Lucasarts’ and Krome Studios’ Star Wars: Clone Wars probably isn’t the Wii-based lightsaber fighting game you’re looking for. It does look pretty slick, which is somewhat surprising considering the track record that motion-based fighting games have on Nintendo’s console. Unfortunately, our demo was entirely hands-off. So even though the waggle-based controls seem to work fine, it’s tough to feel anything more than cautiously optimistic. That said, Clone Wars only has to exceed Teras Kasi in order to become the best Star Wars fighting game the world has yet seen. That can’t be too tough, right?
Click through for the goods.
According to our Lucasarts rep, Star Wars: Clone Wars is designed so that anyone can pick up the Wii remote/Nunchuk and play. Uh oh. User-friendly does not necessarily mix well with obsessive Star Wars fan. Those who have been training up in the Shien, Jar’Kai or other lightsaber styles will be disappointed to learn that they can probably do just as well by imitating the so-called “Star Wars kid.”
Basic attacks are performed with right/left, up/down and stabbing motions of the Wii remote. The remote’s trigger – which also blocks – serves as a modifier for performing power attacks, indicated on-screen by the swirling mass of Force energy which surrounds the attacking character whenever the button is held down. Other than using the analog stick to move your character around, the Nunchuk is devoted entirely to controlling the combatants’ Force powers (when applicable).
Fortunately, there is some more depth than these basic motions to Clone Wars’ combat. Multi-swipe attack combos can be performed by advanced players who are willing to learn the nuances of mock-lightsaber combat. Bits of the environment can also be picked up and tossed around by harnessing the awesome power of the Force. There are also environmental hazards to worry about, such as exposed electrical currents or falling debris from nearby fighting. There are even Star Wars’ trademark saber locks, which unfold as lightning fast quick-draw minigames.
Unfortunately, Lucasarts wasn’t saying much about how the game will work outside of its multiplayer mode. There will be single player elements, but exactly how they will work is being kept quiet for now. We also only got a look at a few of the game’s fighters – Obi-Wan Kenobi, General Grievous, Asajj Ventress and Anakin Skywalker’s young Twi’lek apprentice Ahsoka – though there were probably about 13 or 14 portrait slots in total on the character select page.
Even on the comparatively underpowered Wii, Clone Wars looks good. The game is being developed with the full cooperation of Lucasfilm, which means that all of the upcoming film’s and TV series’ art assets were made available to the development team at Krome Studios. Obviously, these aren’t the slick HD visuals seen in trailers for the film, but the game’s art style serves as a clear link to the upcoming non-interactive Clone Wars offerings.
It’s not exactly what fans have been hoping for, but Star Wars: Clone Wars is the best lightsaber combat game we’re going to get. At least until the soon-to-be-released Wii Motion Plus accessory is taken advantage of. It’s true that we didn’t get any hands-on time with the game, but the Lucas companies have historically done well with these multimedia product launches. Expect to see more on Star Wars: Clone Wars in the coming months as the game is set to hit stores during the 2008 holiday season.
