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Star Wars Jedi Starfighter Review
Kevin Berryman
00/12/0000
Adding Jedi to the title does more then just sound cool, keep reading to find out why.
With the release of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones nearing, there are two choices for Star Wars fans. The most hardcore have already chosen to set up camp at their nearest theater and wait for the filmās release. The other option is for those of us that enjoy the Star Wars films but arenāt willing to revolve our lives around something as silly as a movie. Instead we can ācamp outā in front of our TVs playing the latest Star Wars game! Star Wars Jedi StarFighter for the PS2 is the follow up to Lucas Arts PS2 launch title Star Wars StarFighter. Adding Jedi to the title does more then just sound cool, keep reading to find out why.
The game opens with the usual Star Wars crawl, and a well rendered cut scene setting up the story. The game takes place after Episode I but before Episode II. One of the biggest selling points to most fans is that Jedi StarFighter gives us a sneak-peak to new locations, new ships and story elements that will be important in the movie. Control is the same as the last Starfighter, very intuitive and responsive. But for those that havenāt played the first game there is a set of training missions that will get them started. Actually it might be wise for everyone to go through the training missions because the new force powers may need a little explaining. Thatās right I said force powers, this isnāt your daddyās space shooter, after all this is a Jedi game. When playing a mission as Jedi Adi Gallia players can use force powers during flight. Force Shield and Force Lighting are available from the start but new powers can be gained. Using the force is as easy as firing a missile, but there is a little skill required. Once the force meter is full pressing the circle button will unleash the power, but only at its normal strength. To increase the force powerās strength you must press and hold the cycle button and tap it again when the particles of light outside the ship are at their prime. Timing is everything when using the force, and when used correctly can give a significant advantage. The new force abilities make the game feel different right away from the last game. But that isnāt where Lucas Arts stopped when adding new features. Now players can play through all the story missions in two player cooperative mode. The Ability to play with a friend as your wingmen makes for some exciting team play, and lengthens the last-ability too. But length is were the game is not so strong, sure there are plenty of bonuses to unlock but there are only 15 story missions to play through. Some of the missions donāt last very long, and the ones that do seem to just though waves of fighters at you instead of challenging you with a real threat. But the game is longer then the original and is packed full of so many secrets to unlock it will last long enough satisfy most gamers.
The graphics in Jedi StarFighter are adequate and improved over the last game but there is room for improvement. The biggest complaint from the last game were the low res textures, well the texture quality has improved but they still come off looking a little blurry. Planet missions show this the most with the hills, mountains, and craters covering the landscape but painted with low color textures. One other graphical complaint is that in the distance one can see the complex ground end and flat non-textured ground take over. Its far enough in the distance that when in the middle of and intense dog fight most people wonāt see it. But since the draw in is so far away it could have been easily covered with just a little bit of fog without looking like a N64 game. The ships for the most part are made of relatively high polygonal models so even up close the ships donāt look any blockier then they were designed to. The gameās most impressive graphical feature is itās amazing sense of scale. In space planets, capital ships, and space stations are gigantic and dwarf the tiny fighter the player is piloting. Overall Jedi StarFighter is a decent looking game, and sometimes very beautiful.
From the very start with the opening crawl players will notice that they are in for a treat when it comes to sound. Music is of high quality and fast passed during dog fights and bombing runs. When the game play is intense so is the music. Sound effects are also well recorded, many of the ships, especially enemy ships, sound much like they did in the last game. Which brings me to my only complaint in the sound department, repetition. The music sounds great but most of it is taken directly from the first game. The voice actors did a good job with each character but in combat they donāt have much to say outside of a couple of lines and they use them over and over. It can get a little annoying, hearing āAttach my Targetā again and again. On the other hand the new ships, weapons, and force powers, have their own sound effects to differentiate them for the rest of the onscreen havoc. The entire game is recorded in Dolby Surround Sound so those with a home theater system are in for a real treat. Lucas Arts gameās have always been known for their high quality sound, and Jedi StarFighter is no different. Everything sounds great even if youāve heard it before.
