A long time ago, about a galaxy far far away, there were many great videogames. The tentacles of LucasArts have penetrated, as it seems, into all genres of videogames, from pinball to racing simulators. So let’s not focus on the Battlefront series, Knights of the Old Republic, and The Force Unleashed today. Let’s look into some of the best and underrated games about Star Wars.
Shadows of the EmpireThis game is part of an experiment by LucasArts. The idea was to fill the plot gap between the fifth and sixth episodes of the movie saga, without making another film. And at the same time to earn some extra money by selling products accompanying a full-fledged blockbuster. As a result, a mediocre novel, a comic book series, lots toys, collectible cards, and a sea of other multimedia junk under the heading “strictly for fan use” has been released. Considering this pile of useless consumer goods, a proper video game about the Star Wars had a lot of people excited.
It was not just a 3D-action game, but a real kaleidoscope of awesomeness. Together with a smuggler by the name of Dash Rendar, we dropped four-legged AT-ATs on the planet of Hoth, chased each other on swoops around the Mos-Eisley, fought against a famous mercenary by the name of Boba Fett (and then with his ship) and generally had a great time. The battle with the IG-88 killer droid still haunts me till this day. If the upcoming Jedi: Fallen Order is even remotely similar to Shadows of the Empire, I will be quite happy.
Republic Commando“Star Wars” is not just about lightsabers fights. It turns out that you can make an interesting game and build it around literally the most faceless characters of the universe - the clones of Jango Fett. The Clone Wars served as an excellent basis not only for the animated series of the same name but also for quite a decent sci-fi thriller in the spirit of Halo.
No Jedi, no Force. Even more so, Republic Commando one of the only Star Wars games, at the beginning of which the yellow lines of text do not run up against the background of the stars to the music of John Williams. As for the game, it looked spectacular for its time. There is also a tactical element to the game: you can command a small unit of the Republic special forces. Many did not The only important things that it lacked were a coherent story and the option of coop play.
DemolitionThis project is a candidate for the title of the strangest Star Wars game ever made. The plot, if I may call it a plot, is as follows: the evil Empire prohibited pod racing, and the good old greedy Jabba the Hutt picked up the fallen banner of a deadly sport to sell it to the masses. You have probably already guessed it, but this game is as far from canon as a game about Star Wars can get.
However, if we ignore the stupid concept, it is a very fun game. It’s a type of dumb fun, a very beautiful disaster if you will. If taken in small doses, this game will provide you with lots of fun and laughter. In what other game can you possibly encounter Princess Leia driving a gravicycle, Coruscant general Otto on an AT-ST, and a trainer of exotic monsters Malakili on tamed rancor? There is no other game like it and there will probably never ever be one in the future. So do not look at the negative reviews that were given to this game because of its ridiculous plot, you should just relax and enjoy the beautiful ugliness that is happening in front of you.
