Star Wars games have been hit and miss as of late, and though it has a lot of technical issues, the Xbox Live component of The Clone Wars gives it enough value to be worth a purchase for those with a broadband connection and an XBL subscription.
Clone Wars plays more like a straightforward shooter than perhaps any other SW title in recent memory. Many missions consist of hauling ass towards the objective, while blasting everything in sight. Along the way, you may have to guard your teammate, or defend a republic base – by shooting everything - but the foundations of Clone Wars' gameplay are not terribly complicated concepts to grasp.
For some reason or other, Clone Wars has quite a few technical problems. There are several little "quirks" that make it painfully clear that this is indeed a port. For example, when you are watching a cutscene and the camera speeds over a mountain, the camera actually freezes momentarily before hopping over that peak. Minor qualms, to be sure, but the little things make all the difference when avoiding a sloppy port. As always, the voice acting and score are superb, which should be a given with any Star Wars game – the day anything negative needs to be said about an SW game in the sound department is when the franchise has gone completely to hell.
While the vehicle action in Clone Wars is more than enjoyable, the portions of the game that see your character on foot with a lightsaber are overly simplistic and just not very fun. Thankfully, they are brief and far between, so these sections of the game do not detract from what is overall an enjoyable experience.
Where Clone Wars really shines is in its Xbox live capabilities. The addition of several online modes – particularly the base vs. base game – gives the game a lot of replay value for those who are fans of the series. As more people buy the game, hopefully it will become easier to find a session.
The Clone Wars is a fairly enjoyable game that brings about an increase in quality to a franchise that was once renowned for it. The addition of Xbox Live play ensures replay value for those who buy the title. All in all, Clone Wars is a solid Star Wars action game.
-George
Company Line
Lead the Republic army in the epic Clone Wars as Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu & Obi-Wan Kenobi. Your directive: stop the Separatists from reassembling an ancient Sith weapon of mass annihilation!
Take over where Episode II ends during the epic Clone Wars.
Undertake missions ranging from intense close combat engagements to enormous large-scale battles.
Pilot over five unique craft (Republic gunship, speeder bike, fighter tank, assault walker and even a maru) against 30 combat units.
Play four entirely different multiplayer modes: team-based strategy, deathmatch, king-of-the-hill, and co-op endurance.
Engage in 16 single-player missions on six expansive worlds.
Xbox Live
Play with up to eight players over the Internet.
Communicate with other players through voice chat.
Become a ranked player; earn medals.
Play Conquest Mode with new exclusive weapons and commands.
FAQ 1. Will there be a medals system in the Xbox Live version?
Yes, medals will be received after accomplishing certain Xbox Live multiplayer feats. Once medals are earned, they can never be taken away. A player can view their medals at any time in a special trophy room. Using Xbox Live Internet capabilities, players can visit the trophy room of other players and see how they rank against them. There will be thirty possible medals to earn.
2. Will any of the modes be enhanced for Xbox Live?
Yes, Conquest Mode has been enhanced greatly for online play. Additions to this multiplayer game include the ability to dock with an outpost or headquarters and fully utilize the special features/weapons of that building. While docked, the player can use the outpost special weapon or issue AI commands to units that are spawned from that outpost.
Each team also has an overhead floating sentinel droid that can convey key information to the team. While docked at the headquarters, the player can access this droid's surveillance camera and get a top-down view of the entire battlefield. Using Xbox Live's voice communication feature, the player can then tell his teammates what is happening all over the map. While in Sentinel Link mode, a player can also select outposts and give them AI commands as well as give global commands to all friendly AI drones.
3. Will players be able to get ranked in the new online version?
Yes. Rankings will track player's wins and losses through ranking boards that can be viewed by any player via the Internet capabilities of the Xbox. Only ranked games will affect player's ranking standings (player's will specifically elect to play a ranked game).
4. How does it relate to the movie, Episode II?
Rather than a strict retelling of the events of Episode II, the game begins where the film leaves off, and expands the chronology of the Clone Wars. A long time fan favorite since it was mentioned by Obi Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars, the Clone Wars game illustrates and elaborates on this legendary segment of galactic history. Clone Wars will also feature several characters and settings from Episode II, including Mace Windu and Count Dooku, as well as the planet Geonosis.
5. How is it like, or unlike Rogue Squadron
The gameplay is primarily ground based as opposed to space based. The Republic Gunship is the only aircraft in the game and it's more of an attack helicopter versus the fighters of Rogue Leader. There's also more variety in the types of vehicles that can be piloted: hovertank, walker, speeder bike, etc. Each vehicle feels and handles very differently than the other vehicles in the game.
6. What characters from the Star Wars universe are in the game?
Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Count Dooku. Yoda is in the cut scenes.
7. What are the modes of play?
The game is mostly vehicle-based; about 95% of the mission objectives are centered around a vehicle. Only a very small portion of the game features character-based action. These segments really serve as segue ways to other objectives, they can almost be thought of as "mini-games."
8. What are the standout features of the game in your opinion?
Play out the greatest battles of the epic Clone Wars.
Sixteen single-player missions on six expansive worlds from the Star Wars universe.
Pilot five unique craft (Republic Gunship, Speeder Bike, Fighter Tank, Assault Walker and even a Maru) against over 30 different combat units.
Missions range from intense close combat engagements to enormous large-scale battles.
Four entirely different multiplayer modes: team-based strategy, deathmatch, king-of-the-hill, and co-op endurance.
9. Are there any GameCube exclusive features?
Dolby ProLogic II Surround
10. What are all the bonus features?
There's a 3D gallery of the vehicles from the game.
Interviews with the development team.
A making-of video.
Concept art from the game.
11. How many levels are there altogether and of each type of game play?
16 missions with 2-3 objectives each. Objectives range from epic battles, to quick engagements, to chase and pursuit missions.
12. What sorts of multiplayer action will there be? Competitive? Cooperative?
Team-based strategy – This is Conquest, our team based game. Two teams try to knock out each other's HQ. In between the two HQ's are several neutral outposts. Whenever an outpost is captured, it will build defensive turrets and AI units for that team. That team can then direct those units to attack the other team.
Deathmatch – Standard deathmatch type of game where the players get to choose their vehicles and slug it out with each other for the maximum number of kills.
King-of-the-hill – A variation of deathmatch where points are also earned by maintaining control of a portion of the map.
Co-op endurance – This is Jedi Academy, which is a cooperative game. 2-4 players fight against waves of AI enemies to gain the highest score. This mode is inspired by old-school shooters such as Galaxian and Space Invaders.
13. When will it be available?
GameCube and PlayStation 2 - Available now
Xbox Live - Coming soon
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