Star Wars: Clone Wars (GameCube)

Set just before the end of Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, Clone Wars throws the 3 main Jedi of Episode 2 (Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker) into the heat of battle. Whether it be in the air with the powerful, but slow Republic Gunship, on foot as one of the force wielding Jedi, or on the ground as one of the many ground units you can play as, each with unique primary and secondary weapons and special abilities in 16 exhilarating missions. The varied mix of vehicles are mostly taken from Episode 2 some from the Expanded Universe of Starwars (from the books, other computer games etc.) and other vehicles were invented specially for the game and fit into the Star Wars genre well.

The story is also well thought out with a band of characters new and old such as Dooku, his mercenary relic hunter, Bera Kazan, and his new Bounty Hunter, Cydon Prax, as a replacement for the late Jango Fett, Yoda and Luminara Unduli from Episode 2 also make an appearance. The game also has reference to Star Wars' ancient history, with the mention of Ulic Qel-Droma, for those who know their Star Wars, and a devastating weapon that absorbs the force out of planets and beings to power its deadly armaments. What you have to do is stop Count Dooku from constructing and finishing the Dark Reaper, before he does too much harm.

The single player is a real adrenaline rush, with some cleverly laid out levels on several very different planets taken from the Star Wars movies and Star Wars Expanded Universe. There are a whole variety of enemy units to beat all taken from Episode 2 and beyond, with some really inventive bosses, like the Sith Ghosts of the ice world Rhen Var. The Single Player Campaign has 3 hardness settings (Padawan is Easy, Jedi is Medium, and Jedi Master is Hard). All of the missions have 3 secondary targets which, if completed, gain you bonus points that give you extra multiplayer levels and such bonuses as a unit viewer, a making-of documentary and more.

But the action doesn't stop there. The game has brilliant ground-based multiplayer options; however you need friend to play them with because computer AI Bot players are non-existent in the multiplayer. There are 4 modes:-
1. Jedi Academy, where you and a friend have to face off hoards of enemy units, and if you unlock the second Jedi Academy level it takes place in the Geonosian arena, seen in Episode 2, using Jedi and soldiers rather than vehicles.
2. Control Zone, a cool king-of-the-hill style game where controlling a portion of the map for a certain time is the winning goal.
3. Conquest is a game where you set up turrets and ground units around your base to defend it while you have to attack your opponents base, this will appeal to those strategy game fans out there.
4. And the last multiplayer game type is Duel, a good old Deathmatch in which up to four people fight it out on various maps, of planets featured in the game, with any ground unit they choose, using power-ups found on the map such as the disintegration field to gain the upper hand on their foes.

The reason I gave it a four is because of the lack of AI Bots to fight against in multiplayer, and the graphics, even though they are impressive, don't quite have the same "wow" factor as Rogue Leader in my opinion, for a Gamecube game the graphic could have been beefed-up, however for the Playstation 2 version the graphics are as good as you can get. But don't let this deter you as this game is certainly one for your collection. ..