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Star Wars: Lethal Alliance Mini Review
Jon Wilcox
04/01/2007
Ubisoft uncovers plans for the Death Star in their handheld Star Wars title...
The cinematic adventures that took place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away have been completed, and now form a key part in any geek's DVD collection. Nonetheless, the Star Wars brand continues to be significant, with a TV series in the works, a continually expanding universe of books and comics, and of course, a plethora of videogames all set around George Lucas' universe. The latest addition is 'Star Wars: Lethal Alliance', the debut Star Wars title for PSP and DS, which takes place in the run up to 'Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope', but is the force strong with this one?
Ok, that's enough of the Star Wars-related puns...for now at least.
Following the previously unknown adventures of Twi'lek Mercenary Rianna Saren and her droid Zeeo, 'Lethal Alliance' charts the Rebel Alliance's attempts to obtain details on the Empire's Death Star, and features cameo appearances of a small number of already established characters (including Princess Leia and Kyle Katarn) along the way. Rianna's own past also haunts her in the game as she faces up to her former master, a slave trader called Kheev, the main villain of the piece.
Set across a number of planets such as Mustafar, Alderaan, Coruscant, and the Death Star itself, gamers will certainly find themselves in a variety of different locations, each with their own unique look. What isn't so unique about them is just how bland an experience it actually becomes playing through them. The main crux of gameplay follows the repetition of entering a room, and clearing it of enemies (whether they're Black Sun smugglers, or Imperial Stormtroopers), before moving onto the next - the ease of completing the missions doesn't help matters either. There are attempts to throw in added variety to the gameplay, mainly stemming from the relationship between Rianna and Zeeo, but they either feel superficial or tacked on. Sequences of Rianna riding Zeeo along treacherous landscapes, with players having to dodge everything from fast flying cars to explosions of molten lava, break up the monotony of the main gameplay, but they too suffer from their own lack of excitement. The alliance between the two characters does go a tad further, helping to add a sliver of character development through the course of the game. For instance, Zeeo develops the ability to project a force-field shield to protect Rianna, as well as the early ability to rush towards an enemy, and knock them to their feet - allowing players to finish them off with some blaster fire. They're neat little additions that offer some sort of variety to the gameplay, making Lethal Alliance that little less generic, but doing nothing to really break up the repetitive experience for players.
Lethal Alliance badly wants to be the Star Wars equivalent of Prince of Persia, and features a number of nods towards one of Ubisoft's home-grown franchises, especially 'Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones'. Of course, being developed by the same studios as Prince of Persia (Ubisoft Montreal and Casablanca) would at least suggest that these PoP tributes, such as environmental puzzles, and the ability to perform stealth kills, would be handled really well - which they are. The real issue is that their inclusion in the game doesn't sit well with the repetitive and mediocre shooting elements that mar what perhaps should have been more like Ubisoft's Princely series. Perhaps if Rianna used a lightsaber instead of a blaster, Lethal Alliance would have been more likely to succeed in its goal... The DS version includes a number of differences to the PSP version (the lack of power means that the Nintendo machine doesn't pull off the more 'cinematic' look of the PSP), utilising the touch screen of the handheld during puzzles, and sequences where players control Zeeo directly.
Aside from the repetitive nature of the gameplay, it's the cumbersome relationship between the camera and control system that really disappoints. For the most part, the camera system is automatic, manoeuvring around Rianna fairly competently, especially during the acrobatic segments. The same can't be said when combat is introduced into the mix (something that obviously occurs fairly often with Lethal Alliance being an action shooter). Trying to target using the game's auto-aim not only slows down the action to a snail's pace, especially when there are a couple of doors to 'slice' (or hack) and a few enemies to kill, but it also suffers from being inaccurate if Rianna needs to target and open a supply box mid-combat.
In addition to the single-player Campaign mode, Lethal Alliance also features a small Multiplayer mode where two gamers run around a limited Deathmatch gametype, collecting money for upgrade, and killing their opponents. It's definitely a weaker offering compared to the main portion of the game, but manages to successfully retain the Campaign's lacklustre experience.
Like a number of Star Wars titles in the past, 'Lethal Alliance' tries to introduce a new facet to the already rich sci-fi mythology, but ultimately fails in its execution. Instead, the gameplay quickly boils down to a repetitive experience, with bland environments playing host to a seemingly endless number of bland shoot out. The occasional 'Prince of Persia'-like environmental puzzles aren't challenging enough, and the "racing" sequences can prove to be just as un-enthralling. Perhaps Lethal Alliance could have done with a bit more Jedi training or, failing that, an extra dose of Midichlorians...
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