Game Review - Stars Wars Battle Above Coruscant
Thu 31 Jan 2008Filed Under: Game Reviews | Leave a Comment
NAME: Star Wars Battle Above Coruscant
VERSION: 1.3.5
COMPANY: THQ Wireless
PLATFORM: JAVA
GENRE: Space Shooter
SIZE: 316 KB
TEST PHONE: K800i
RATING: 7/10
There’s a war going on - Star Wars that is! There have been quite a few game releases based on the famous movie series in the last 12 months, sometimes we think there’s going to be a new movie out with all these releases! Regardless we decided to do a review of the Battle Above Coruscant for the mobile.
The Battle Above Coruscant is a space shooter game where you play Anakin Skywalker before he turns into Darth Vader. You take control of his Jedi fighter and R2-D2 of course in shooting down droid fighters as he goes to the rescue of the Supreme Chancellor AKA the Emperor in disguise!
As far a games reviews go we are rarely surprised by the in game graphics. After all most mobile phones still don’t have the power for true 3D graphics or have the memory to make something truly stand out. However when we ran this game we where almost impressed by the quality of the graphics. Although presented in 2D we loved the independent background environment that was going on - it’s just like the movie. That said your Jedi star fighter sprite could be made a little better. Anyway it proves that 2D graphics still work in the latest games.
The game features different powerups which you collect for the normal thing like weapons and health. Unfortunately you lose all of them and have to start at the beginning of each level should you get shot down.
The game’s music theme is the usual MIDI based Star Wars Theme however we expected better due to the graphic design.
As for the the game controls, they are the only thing that lets the side down. It has auto-fire which you clearly need on a mobile phone platform but there is something else missing. Maybe the game’s AI is to hard or the keyboard on the K800i is not responsive enough? We found it difficult to avoid getting hit. We looked long and hard and conclude that it’s the small and other times over large size of some of the icons, specifically the missiles and certain laser fire that make this game harder than it should be. Playing the game requires a higher degree of concentration than many others. This makes it difficult to play on the move or casually Ie. on the train.
We want a to be able to finish the game at the basic level - at least without too much thinking. This is a mobile phone game not a console!
That said, the game is divided into 6 levels: Fighters, Missiles, Battleship, Cruiser, Obi-Wan and Shields. The hardest level in the Cruiser Level purely due to the number of small objects coming at you. Requires concentration that should never be made on a mobile phone game.
Anyway, in the end we loved the graphics and the concept but it needs to be made easier for beginners, after all the game already has a selectable difficulty - the Jedi level for the die-hards.
Game Review - Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back
Thu 31 Jan 2008Filed Under: Game Reviews | Leave a Comment
NAME: Stars Wars The Empire Strikes Back
COMPANY: THQ Wireless developed by G5e Entertainment
PLATFORM: JAVA
GENRE: Movie Tie-in
SIZE: 615 KB
TEST PHONE: Sony Ericsson k800i
RATING: 6/10
We liked the last LEGO Star Wars game. So when this non LEGO version was announced we quickly got one to review. The developer of this game was different from the LEGO based versions and it shows.
Each of the key scenes from the movie are replicated with you controlling the lead characters at the time, guiding them through the adventure. So you can relive the Hoth battle, Dagobah, the Asteriod field and Bespin locations. So there’s no need to elaborate on what tasks you need to perform.
The graphics are good and the sound mobile phone standard. (It uses pesudo 3D top down perspective for most of the game play.) But it doesn’t help the game play.
Of there is one definite criticism with the game it is the game controls. Sure the controls are logical and easy to master but unless you have a joystick based phone you will find it difficult to play. Needless to say if your phone has small keys even worse.
To conclude the game is not as entertaining as the LEGO based versions. Yes there are lightsaber duels. However it’s missing something…