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.
NicholasHeathfield
I recently played through Star Wars Racer again after years of the N64 being in a box under the bed. This time, I managed to beat the “maintenance metagame”, buying Watto’s worst parts, racing very carefully, Winner Takes All, and selling them back to him to get as much money as possible before getting the very best parts and getting them up to full health by the end of the game.
Abyss is such a pain.
wonkey-willy
Return of the Jedi arcade,, end of Nuff said!!
gazzagb
Battlefront and Battlefront 2 have to be my top picks, they had everything you could want. I’m amazed it’s taken this long to see a sequel.
TRiLoGY
I’ve been a big Star Wars fan for most my life, I think my favourite games have been X-Wing Alliance, the Dark Forces series (Jedi Knight) and also Knights of the Old Republic! Its hard to just choose one, I’ve also been disappointed with some of them in the past too.
I’m hoping the new Battlefront will be immersive, making you feel like you are a part of the original trilogy’s Battles.
TRiLoGY
OMG I forgot about the Lego Games! I think the Lego games where awesome! Especially the original Trilogy!
Actually, this is mostly due to nostalgia, but my all time favourite Star Wars game is probably the original Arcade game, assaulting the Death Star.
scavenga
I concur, probably since I’ve never played a PC game, my fav Star Wars games are the LEGO games, in addition to the original arcade Death Star game. How motherawesome was that controller?
dizwod
I loved the Jedi Knight games, especially Jedi Outcast, Used to love the online force pushing and pulling people all around the place.
colmshan1990
None of you picked Lego Star Wars or Knights of the Old Republic (at least it got an honourable mention)? Makes me question your tastes…
They are two of the very best games. Battlefront 2 is my favourite Star Wars game (potentially favourite Star Wars anything really), followed by those two I named. With my honourable mention going to Star Wars Bounty Hunter as a guilty pleasure game on the PS2. Standard shooter with a strong Star Wars atmosphere.
That wasn’t enough in later years however. Force Unleashed was one of the great disappointments of the PS3 era for me. That game was hyped so much prior to launch but was simply a series of tedious corridors, only this time with lightsabers and the force instead of standard guns.
Stefan L
Oh man, KOTOR should have been picked by a couple more people, definitely. Such a fantastic game, but Jedi Knight 2 just stuck in my mind a little bit more. I could easily have picked Rogue Squadron II as well, but I figured that a lot of people would choose that (and I was right!)
Forrest_01
I would have said that Lego Star Wars was actually more of a Lego Game than a Star Wars game (as in it uses the same formula from across all Lego titles), but it was a cracking game nonetheless.
Good use of the licence too actually.
colmshan1990
I think Lego Star Wars was the first Lego game of that style, so wouldn’t that mean it was the other games which were formulaic, but not Lego Star Wars itself?
double-o-dave
1st Place – Death Star Intercepter… I had it on my speccy many light years ago (even though thats a measurement of distance).
2nd Place – Some Star Wars game on the N64 years ago when we had one in our office, but I can’t remember what it was called. You started off in snow thingys wrapping hooks around AT-ATs legs. I’m pretty sure I had to fight Boba Fett at the end too on some massive chimney shaped thing. Whatever it was, it was out at the same time as Wave Race and Pilot Wings. I can’t believe that was back in the 90s! What the hell have I been doing for the last 20 odd years?!
dizwod
I remeber that game… your 2nd place one that is.. one of the release titles of the N64 i believe… empire of shadows or something?
Just googled it shadow of the empire…. :)
double-o-dave
Yep, thats the one. They also happen to be the only 2 Star Wars games I’ve played :)
dizwod
I dont remember any games on the speccy… other than Dizzy, Manic Miner and Maziaks lol
But then I dont know how old im meant to be to even remember it lol
Rogue squadron games were good :) and Starfox is basically a starwars game lol
bunimomike
1. Star Wars Angry Birds
2. Everything else = shit
:-P
JR.
I’ve only ever played one Star Wars game, The Force Unleashed but I loved it. Didn’t enjoy the second one as much though.
Kennykazey
I think my personal favourite is Jedi Academy. It’s multiplayer is a lot of fun, a bit like a slower paced third person Unreal Tournament with a large roster and it had splitscreen support. I never finished the single-player though…
Republic Commando was another great, it’s actually one of the coolest first person shooters on the first Xbox/PS2.