May 10, 2005 - It's no surprise that with any hot movie property release, videogame renditions are not so far behind. In the case of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the videogame versions from Ubisoft have hit the scene a significant distance from the actual release date of the film they're based on. Because of this, it's a bit difficult to gauge how well the games represent the film since this text is being written a half a month before the launch of the theatrical flick. So, while I'm pretty confident that the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions follow the story of the final film of the series, I'm judging the game solely on the merits of the game design. Just as it should be. And with no spoilers. You're welcome.

For the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS renditions of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Ubisoft put its Montreal handheld team to task in reproducing situations and scenarios on the handheld systems. The team has had previous experience with the Star Wars property with Apprentice of the Force, a GBA rendition of the Star Wars (A New Hope), Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi films that were re-issued on DVD late last year. Surprisingly, it seems that the developer went with a completely original design, because Revenge of the Sith feels nothing like Apprentice of the Force. And that's a good thing.

Episode III is essentially a Golden Axe or a Double Dragon design in the Star Wars universe, putting players in the role of either Anakin Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi as they lightsaber-slash their way through more than a dozen levels of droid and clone army-infested areas. It's a hack-and-slash affair, but the development team has put a lot of focus into the characters' unique weapon-handling abilities; both characters feel different because of their different styles of combat.

The design is solid, but a little tedious since players can find that one button-mashing combo that will eliminate the grouping enemies from the scene. The designers have, however, discouraged the button-mashing with its "special force move" mechanic that will only fill if you put the character's more defensive moves to use. By deflecting blaster fire or utilizing the Jedi powers like a Force Shove or the Mind Trick, you'll build up a power-meter that will enable players to pull off a special screen-clearing move by either A) button combination on the GBA, or B) the touch screen on the Nintendo DS. The game has a bit of exploration by hiding special orb power-ups that can be collected, and by scooping up enough power orbs players will be able to enhance their characters' abilities with special moves. It sounds great in practice, but most of the hidden items are simply tucked away in background tiles, so players will quickly learn to just hug the back wall and slash their lightsaber every few steps in order to collect most of the items.



What also makes the game just a little tedious: the game doesn't really stray from basic design. Levels aren't built with variety in mind, so you won't find, say, platform jumping or vehicular elements that are usually sprinkled into brawlers like Double Dragon or Golden Axe. I will, however, give the designers credit for creating some fun boss battles that require almost Punch-out!-like pattern recognition to complete.