Star Wars: Force Unleashed
The Force Unleashed is one of the last Star Wars games to be developed by the folks at Lucasarts before they ceased operations in 2013. It had fairly big ambitions at the time, wanting to provide players the ultimate experience at being Darth Vader’s personal assassin with incredible Force powers while also bridging the two trilogies together and giving an origin story for the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Civil War. The story is solid and well told, evoking the classic feel of the franchise with its characters and settings. Starkiller ends up being a compelling protagonist, and the back and forth between his droid PROXY and Jedi Master Kota is plenty fun.
Gameplay is where things aren’t entirely as solid. Yes, unleashing the Force on stormtroopers with telekinesis, Force blasts, lightning, and your lightsaber is plenty damn fun, no doubt about it. It’s just fun to blast someone and break their spine while filling three other dudes with lightning before slicing them to little meaty bits. But the game has a nasty habit of sometimes swarming enemies at you, and combined with the uneven targeting, it can be a grind at times. The game also unfortunately recycles environments about halfway through, and the big showcase moment of bringing down a Star Destroyer ends up being more trouble than cool. Unleashed is a fun game, but it’s maybe not entirely deserving of its title.
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Like Force Unleashed, Shadows of the Empire exists to tie the films together (in this case, Episode V with Episode VI). You play as the mercenary Dash Rendar (man, that name is awesome) and help Luke Skywalker rescue Leia from the evil Prince Xizor. Fortunately, like Unleashed, Shadows is also a pretty fun game, albeit rough around the edges.
The gameplay is where Shadows sparkles, particularly in the opening level. What follows doesn’t entirely match the greatness of what kicks the game off, but still entertaining in its own right. Shooting mechanics work well for its time, but the camera and controls keep it from reaching its full potential, and saving proves to be almost as bad of an enemy as the actual enemies you face. Still, the gameplay and the feeling of being this vital piece of the Star Wars canon never goes away, even though the game tries its hardest to take you out of the experience.
Star Wars: Republic Commando
In the Star Wars fiction, Republic Commandos are the best of the clone troopers. These were the black ops division of soldiers, carrying out special tasks by the Republic (and later the Empire). So when a game with the name ‘Republic Commando’ comes out and has players don the helmet of the elite Delta Squad. Yeah, you’re just a solider, but it’s still a great feeling to be considered among the best of the best in this grand sci-fi universe.
That feeling extends to the gameplay as well; even though it’s standard squad-based shooter fare like giving your AI teammates orders. The game more often than not demands that you be very precise in your aiming to take down enemies, but it’s not entirely a deal breaker. There’s enough action going on in the short campaign to make up for these issues and the lack of co-op, and that’s ultimately what’ll carry the game for you. Now please, EA, make another one of these.
Rogue Squadron
As a kid, was there anything that gripped you to the edge of your seat more than the X-Wing battle at the end of the original Star Wars? It’s just something that sticks in your mind, like seeing the full scope of Jurassic Park for the first time or watching Iron Man take flight, it’s just fucking awesome.
Factor 5 and Lucasarts put out Rogue Squadron for those kids who were captivated by that final scene in the theater. The game has you playing as Luke between Episodes IV and V in control of the Rogue Squadron X-Wing pilots. If you remember the Battle of Hoth flight mission in Shadows, Squadron is basically that, but with extra polish added on. The flight mechanics work well on a console, and the upgrades and enemies the game throws at you are fun to both use and go up against. The game has nice little touches like exhaust flames on the X-wing that help you feel like you’re actually in the movies. If you can get past the lack of any multiplayer and constant distant fog, Rogue Squadron is certainly worth your time.
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Previous Star Wars Jedi Knight games have put players in the boots of one Kyle Katarn, but Jedi Academy shelves him in favor of new protagonist Jaden Korr. Jaden’s journey from Kyle’s apprentice to peacekeeper is strong and quicker in dishing out the action compared to the previous entries in the series, but doesn’t entirely put it in a good context for players to grab onto like the last game did.
Thankfully, the gameplay provides plenty for players to latch onto. Whether you decide to become an angel on the Light side or go Dark and embrace your inner monster, Jedi Academy offers plenty of lightsaber swinging fun either way. Besides smartly being able to have a lightsaber at the very start of the game, the free-form mission structure ends up being a useful way for new players to get their feet wet and accustomed to the series, even if not all the missions are complete hits. And once you’re done with the single player, there’s always the entertaining multiplayer to get some more hours out of your time. If you’ve ever wanted to swing lightsabers at your friends without putting each other’s eyes out, Jedi Academy will fulfill your needs.
Star Wars Battlefront II
You didn’t think we’d make a list about the best Star Wars games without including this, did you? Battlefront II is an amazing game from top to finish, providing a much deeper and more fun single player campaign alongside some damn entertaining multiplayer. While the AI can sometimes go back to their stupid old ways, the enemies are more relenting and help sell the feel that you’re in an actual chaotic war. The adventures of the 501st Legion that span from Episodes II-V ends up being compelling because of the series rich history that you take part in, and it’s pretty fun to participate in even admittedly awful events like Order 66 or killing the clone facility on Kamino.
Multiplayer provides the same epic space war feel, whether it’s on the ground against 24-64 players (depends on the platform), or in the ship to ship space combat. The classes are well balanced and fun to play, and there’s no shortage of enemies to gun down, whether they’re real people or AI. Plus, you can finally settle those old middle school arguments in the Hero Conquest mode and have iconic Star Wars characters go up against each other. It may not be the biggest draw in Battlefront 2, but it’s definitely the icing on the already magnificent cake.
Knights of the Old Republic
Let’s not even pretend that this was ever up for debate. Knights of the Old Republic stands up not only as one of the best Star Wars games to exist and one of Bioware’s top games during their long tenure, but also one of the best games to exist period.
While the gameplay is perfectly solid and has fun combat for old school RPG fans to sink their teeth into, the cast of characters that make up KOTOR are what make it so beloved. The folks at Bioware love them some Star Wars, and nowhere is that made more apparent than with the companions that you can bring with you on your journey. Each one of them has a distinct personality, and they’re all a delight from star to finish; HK-47 is too great to not keep in your party once you meet him. Combined with the fantastic music and that hell of a twist, and KOTOR absolutely deserves to be in the top spot of Star Wars games.
What’s your favorite Star Wars game? Let us know in the comments below!
About the author
