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Grand Theft Auto: Death Star
The Toy Maniacs Pitch By
Robert T. Trate
November 06, 2009
Wishful thinking for the next Star Wars game by Mania’s Toy Maniac
© Bob Trate
For those of you that don’t know, Star Wars the Force Unleashed: The Ultimate Sith Edition has arrived in stores. For those of that are willing to upgrade or perhaps have switched systems now is your chance to pick this new and improved edition to 2008’s game. I for one played the original Wii version and found it initially to be difficult but then burned right through it (see column). The Wii nunchucks took a while to master but as the game went on I found myself adding more to it then what was there. In short, while I was in the Jedi mind set, I began to notice how easy and simple the game was and I was doing overly elaborate movies to kill the most simplistic of foes. While flailing around in my living room I realized this game wasn’t all it could have been.
If Star Wars would be considered a gaming genre I have spent a considerable amount of my time playing it. Everything from the first Nintendo games to Shadows of the Empire to all the Game Cube games (including the PS1 and PS2 games as well). I believe I am safe in saying that by far the best game to come out of LucasArts has been Star Wars: Battlefronts 2. It was the first time I truly felt in control and as if I was contributing to the fight; whichever side I was on. Why they have continued to release sequels on handheld systems is beyond me. Lucas was so close to getting it right. Why release a 2.0 version of sub par game that isn’t even a sequel? Star Wars the Force Unleashed: The Ultimate Sith Edition is the downloadable content we should have gotten the first time around.
So I am going to put it out to you, my fellow Maniacs, what do you want in a Star Wars game? Yes, we all want to be a Jedi, have control of the force and a light saber. Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast got us as close as we are ever going to get until the next system and its gimmicks come out. The Wii is clever but it doesn’t make me feel like a Jedi. The most fun I have ever had in the Star Wars gaming universe was Star Wars: Battlefronts 2. The tiniest thing could swing a battle from losing it to winning it. The game had its flaws but overall, as a grunt, I couldn’t want more of out a game. To have the freedom to live out my own story, to decide who wins or who loses is the kind of Star Wars game I have always wanted to play.
I have an idea for a Star Wars game that has been stirring around in my brain. The next great Star Wars game should get away from the first person shooters, at least for a while. Obviously there will still be shooting or blasting as they refer to it in the Star Wars universe but maybe something a little different. I believe that LucasArts should look to emulate Rock Star Games’ highly successful and addictive Grand Theft Auto series.

The Story:
Princess Leia’s blockade runner, the Tantive 4, is taken back to the Death Star. The ship’s crew and guards are taken aboard and placed into the detention center. Your mission is to escape from the Death Star by any means possible. The Death Star may just be the size of “small moon” but with thousands of rooms, corridors, hangers and levels the possibilities are limitless. With an entire space station as the gamers “sandbox” one simply has to decide how you are going to escape and, if anything, what are you going to do about this new weapon the empire has created.

Twists:
Not all of the rebels or alliance members are human. Many could simply put on Stormtrooper armor or a TIE Fighter flight suit and disappear. What about the Wookies, Bothans or Dressellians? They won’t just blend in. Creating a diverse group of rebel prisoners would enable the gamer to have multiple adventures with completely different outcomes. Obliviously the perks for being a different rebel would vary from character to character. Brute strength, technical expertise and perhaps even demolition skills all could be part of the game.
Game Play:
In keeping with the Grand Theft Auto style the third person perspective is how one would play the game. Once out the detention center it would entirely be up to you where you go next. There would of course be missions: blow up the Death Star from within, get word to the alliance and rescue the Princess. Though perhaps you might want to save your own neck and get the hell out of there. With this being a Star Wars property you will not have many of the benchmarks of a Grand Theft Auto game. There won’t be slave dancers or intergalactic hookers on the station. The brutality of the game will probably be scaled back a bit so no bashing in a Stormtrooper’s head. Another downside is that since it is on a space station big land vehicles are not going to work. Yet how could anyone, including programmers and developers, resist not inserting speeder bikes or perhaps an ATST into a loading bay. Once inside the only thing in your way would be the doors.
I will let your imagination run wild with various missions and tractor beams you would have to disable to get off the Death Star. With the Death Star at the height of its power and a full cast of characters to populate it with, wouldn’t it be both awesome and terrifying to run into Darth Vader? Though with the proper planning one could even end up being one of his personal guards or pilots. Here the game could really get interesting, take out the Dark Lord of the Sith and get away with it.

Online Content:
Online content is clearly where the fun begins after you have finished the game. Here the story would switch gears and be more of the standard Call of Duty/ Battlefronts type fare. This would in turn supply Battlefront fans with their long awaited appropriate sequel. As either Rebels or Imperials one could play Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Plant the Bomb, Face Off or Team Death Match. More maps and levels would be added and eventually spin off the Death Star onto other planets or perhaps even Star Destroyers.

Bonus Content:
Zombies, Zombies and more Zombies. Did I mention Zombies? Death Troopers, a novel by Joe Schreiber, has finally brought a horror element to the Star Wars universe. So let’s put it into the video game genre as well. “Stormtrooper Zombies” would begin a few moments after the second Death Star has been destroyed. You are TK-421 and you have managed to survive in one of the huge hunks of the station still drifting through space. Your mission is to survive the onslaught of recently deceased Imperial zombies and find a way off the burning wreckage. Obstacles, levels and weapons would include: Force fields (to maintain the air supply and gravity), trash compactors (complete with mutant Dianogas) and the ever so hard to find light saber; along with your usual Star Wars weapons. To one up the carnage a contingent of Gamorean Guards is raiding the wreckage for supplies.
What’s The Sequel?:

Can I please get this game by the fourth quarter next year? Oh well, one can only dream.
Robert Trate has surrounded himself with Star Wars toys while writing two weekly columns for Mania: the DVD Shopping Bag and the Toy Maniac. Robert also participates in a pod cast that reviews movies, comics and celebrates all things geek. Check it out at You’ve Got Geek on You.com.
This sounds like an awesome idea.......I am all for it!!! Too bad it will never happen.