In a week's time, Star Wars fans of every shape, colour and t-shirt size (must... resist... urge... to say... "But mostly XXL") will descend upon California for the bi-annual Star Wars Celebration.
Among the treats expected to be laid bare at the three-day event are a proper trailer for The Force Awakens, and full details of the brand new Star Wars Battlefront game. Many of us will be embracing the hope that this will, finally, be the Star Wars game to throat-punch them all.
It's not that every Star Wars game is bad, but we're sorry to say that we've yet to play the definitive Star Wars experience. We had high hopes for Star Wars 1313, but that got horribly cancelled when George Lucas sold everything to Disney, and went off to make those quirky independent movies he's been threatening for decades.
Nonetheless, while we may be lacking the perfect trip to a Galaxay Far Over Yonder, there have been plenty of playable Star Wars games - some of them almost very good, probably.
Among the treats expected to be laid bare at the three-day event are a proper trailer for The Force Awakens, and full details of the brand new Star Wars Battlefront game. Many of us will be embracing the hope that this will, finally, be the Star Wars game to throat-punch them all.
It's not that every Star Wars game is bad, but we're sorry to say that we've yet to play the definitive Star Wars experience. We had high hopes for Star Wars 1313, but that got horribly cancelled when George Lucas sold everything to Disney, and went off to make those quirky independent movies he's been threatening for decades.
Nonetheless, while we may be lacking the perfect trip to a Galaxay Far Over Yonder, there have been plenty of playable Star Wars games - some of them almost very good, probably.
Here's our listing of the six SWGs (Star Wars Games) that we've enjoyed the most. So... no Galaxies, because we never played it, and no Knights of the Old Republic - supposedly set 4,000 years before the movies - because we get irritated by the way technology seemingly stalled for aeons in the Star Wars Universe.
Imagine if, say, they had TVs and cars and phones in the Bronze Age... and the only difference between then and now is that the policemen had slightly different hats, and Ainsley Harriott was called Oinsley Hurryup: that's basically Knights of the Old Republic, for pity's sake.
Anyway. SWGs... GO!
Imagine if, say, they had TVs and cars and phones in the Bronze Age... and the only difference between then and now is that the policemen had slightly different hats, and Ainsley Harriott was called Oinsley Hurryup: that's basically Knights of the Old Republic, for pity's sake.
Anyway. SWGs... GO!
6. SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE
Announced by LucasArts as an official entry in the Star Wars canon (which has since been treated to a scorched earth policy courtesy of Disney's bloodthirsty warlords), there's much about the multimedia Shadows of the Empire that's deeply annoying. The hero, Dash Rendar, has a stupid name - presumably meant to evoke Flash Gordon - and ridiculous shoulder pads that look like they belong in an early-90s superhero comic, not Star Wars.
Nonetheless, the N64 game was sporadically great - a brilliant opening section on Hoth later gave way to some frustrating trips to lesser-known corners of the galaxy, admittedly, but for any Star Wars fan it was about as legitimate as things got back in those days. If you can ignore the shoulder pads.
Nonetheless, the N64 game was sporadically great - a brilliant opening section on Hoth later gave way to some frustrating trips to lesser-known corners of the galaxy, admittedly, but for any Star Wars fan it was about as legitimate as things got back in those days. If you can ignore the shoulder pads.
5. LEGO STAR WARS II: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
Admittedly, the Lego games are slightly running out of steam now - let's face it, they're basically all the same - but the format was still fresh when Lego Star Wars II was released. Effortlessly playable and genuinely funny, The Original Trilogy is full of in-jokes, and has clearly been put together by people who love the films. Best of all - there were over 100 playable characters, including such fan favourites as "Droid 4" and a skeleton.
4. ROGUE LEADER
It's pretty shocking how well the Gamecube's Star Wars: Rogue Leader has held up. An arcade-y shooter (which lightly dips its tongue into the strategy trough), it takes in most of the classic series' iconic space battles and ships, and succeeds in capturing that breathtakingly epic Star Wars feel. Look at that screenshot up there: the game actually looked that good in motion; it's nearly 15 years old. How is that even possible? Witchcraft.
3. SUPER STAR WARS TRILOGY
The only video game to have caused Digi2000's Mr Biffo a physical injury - if you discount the time he had a stroke while playing Wii Fit - the Super Star Wars Trilogy was wall-punchingly hard and frustrating. Despite that, for a side-scrolling SNES platformer, it somehow properly felt like Star Wars - even if they did take a few liberties with some of the end-of-level bosses... one of them was literally Pingu choking on a partially-scorched whoopee cushion (though we might've slightly misremembered that...).
2. DARK FORCES
Yeah, it looks dated now - hailing as it did from those early days when everyone went a bit first-person shooter mental - but there was something about the Dark Forces games that captured the Star Wars vibe better than almost anything else (including the prequels... oooh, burn!). The scale of the levels, the pacing, the conscience-unbothering mass slaughter... it just felt right, and managed to add to the Star Wars mythos without feeling clunky or "off", like so much expanded universe stuff.
1. STAR WARS
For most of us of a certain age, the original Star Wars arcade game was our first Star Wars gaming experience. And for many of us, it's still the best - from the sit-down cabinet, to the snatches of movie dialogue, not only did it capture the Star Wars spirit, but succeeded in becoming an iconic gaming experience in its own right. What didn't work was closing your eyes and trying to "use The Force"; round our way it was just going to be an opportunity for a local tough to run off with your handbag.
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