirely. Revenge of the Sith plays closer to how
the movies look than any other Star Wars game. Attacks are so easy to perform
they practically execute themselves. Tap the square and triangle buttons,
alternating between the two for various attack combinations. Both Anakin and
Obi-Wan are playable, and each have several trademark moves from Episodes II and
III. Laser beam deflection happens automatically if you’re running, but only for
one or two blasts. To stop several droids from frying your skin, you’ll have to
perform Obi-Wan’s awesome spinning deflect move (hold L1 to block, spin the
right analog stick to deflect). These moves are exciting, they look great, and
fit perfectly into the Star Wars universe. I’ve never felt so Jedi-like. A
hidden level lets you control the most powerful Jedi of them all – Yoda! He too
has unique moves taken right from the films, including his agility and unusually
fast hopping skills.

Consecutively striking enemies raises your point meter. The meter has four bars
— fair, good, impressive, and masterful. As you may have already guessed,
masterful rewards you with the most points; fair gives you the least. These
points are then used to buy Jawa juice and Aquafina water bottles. Just kidding!
What they’re really used for is upgrades: Force throw upgrades, Force grapple
upgrades, and Force attack upgrades, among five others.

You don’t
get to fly any of the ships from Revenge of the Sith, but there are a few
scenarios where you’ll have to control large cannons to eliminate airborne
enemies. This was used to add a little diversity, I suppose.

One of the
biggest selling points for this game is the collection of never-before-seen
footage from Episode III. This had me worried, "Should I watch or skip it?" Then
I realized that, as much as I don’t want the film to be spoiled, so much of it
already has. There are at least seven different commercials in circulation; two
trailers; a music video; and countless pictures on the Net. How can the movie
not be spoiled?

In grave danger, YOU ARE!

I ignored my
instincts and watched the scenes. Some induced smirks. Others were expected,
some were cut off just before the action started. One – one really amazing scene
– reveals something about the film that I wish I didn’t know. I’m glad I saw the
clip, but it was so shocking to know the direction the story is taking. It goes
against my predictions, many of which have turned out to be true. The only thing
more shocking was seeing Palpatine use a lightsaber against Mace Windu,
something we’ve all seen by now.

I won’t
reveal anything, but I will tell you that they keep the lightsaber battles a
secret. You’ll see Grievous several times, but when the battle begins, the game
switches to polygons so that the player can be in control.

Most of you
have already made up your mind about spoilers, but if you’re undecided, think of
what’s more important: having the joy of discovering new secrets now, and seeing
part of Episode III’s cheer-worthy ending. Or is it better to save as much as
you possibly can for May 19th? Only you can know for sure. I hate spoilers and
avoid ’em at all costs. But I’m not sorry I played this game. I’m not sorry that
I know where the story is headed, because now it’s made me appreciate the
original trilogy more than I already did (just as seeing Return of the King made
the previous Rings movies more significant). It has given a greater significance
to Luke and Leia, and has made me want to watch all five films again before May
19th.

Just as the
Star Wars films deal with the battle between good and evil, this game deals with
the battle between good and evil gameplay. The Dark Side of Episode III includes
an element that few action games are able to avoid: repetition. Repetition is,
in many cases, the difference between a must-buy and a must-rent. I am sorry to
say that repetition is strong with this one, making it difficult to enjoy in the
long term.

I’m not what
I call a "fast" player. I take my time with games, especially ones that I really
enjoy. I did rush through bits of Revenge of the Sith, but only because I was
eager see the next movie sequence. Even without rushing through every stage, I
unlocked all but one of the bonus missions, most of the extras (like concept
art), and nearly maxed out my characters’ attributes in under six hours. If I
had rushed, and if I had realized that item-collecting is not necessary, nor is
it necessary to defeat each and every droid that stands in your way, I could
have beaten the game in under four hours. Two-hour movie, four-hour game. $9
movie ticket, $50 game. I think you know what I’m getting at.

You’ll
pay for what you’ve done!

The bonus
missions are cool (who wouldn’t want to play as Yoda?), but after engaging in
dozens of repetitive button-mashing battles, none of which were all that
challenging, I wasn’t too excited about experiencing more of them. I wanted more
movie sequences. I wanted to be able to see the rest of the film.

For that
reason Revenge of the Sith could end up being an excellent marketing tool for
the movie. I would have rather it been an excellent game that made me long for a
sequel, but like I said, they’re getting closer. Two more games and LucasArts
should be able to nail it. There aren’t anymore movies to base them on, but that
doesn’t mean they shouldn’t bother. As Yoda told Luke in The Empire Strikes
Back, "Do or do not. There is no try."

Review Scoring Details for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Gameplay: 7.4
We now know how
the Jedi spent their time in between Episodes II and III: they spent it playing
Devil May Cry. Revenge of the Sith isn’t a DMC clone, but you can tell that
Capcom’s action game influenced its development.

On the Dark
Side, the battles are extremely repetitive. They were purposely designed to be
as user-friendly (translation: super-easy) as possible to avoid alienating one
or two gamers. In the process they alienate hardcore gamers, the people that
love and buy videogames in vast numbers. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it
until the message is finally heard: if a game is easy enough for everyone to
play it, IT’S TOO EASY. Even children are hardcore gamers, and even the youngest
kids like a challenge. Only the most casual gamers will walk away from this and
say, "Man, that was hard!" For certain, many of you will walk away with the
thought, "Man, that was too short!"

Graphics: 8.0
Character
animation is Revenge of the Sith’s strong suit. There’s a lot going on in the
background (space battles, environment destruction, etc.), a lot to keep your
eyes busy at all times.

Sound: 8.0
Why when
LucasArts included actual clips from Episode III did they not include the
actors’ voices in the game? You hear Ewan, Hayden and the rest of the cast
during the movie clips; during the real-time game scenes you hear Obi-Wan and
Anakin Skywalker imitators.

John
Williams’s soundtrack is spellbinding, and the sound during the movie clips is
top-notch. But I can’t get over the voice acting though. It tarnishes a great
story.

Difficulty: Easy
Saying that the
Force is or isn’t "strong with this one" is a common phrase used to describe
Star Wars games, but in this case it’s frighteningly true. Revenge of the Sith’s
challenge is as weak as an imperial guard telling Darth Vader that he doesn’t
like what he’s doing.

Concept: 9.5
So close!
Excellent battle styles; easy-to-execute-combos; unforgettable movie sequences;
an impeccable soundtrack; exciting environments (mostly). If only the combat
hadn’t been repetitive! If only the game wasn’t easy, and couldn’t be beaten in
a few hours! If only it didn’t have glitches (like invisible Destroyer Droids
and odd grappling effects). Then maybe, just maybe, this would have been the
game to break the mold, matching the quality of the movie that it was directly
based on.

Overall: 7.4
The best spoiler
ever, but not the best game. Why read online reports when you can get the gist
of the story (and see some incredible sequences) right now? The game is short
and easy, so you can get to each movie sequence pretty quickly. That also means
that, once you’ve seen the clips and desire good gameplay, you don’t have
anything to look forward to except more of the same. The gameplay is great, it
gets old very, very quickly. Pressing the same two buttons repeatedly for four
or five hours cannot possibly be fun for anyone. There’s gotta be more to it
than that.