Star Wars: A direct hit

By Peter Eley

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

****

Lucas Arts

PC $99.95

G 8+

Let's get the record straight. This game was rushed out to cash in on the most-hyped movie ever, has no multiplayer capability and won't take a skilled player that long to finish.

Which means it won't win the value-for-money stakes.

But The Phantom Menace is a good game, mainly because it lets you take part in a piece of cinema history.

The story so far - the greedy Trade Federation attacks the peaceful planet Naboo, setting in train a series of events that will rock the galaxy.

But a young slave named Anakin Skywalker is discovered by Jedi knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi on the desert world Tatooine.

Enough said - we don't want to spoil the game, for much of the fun is making the plot unfold.

It's a non-linear action/adventure game, which starts with a spot of treachery aboard a Trade Federation ship.

Don't be put off by some rather static gameplay in this opening sequence - the locations get better and the levels more challenging as the game moves on.

Tatooine, Otoh Gunga, Theed City and the Naboo Swamp are much more interesting - intellectually and graphically.

There are four playable characters - Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Captain Panaka and Queen Amidala - while Anakin Skywalker and Jar Jar Binks come into it as non-playable characters.

The enemies are a bit disappointing and the only "name" one we see is Darth Maul, who wields a ferocious double light-sabre.

But you also have to face legions of destroyer droids, Coruscant mercenaries and battle tanks, not to mention rather nasty maintenance machines which try to clean you up with bolts of electrostatic energy.

The action component of Phantom Menace is typical of the genre, with new and evermore powerful weapons concealed at strategic points, along with health packs, energy shields and key cards.

Nothing new, but again the setting for the game covers up some weaknesses.

Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer

****

Lucas Arts

PC $99.95

G 8+

Hot on the heels of the console game comes the PC version of this arcade racer, modelled on vehicles from The Phantom Menace.

The fact that the ships are straight out of the movie is a bonus that will appeal to Star Wars fans.

The PC version is as fast and furious as the Nintendo edition, but graphically sharper although this means you must have at least a 4Mb Direct3D compatible graphics accelerator.

As with the Phantom Menace, there is no Internet option, although multiplayer games can take place across LANs.

Required for both games: Pentium 200, 32Mb Ram, 4Mb Direct3D video card.

* Send your comments e-mail to peter_eley@herald.co.nz

* All games are given a star rating of one to five.