With recent news surrounding EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront, and the upcoming sequel trilogy, we thought we’d take at look back at some of out favourite games from a galaxy far, far away…
Dom: It was a tough choice but I have to choose Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader on the Nintendo Gamecube. Out of all of the Star Wars games I don’t think any of them have come quite as close to making you feel part of the movies and the world as Rogue Leader does. The graphics still stand up today (I played it last week!), and the music and sound effects are all authentic and stirring.
The selection of ships from the franchise, from the iconic X-Wing to the functional Y-Wing, is fantastic, with a number of hidden extras tucked away for the committed fan. Its replay value remains very strong as well, with each mission requiring repeated playthroughs to reach the upper medal tiers, and I had a huge amount of fun every single time I picked up the pad. Later entries muddied the game’s purity with on-foot sections, and I think Rogue Leader marked Factor-5’s finest hour, nailing the sensation of piloting a ship within the Star Wars universe.
Blair:Â It’s been a long time since I’ve played it, but I still have an overwhelming sense of nostalgia attached to Star Wars: Rogue Squadron on N64. I can’t even properly remember what it was exactly like – just that it was an air combat game set in the Star Wars universe, but I remember it being a lot of fun, particularly bringing down the huge AT-AT Walkers in the Hoth level.
Dan: Although I absolutely love the Star Wars films I haven’t played many of the games, I’m ashamed to say. However, my first ever gaming memories come from one Star Wars game. That game is Star Wars Episode I: Racer on the Mac, and without a doubt my favourite Star Wars game to date. Pure pod-racing fun.
I was really rubbish at it though because I was so young at the time the game came out, and it was quite difficult to get the hang of, especially turning the pod sideways to get through small cracks. I just couldn’t handle the speed. One track was the main one from the film which was totally awesome too. I bet it hasn’t aged well at all sadly. Still, I fondly remember loving every second of the game
Aran: I really enjoyed Star Wars The Force Unleashed. Felt like it was one of the best representations in a SW action game of how much power the Force gives someone. Running around taking out tons of Stormtroopers in seconds was incredibly fun, be it with the lightsaber or force pushing them off a ledge. It’s a shame it got scrubbed from canon because it gave another edge to the war between the Empire and the Rebels. It was actually also the first PS3 game I played as it came in the bundle I bought, so Force Unleashed brought me to the (then) new-gen of gaming.
Mark:Â I’m going to go with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The main reason is because it’s so fun to play around with and see what combos you could come up with, especially with the amount of control you had with the force. I also enjoyed the story very much which had a darker tone than the films, I prefer the darker side of the Star Wars universe.
Jim: Truth is, I like most Star Wars games – from Super Star Wars on the NES to Force Unleashed and even The Old Republic. The one game that really draw me in, however, was Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy on PC. I think the one aspect I loved most was the ability to create your very own Jedi using a combination of different races (including Kel Dor), force powers, and sabre colours. This was before I had ever come across an MMORPG, hence the feeling of liberation. This was extended further later on during the storyline, where the narrative branches, allowing players to align with light or dark side of the Force. Really, Jedi Academy was way ahead of its time and still holds up today.
Miguel: I grew up as a huge Star Wars fan and still am. For me, I was drawn in even more by the amazing games than I was with the movies. My favorite game has got to be Star Wars: Battlefront II. I would spend hours and hours when I was young loading it up and just blasting through levels on my own, fighting Stormtroopers in Cloud City and playing as Jedi and Sith heroes. That game took up a bunch of my life, and I hope that the new one has the potential to do the same.
Teflon: I think that one of the best Star Wars games out there has to be Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast. It was a pretty straight forward action game, but blended solid first and third person Jedi action with the then top notch Quake 3 engine and a pretty decent story in the now defunct Expanded Universe. It told the story of Kyle Katarn as he struggled with his latent Jedi powers and, of course, his internal battle with the dark side of the Force. In truth, it has the same general set up as the original Jedi Knight, its sequel and even the two Force Unleashed games, but this was the one that I played first and for that reason it holds a special place in my mind amidst the pantheon of Star Wars games.
Kris: The pinnacle of Star Wars gaming has to be the Rogue Squadron series, with Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader taking poll position. It’s actually tricky to pick between Rebel Strike and Rogue Leader for the top spot, but I think Rogue Leader has to take it in the end. There really is a lot to like in the Rogue Squadron series. The variety of crafts the games offer, alongside the way it weaves itself into and out of the Stars War narrative does more than enough to please fans, but what all of the Rogue Squadron games really capture is the sheer freedom of battling in space. Few games manage to get this exactly right, but Rogue Squadron does a good job of simulating a real space battle, with dog fighting being particularly exhilirating.
So why does Rogue Leader come out ahead of its space fighting bretheren? It’s simply better. It’s got the best selection of missions, the best story, and it’s the most fun to play. And yes, others may prefer battling with lightsabres or bulding their skills as a Jedi, but dog fighting in space is just an incredibly fun experience.
Honourable mentions include Republic Commando, Jedi Power Battles, Knights Of The Old Republic, and Revenge of the Sith.
Paulo Vinicius Radtke
I feel old saying this, but my favorite Star Wars game is Tie Fighter (PC DOS). That’s old, but was the game that played really well to make me feel part of that universe.
three_leg_jake
And X Wing before that. Stayed up all night playing it with a mate doing alternate missions.
commuterzombie
The story was great, clearing minefields in a TIE Interceptor was intense… good times!
jayboy31
Star wars arcade, “Red 5 going in”, You’re all clear kid”, “Great shot kid, that was one in a million”. Brilliant.
The Lone Steven
Sadly, the only Star Wars games that i’ve played are Starfigher, both Battlefront games and both Force Unleashed games so i can’t really pick a favourite. Star Fighter was decent but it was pretty much restricted to 3 mission types and needed a lot more variety. It is loosely based on Episode one and thankfully, Jar Jar Binks did not appear in it. The game, i mean.
Battlefront was a lot of fun although i wish they did implment the FPS view for all vehicles as i loved it when i saw it in the demo. Hopefully, BF3 will feature that and combat will be even more fun if they include destruction that rivals Battlefield or go over the top with it. I think, if i recall correctly, the jedi classes were either overpowered or lacklustre. I can’t remember.
Force Unleashed was excellent but did end up becoming repitive and i discovered a few years back that the entire story was not complete due to bloody DLC! StarKiller’s name was not even revealed in the vanilla game and was revealed during the jedi trials DLC. That is just bullcrap. Force Unleashed 2, i don’t seem to be able to get into it and just end up quitting it after an hour or two. I don’t know if it’s a case of me never being in a jedi mood or in a hack and slash mood when i play it or if it’s a disappointment. I just don’t know why i don’t seem to enjoy it. Shame there won’t be a third game to tie up FU’s story. It was meant to bridge the gap between 3 and 4 but elements of it did not click well and Starkiller turning against Vader is kinda hard to keep secret due to the dude dropping a star destroyer on a planet. And capturing Darth Vader and almost killing him etc..
Now, there is are two games taht i will get once i have a gaming PC and that is the Knights of the Old Republic games. It’s Bioware and Obsidian, both games are said to be excellent and they had the sense to avoid following the films. Bioware also brought us one of the biggest plot twists in gaming.