Mania Grade: B+
Platform: Playstation 2
ESRB Rating: Teen
Genre: Flight Sim
Players: 1-2
Save: Yes
Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts
Suggested Retail: $49.99
Graphics: C
Sound: B+
Gameplay: B+
Replay: A-
Fun Factor: A
Reviewer's Wild Card: A

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STAR WARS JEDI STARFIGHTER

STAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES, the most highly anticipated movie of the year. JEDI STARFIGHTER is the first EPISODE II game to be released from LucasArts, and improves greatly on its predecessor, STARFIGHTER.

JEDI STARFIGHTER puts you in the roll of Adi Gallia, a Jedi Master who is seen briefly in THE PHANTOM MENACE. Gallia begins the game testing out the Jedi Starfighter, a new starship that could become a powerful weapon of the Jedi (to quote one of Adi's more annoying quips from the first level). You meet up with two of the characters from the first game, Nym and Reti, and will later get to fly as Nym in his Havoc.

The Jedi Starfighter is very fast and agile. Each ship now has four secondary weapons which players use the D-Pad to select from (the weapons are each unlocked as time goes on throughout the game). You can still issue orders to your wingmates (or occaisionally, troops on the ground) but you now hold R1 while pressing the D-pad. The Jedi Starfighter's special weapons consist of a force shield, force lightning (which can arc and destroy multiple ships), time slowdown (allowing you to fly at normal speed in a slowed down world) and force shockwave (damages everything nearby). You have to let your force power charge up before using it, which balances the powers out nicely. The Havoc is much more heavily armored and armed; in addition to the re-charging energy bombs from STARFIGHTER, you now have some extremely powerful missiles, proximity mines and cluster missiles to toggle between.

The game takes place against the backdrop of ATTACK OF THE CLONES, giving away bits and pieces of the story as you play through it. Missions include taking out factories, protecting cities, and salvaging a space cannon. It's very typical fare for this kind of game. While some of the missions are really bland and simple, many are complex and very well planned out.

While I didn't find the game too challenging (the final act is where you begin to have to actually think), there are plenty of reasons to keep playing. Each level has a bonus and hidden objective. The Bonus is told to you before you attempt the mission and the hidden objective is just that, hidden. Completing those objectives gives you a reward, sometimes a new ship, other times a DVD-type of extra (one big one is developer commentary). There is also a two-player cooperative mode that is a blast. While the framerate can become an issue, it's a lot of fun to fly with a living wingmate. There are some missions designed specifically for two-players, but you can also go through the story mode. It adds tons of replay value to the game.

Unfortunately, not much has been done to give the game a facelift visually. The graphics look identical to the game produced last year. The framerate runs fine though while in one-player, but in the two-player mode it can bog down. That makes me wonder if this level of graphics is just about all that the engine can handle.

Sound on the other hand is awesome. You've got the John Williams score from the movies, and a nice set of sound effects (also straight from the movies) to go along with it. The only problem is that there is some crappy voice acting. Some of it isn't that bad... but early on the game it is enough to seriously annoy you.

STAR WARS JEDI STARFIGHTER is a great flight sim that STAR WARS fans or fans of the first STARFIGHTER will love. But if you're avoiding ATTACK OF THE CLONES spoilers, beware.