It also doesn't help that Revenge of the Sith's story mode can be beaten in about five or fewer hours. Yes, there are hidden items and upgrades to find if you go back and play through it a second time, but they're not really worth it, as few of the unlockable extras really merit the effort. Apart from a few bonus missions (including some where you play as Yoda and Darth Vader), a lot of concept art, and an alternate ending that plays out the final confrontation from the other perspective (which actually seems pretty thrown-together and isn't very interesting), there's just not a lot here worth unlocking. The game does have its two multiplayer components, but neither is very good. There's a cooperative mode where you and a friend basically run through a level while cutting up scads of robots together in one long, boring sequence. Additionally, there's a duel mode where you and said friend can pick from any of the available duelists to get your lightsaber battle on in what feels like a really watered-down fighting game. Were there more actual depth and less in the way of exploits in the lightsaber combat, the duel mode actually could have been pretty cool. But as it stands, it's just not very fun for more than a couple of plays.
The one thing Revenge of the Sith does have going for it, without too many caveats, is graphics. As these types of games go, Revenge of the Sith is one of the nicer ones in terms of character and environmental detail. The models for all the main characters look a whole lot like the real-life actors, and there's quite a bit of varying animation for each. Unfortunately, some of the transitional animations aren't nearly as good, leading to some occasionally stilted movements. There are a number of different levels, though several of them are grouped together on a single world, ship, or what have you. Still, each one looks quite nice, with plenty of action going on in the background and even some sections you can damage with your lightsaber. The game uses an exclusive cinematic camera that does have some problems with shifting to a bad angle: one that's away from the guys that are shooting at you. The frame rate will chop up from time to time if too many things are exploding onscreen at once, but overall, this is a pretty great-looking game.
Insert overused joke about this game joining the dark side here.
The audio isn't so great, though. Yes, John Williams' epic score is on hand, although the music in Revenge of the Sith seems to have been lifted from other movies rather than from the upcoming one (unless Williams just got lazy and reused all his old music for the movie). All the usual sounds you'd associate with a Star Wars movie or game are here, from the whooshes of lightsabers to pings of blaster fire, and all that stuff does sound quite excellent. Unfortunately, the voice acting really drags down the overall audio experience. Anakin and Obi-Wan, again, aren't voiced by the film actors, and the actors who do voice them just don't do very good jobs at all. Anakin's lines are especially stilted, and even more so away from cutscenes. When Obi-Wan and Anakin are trading quips back and forth, it's all so ham-fisted and repetitive that you'll beg for an option to turn it off. Few of the other soundalike actors are much better, and all this is compounded even further by the actual scenes taken from the movie, which actually feature dialogue that isn't horrible. It's just an erratic experience all around, however.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is being billed by many as the film that will redeem Lucas' series of prequels. However, Revenge of the Sith, the game, redeems nothing. It begins badly, starts to get better, and then leaves you in the lurch. This is just a short and shallow game that brings neat ideas to the table and ultimately never capitalizes on. The biggest fans of all things Star Wars could probably make an OK rental out of Revenge of the Sith, if only to get an early look at what the movie will entail, as well as to gobble up all the extras. Anybody that doesn't fit into that category would probably just be better off waiting for the movie, while skipping the game altogether.
Where to buy
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Xbox):
$13.95
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GamesDirectOnline
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$13.95 | No |
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