Simplicity doesn’t always breed the best gameplay, but in the case of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the stylus-only controls make for accessible action in the vein of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Similarly, the most recent Legend of Zelda title for the DS also featured movement/attacks using exclusively the touch screen. Clone Wars uses this feature to its advantage and creates a fast paced action game that all fans of Lucas’ saga should be going ga-ga for.
In the level I played, Obi-Wan Kenobi (my character of choice) and his ally, Mace Windu, were invading some sort of Republic ship. Without caring about the nitty gritty of the post-Episode II storyline at the time, I immediately tore in to the action.
Since the game has a heavy emphasis on teamwork (the subtitle is Jedi Alliance after all) it became quickly evident that I would actually need the help of my AI buddy. Luckily for me, the waves of original robo-foes were taken down swiftly by Windu while I adapted to the controls. Once I got a grip on the tap-tap-tap-attack and the various slashing maneuvers, I was fluidly slicing Droideka-variants to scrap metal alongside my equally graceful teammate. It was almost hypnotic to see the half-dozen or so enemies get busted up by lightsabers, as the animation in the game is shockingly slick.
Each attack has a specifically unique animation, from the standard horizontal and vertical assaults to the more intricate flipping and stabbing combos dished out from different distances. The characters move more realistically than expected, but the jagged and blocky visuals kind of detract from any beauty in the game’s detailed environments. Characters are barely distinguishable from any angle the auto-cam provides.
But in spite of being less-than-purdy, the game is fun. How long the combat will remain entertaining is unseen, but assuming you can mix it up with different Jedi (who apparently have different sets of moves) and learn new skills it’ll be a good galactic romp.
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