Star Wars the Clone Wars was originally released on Playstation 2 about a year
ago. It had a couple of technical issues that stopped it short of peaking at
greatness. Such is the same for the Xbox version, while it certainly looks like
a killer title, the single player campaigns are far too short to warrant the
same high marks it gets from the Xbox Live additions to the title. Make no mistake
about it, it’s solid, but without Xbox Live it may be no more than an occasional
play, fortunately the multiplayer saves the day, as it does with many titles,
and merits a closer looks by many.


The single player section of The Clone Wars puts you through about 16 different
missions, with some bonus objectives scattered about to extend the play time.
You have all the characters you might expect in a Lucas Arts achievement; Anakin
Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Count Dooku, Cydon Prax, Bera Kazan,
Luminara Unduli, and Ulic Qel-Droma. Most of the missions involve straight out
tearing apart the enemy forces, or defending the Republic forces from being
annihilated, and most of the game play takes place within vehicles. Throughout
the course of the game you’ll charter Speeder Bikes, Republic Fighter Tanks,
AT-XT Assault Walkers, Maru (a creature), Republic Gunships, Mobile Assault
Cannons, and AT-TE Assault Walkers. Interesting variety, but variety in vehicles
also translates into variety in control. The single player campaign also comes
in three flavors of difficulty to keep you going a bit longer.


You’ll find that the majority of play is done while onboard vehicles, although
occasionally you will step out on foot, but it’s so rare and limited it’s not
a crucial part of the game, but mastering the controls for the five main vehicles
you cruise in will become critical. Each of the vehicles have a different feel
to them, and it will take some time to adjust to how each one handles before
you are comfortable with it enough to really take care of business. Each vehicle
has lasers, missiles, and a special ability.. once you have the hang of the
basic controls mowing down the enemies becomes a real blast. The ability to
strafe in many of the vehicles becomes a real asset, as storm troopers will
be attacking from all sides!


OK,
so for what the title may lack in the single player arena it definitely makes
up in the Multiplayer and Xbox Live category. Star Wars The Clone Wars features
four multiplayer modes. DUAL is where up to eight players battle it out for
supremacy on Xbox Live (split screen version also available), this is basically
deathmatch in vehicles. Control Zone is where the players take control of an
area of the map and gain points the longer they are there, similar to King of
the Hill in other shooter type games, available for Live and split screen. Academy
is one of the best multiplayer types the game has to offer, and can be played
with vehicles or on foot. The players are in the middle of an arena and enemy
forces come in waves to destroy them, the players cannot harm each other except
in special Gladiator rounds. Conquest takes the prize for best online experience
while playing Clone Wars… It is a two team game where one team tries to destroy
the other team’s headquarters. In between the two HQs are post that you can
overtake to gain a better tactical position. It takes strategy and teamwork.
Many of the multiplayer maps are different on LIVE, and you can download more
maps while you’re online.


The graphics in The Clone Wars aren’t up to the standards we’re accustomed to
seeing in Lucas Arts’ masterpieces, but they get the job done even through some
of the nagging frame rate issues. The characters and vehicle models are detailed
well, and the environments are varied, but after a while it does become a tad
of a bore, concentrating on the game play should help you overcome this.

Star Wars Clone Wars Screenshot Star Wars Clone Wars Screenshot

Star Wars Clone Wars Screenshot Star Wars Clone Wars Screenshot

Star Wars Clone Wars Screenshot Star Wars Clone Wars Screenshot
[ Additional Screenshots Temporarily Unavailable, Sorry. ]


Clone Wars boasts section of the original and exceptional Star Wars score by
John Williams, and has a cast of voice actors that do a reputable job at recreating
the Star Wars sound. Most of the sound effects and ambient noises we have heard
before, but make for another Star Wars classic that stays true to the franchise.


You’ll be finished with the single player campaign in a few short days, make
it a week or two if you decide to pound out all the difficulty levels as well,
but Xbox Live will keep you going for months to come with downloadable maps
and an endless supply of ‘wet behind the ears’ gamers to smack down on Xbox
Live.


Overall Score: 8.0/10 [Not an Average]

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