Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

The Good
I was a major fan of the original trilogy growing up. I was burned by the prequel trilogy, though admittedly the third was better than the other two. Despite countless games based on Episode I and II, I thought that the third film would make for a good game.

There are lots of options available to you, as you can build up your characters as you progress and gain experience. You're not limited to hack-and-slash, as you can also improve other skills, such as grapples, force powers, and finishers. Nobody has to play the game the same way.

The control is responsive, but takes a little getting used to. Nearly everything on the pad is utilized, which isn't always a good thing for such a fast-paced game.

As with any Star Wars game, audio is top-notch. Sound effects are clear, as is the music.

If there's one thing to be said about the story, it's that they actually managed to improve upon the plot of the film. Certain battles have been lengthened, such as the battle against General Grevous. The scene where Anakin slices off Mace Windu's arms actually turns into a long battle sequence with a plot, rather than being an instant Dark Side transition.

The Bad
I didn't really enjoy the game. I love beat-em-ups and hack-and-slash games, but Revenge of the Sith felt more like a chore than anything else. There wasn't a real balance to it. Everything was either too easy or too hard. Trying to perform combos while getting shot in the back tends to be more frustrating than fun. It's like a spiritual sequel to Jedi Power Battles, but they tried to put too much in.

There's no excuse for such an ugly game on the Xbox. The models aren't very good, the textures are very grainy, and the lighting effects aren't what they should be. The cutscene quality is pretty shabby. It's not particularly grainy, but it's got the look of a 3-hour movie that's been ripped to DivX and then converted to DVD-5. It has a sort of blurry, washed-out look to it. There are also video cutscenes made using the game engine, rather than just using the game engine to render them in-game. Again, the quality is terrible and looks much worse than the game itself.

While voice acting was handled well for the most part, there are a few standouts. The actor who voiced Anakin must have really disliked Hayden Christensen more than I do, because he managed to make the virtual representation more annoying. Mace Windu, however, is completely out of character. Rather than portraying Mace Windu, they decided that the actor should poorly portray Samuel L. Jackson, spouting lines that are uncharacteristic and stupid, not only for the character, but for a Jedi. At least the guy who performed Obi Wan earned his paycheck. There were times that I swore that Ewan MacGregor was handling voice duty.

The Bottom Line
Unless you like monotonous button-mashers with too much to do, I wouldn't recommend this game. It's a lazy port of a mediocre game that lacks fun.