E3 2002: Kyle's Star Wars Picks Special @ Gaming Target

Written by Kyle Williams on May 29, 2002

Special: This is Kyle's crazy mess of E3 coverage.

Okay. You can officially call me a nut. Three of the games from E3 that have me most excited about my Gamecube are Star Wars Titles. You have to understand though, I have literally grown up with these movies. I had (and still have) the dialog memorized from the original movie. I was the one kid who had all of the little plastic escape pod launchers that came from the C-3P0's cereal and I even kept all of my old Star Wars toys when the franchise wasn't popular. Anyway... here is what E3 taught me.

Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
Publisher: LucasArts
Developer: Various
Intended Release: November 20, 2002
Boba Fett has been a pop icon since his brief 1980 appearance in The Empire Strikes Back. Most of his fans couldn't quite believe what they saw as their favorite anti-hero plummeted into the depths of the Sarlacc Pit. In fact, enough people wanted more of Boba that he was resurrected in the greater lore of Star Wars. You know that Lucas couldn't let the mystery of this enigma go on indefinitely and used Attack of the Clones to introduce us to both Boba's history and his father, Jango Fett.

Bounty Hunter is finally giving us the opportunity to portray one of the most infamous hired guns in the galaxy. In this adventure, you will have all of Jango's tricks and tools at your disposal including the flame thrower and jet pack. Also, this story is going to tell the story of why Jango Fett was chosen as the template for the clone army we saw in Attack of the Clones. Throw in the voice talent of the actors that played both Jango Fett (Temeura Morrison) and Zam Wessel (Leeanna Walsman) and we are all set to begin the tale that was finished in AotC.

What is most compelling about this game is everyone who is working on it. Specifically, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound. These two Lucas entities have never worked with LucasArts on any game project before and the possibilities are seemingly endless. I don't know what I am looking forward to more; watching the ILM produced cutscenes or flying around blasting aliens John Woo style with Jango's dual blasters.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Publisher: LucasArts
Developer: Pandemic Studios
Intended Release: September 18, 2002
LucasArts really seems to enjoy their vehicle combat titles. The Rogue Squadron titles, the Starfighter titles, andThe Battle for Naboo all come to mind without thinking. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is hoping to take the best of these previous titles and pick up the story where Attack of the Clones left off.

The Clone Wars is going to offer you the opportunity to take the role of either Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, or the ill-fated Anakin Skywalker as they lead a clone army against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. While you will be trying to control the hordes of battle droids strewn across various systems, your overall goal will be to thwart the Confederacy's plans to reassemble an ancient Sith Weapon of mass destruction. To do this you will take the controls of Speeder Bikes, AT-SX assault walkers, and republic gunships, among others.

This game's description reminds me a little bit of The Battle for Naboo. While the game was panned by critics, I found that the vehicle variety it offered helped to add variety to a potentially stale genre. The vehicle models are looking fantastic and, if Pandemic can pull off the large scale war sequences that are being promised, will help give a new definition to epic battles.

Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Publisher: LucasArts
Developer: Vicarious Visions
Intended Release: TBD
This port of the well-received PC title is almost a guaranteed success when it hits the GameCube and Xbox. This adventure title is the latest to star Kyle Katarn and his force driven efforts to maintain order throughout the galaxy. This series kicked off about eight or nine years ago with Dark Forces on the PC. This original title was strictly a first person shooter set in the Star Wars Universe. Since then, the main character has developed a variety of force skills and has acquired a lightsaber with which he vanquishes his foes.

This chapter of the saga takes place several years after Kyle avenged his father's death and defeated a band of Dark Jedi. Following this triumph, Kyle put away his force using ways, afraid of falling to the dark side of the force. However, a new evil has emerged and Kyle knows that he must take up the ways of his ancestors in order to preserve order. The story isn't what should have you coming to this title though. Save that honor for the swinging lightsaber action.

The success of Jedi Outcast is going to be in the translation from PC to console. Many games that attempt this leap are plagued by shoddy controls or a mismanaged multiplayer system. As long as Vicarious Visions maintains the quality set by Raven Software on the PC, we are in for another great gaming experience in a galaxy far, far away.