Gaming Target - Xbox: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Written by Nick Doukas on September 11, 2003

Full Review: This party's overЕ

Anyone who reads my blathering knows that I'm a huge Star Wars fan. Usually, I describe a scene from one of the films and equate it to whatever SW game I'm currently gushing over. Not today. Why you ask? It has nothing to do with the quality of The Clone Wars, which is actually quite good. No, it's just that I'm all out of Star Wars references and really hyped for the new Matrix film. I do love Star Wars, but I'm just not up to pulling off any charming C-3PO anecdotes at the moment. A review of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is well within my power though, so read on to see if you should be playing this game.

Clone Wars picks up at the end of Episode II, and thrusts you into violent ground and air (mostly ground) combat scenarios that do an admirable job of capturing the essence of the source material. You'll start the game behind the controls of the TX-130 Republic Fighter tank, a very cool hover-assault vehicle that's heavily armored, nimble, and bristling with lasers and missiles. You'll also have access to additional vehicles throughout the game's 16 missions, including a Republic gunship, several assault walkers, and even a creature called a Maru. Each vehicle has a primary and secondary weapon, and controls quite similarly, even the various on-foot sections, which see you shredding battle droids with cool, if somewhat clunky, Jedi moves and lightsaber play.

The left thumbstick is used to steer the current vehicle, and the right thumbstick rotates the camera. Fire the primary weapon with the A button, and the secondary with X. Special abilities, which vary for each craft, are mapped to the B button, while the directional pad is used to issue squad commands, such as attack players target, hold current position, and break formation to assault. All of the ships handle very well, and the gunship and hover-tank are great fun to pilot. Target locks will appear on monstrous enemy armaments as they approach, and laser fire, followed up with missile strikes, will send shrapnel flying as the opposition explodes with spectacular smoke and fire effects. The weapons are all great, and destroying enemies is extremely satisfying.

Missions take place throughout the Star Wars universe, and featured locales include Geonosis, as well as the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk. Each mission has multiple objectives, and scenarios range from seek and destroy, to defense of convoys and installations, and everything in between. Power-ups are scattered throughout the levels and secondary weapon ammo, boosts for primary weapons, and health packs will be mission critical in order to triumph over the Separatist's armies. Your H.U.D will display enemy location via your radar, and includes information on the status of your shields and vehicle hull integrity, as well as your special ability and targeting capabilities.

The story concerns not only the epic battles of the war, but a treacherous Separatist plan to inflict a world of hurt on the Republic with an ancient Sith weapon of mass destruction. You'll take the reigns of the aforementioned vehicles as Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Mace Windu. The missions are tied together by well-implemented cut-scenes, which move the narrative along and give purpose to each operation. The music is what you'd expect, and John William's famous score is put to good use here. The various sounds of blasters and other SW weaponry are familiar as well, and the voice acting is competent, if somewhat utilitarian. Overall, the title pans out well through a solid story and satisfying gameplay.

Graphically The Clone Wars looks good, though certainly not the best the Xbox has to offer. The various vehicles are well-modeled, and the environmental effects look impressive. The locales for each mission are exciting, and the visuals do a good job of pulling you into the SW universe. The framerate is mostly solid, but does occasionally take a hit, particularly when a lot of enemies are onscreen at once. Mostly the game hums along smoothly though, and fans will appreciate the attention to detail prevalent in each level.

The big draw of Clone Wars is the online play, and the Live component does not disappoint. Various modes of multiplayer madness are available, including Duel (standard deathmatch), control (where players need to take and hold control points without being destroyed) and Conquest. In Conquest, two teams try to knock out each other's headquarters. In between the two HQ's are several neutral outposts. Whenever an outpost is captured, it builds defensive turrets and AI units for that team, who can then direct those units to attack the enemy players. Having played a bunch of games recently on Live, I'm pleased to report a smooth interface, and solid online play. Most of the time it felt the same as playing offline, and gamers with good connections will have no trouble jumping right in and slugging it out with each other as soon as they get home (though you might want to run at least a few of the single player missions to familiarize yourself with the controls). Overall, a worthy addition to Live's growing library.