Gaming Target - Game Boy: Star Wars: The New Droid Army

Written by Kyle Williams on March 27, 2003

Review: A quick little action romp.

Being a license like Star Wars has its ups and downs. On the one hand, you've got an entire universe of fiction, video games, cartoons, comic books and action figures to light up your life. Unfortunately, that other hand is full of half-assed attempts to milk the proverbial cash cow. Not every piece of licensed material can be as engrossing as Timothy Zahn's first trilogy of Star Wars novels or as cutting edge as the X-Wing and Tie Fighter computer titles. Sometimes it seems as if there are as many time-wasting gimmicks as there are treasures to be found. So where does Star Wars: The New Droid Army fall into the range of Star Wars video games? Somewhere nondescript, right in the middle of the pack.

Star Wars: The New Droid Army takes place shortly after the end of last year's Attack of the Clones. In it, you control Anakin Skywalker, the creepy young Jedi that seems to have all the luck with Natalie Portman, as he is sent out on a mission to investigate a reported new battle droid on Tatooine. The story is set using a well crafted blend of in game graphics and still shots of some of the more recognizable characters from the movie including Anaking, Mace Windu and Yoda. The dialog between them even manages to emote the personality of each of the characters.

Of course, we don't play an action platform title for the story so the question is raised, "How does the game play?" On the whole, The New Droid Army is a fairly solid, albeit simple, action title. The controls are simple, the graphics are adequate and you get to use a lightsaber. Using your lightsaber, you can strike down your enemies as well as deflect their blaster shots. You also have command of the Force, although many of your Force power must be acquired as you progress through the game. Unfortunately, not even the Force is capable of spicing up the gameplay as, after about ten minutes, cutting down your enemies becomes old hat. Sure, The New Droid Army is great to pick up and play every once in a while, but the lack of a battery save feature takes away the joy in that casual gaming session as you frantically search for a pen. At least the boss battles add a little bit of variety, but it is just too little, too late.

The rest of Star Wars: The New Droid Army helps to round out the package. The graphics, while on the whole are a little bit too small to discern much detail, are colorful and reflect the different worlds you travel to. The animations, especially for your attack combos, are nice and flashy. Also, the sound effects fit the series and only occasionally become repetitive. In general, the aesthetic package is adequate for a title of this caliber but really does nothing to push the envelope.