Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
LucasArts, $49.99
Platform: Xbox/PS2
Ships: May 5
With the myriad Star Wars titles running red line to keep the franchise burning supernova, it’s hard to distinguish among them. After all, is there really more than one way to slice a light saber? Judging by the exponential sales numbers of this multiplatform series, apparently there is. In this go-round, the guys in the white hats (the Jedi) risk life and tentacle to thwart the invading dark menace of the guys in the black hats (the Sith). OK, nothing new about this standard-fare space Western, but somehow LucasArts builds in just enough tweaks to make you will the box off the shelf and into your hands. As in the mythology of life, Revenge of the Sith offers you two paths: that of good and that of evil. Respectively, as Anakin Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi, it’s your sworn duty to bring murder and chaos into the universe, or to protect it from such phantom treason. LucasArts assures epic duels in this version, with upgradable attacks and Jedi combo moves not yet tested by even the most zealous farm boys. Also, rumored hidden in the game are plot developments that coincide with the film, which will not be released until a week after the game hits stores. Naturally, master marketing-Jedi George Lucas hopes these advance plot crumbs may draw out a fan base starving for any early morsels of storyline prior to the opening of the final chapter in this three-decade-old franchise. Revenge of the Sith also promises an authentic John Williams soundtrack backing you, as you fight the one and only man in black. No, not Johnny Cash. Darth Vader.
This article appears in April 29 • 2005.