"At last we shall reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last, revenge will be ours!" That quote introduced us to the viciousness of one Darth Maul, who first came about in last year's hit movie Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace.
Of course, the quote raises a question...since when is a Jedi supposed to extract revenge? Well, I guess there are times when you have to forget all the forceful mantra and just go out and kick a little Ewok butt, I suppose. And, with that, Lucasarts is allowing us to hop into the shoes of our favorite Jedis with Star Wars Episode One: Jedi Power Battles, the second Star Wars title to hit the Sega Dreamcast this year (following on the heels of the great racing game Star Wars Episode One Racer.)
The game originally arrived for Playstation a few months ago, and, man, were there flaws all over the place. The graphics appeared unpolished, showing the true age of 32-bit as numerous games do these days, and the control seemed frustrating rather than rewarding, a big no-no for a game that focuses more on arcade skills rather than thinking. Fortunately, there have been some improvements made to the Dreamcast version, although it's still not as polished as I'd like for it to have been.
But enough talk. It's time for a duel! Let's get into the breakdown and see what Jedi Power Battles packs...
Visuals:: This is where the most improvement for the game has come. Instead of glitched out characters and slowdown all over the place, we have a beautiful graphic engine in its place, moving at a zippy pace, even with numerous enemies on the screen. Background details are more precise than ever before, and the character animation is right on the money, right down to the collapse of your enemies after being hit in specific spots. There's still the occasional "where the @$&%9 did it go" moments with some of the enemies, but, overall, this is a good step up for Lucasarts, who've advanced greatly since their simple yet enjoyable port of Episode One Racer. The cut scenes are terrific as well. You can bet they're only going to get better with their next release, the much-hyped Star Wars: Demolition. (But, then again, that's Luxoflux's department- and they've shown their muscle with Vigilante 8: Second Offense already.)
Audio:: Excellent sounds throughout. Music lifted straight from the movie (ala John Williams) plays throughout each stage, and sound effects, right down to the cool ZZZZING lightsaber sounds and screaming enemies, are very faithful to the Star Wars theme. It's a Star Wars experience all the way here.
Gameplay/Control:: Although the gameplay is much more refined here than it was on the Playstation, it's still not as focused as it should have been...and that's kind of a letdown. While the game moves at a better pace and allows you to perform specific functions with the lightsaber (a dragon punch-style sword swing, a quick three-hit combo, etc.), it still has questionable collision detection in some parts and turning to face numerous enemies can be frustrating. Furthermore, once you've mastered all the Jedi, gameplay becomes tedious, with no special moves to master. I wish more Force-style elements were thrown into the game, to allow for some throws or something to spice up the gameplay a bit. As is, it's good, but don't expect any long-term rewards. But, then again, with a arcade-style game such as this, perhaps the point was just to enjoy it while it lasts.
Extras:: The two-player mode is fun (although there's not really a focused versus mode involved), and there's plenty of characters and levels to go through before you run out of Jedi steam. There's also an array of extras to dig through, in case you actually manage to defeat the incredibly tough Darth Maul in the game's final level. Past that, well, you can always go through and beat up Gungans again. And who doesn't love that?
Overall:: Although there are some issues with the gameplay that hurt the overall longetivity of the product, Jedi Power Battles will still surprise those of you who hated the Playstation game, and it should please Star Wars fans in general. It's good to see Lucasarts weening away from their troublesome PC past into some good growing products on next-gen consoles, and their potential can only strengthen from here. Could a party game with C-3PO and Chewbacca be around the corner? Heh...
Score:: 6.5/10
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