Sometimes when I bring up how much I dislike U.S. Gold people keep bringing up that they had good games in their lineup, and not everything they touched turned to poison… wouldn’t believe it if I had these games as my evidence, like this (Star Wars for the Game Gear).

Yeah, it’s another game tying into Star Wars (Episode IV) the movie. How many of those have we seen? Lots? Yeah, I know. Well the last time I fell in love with Star Wars was Super Star Wars for the SNES… but this is Star Wars for the Game Gear so how will it fare? Err… badly. (PS I should totally try to get Star Wars for the Game Boy Color and review that).

The game starts out with you controlling Princess Leia aboard her boarded Rebel transport, as the Imperials swarm all over it looking for her and the secret plans for the Death Star (chronologically speaking

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last seen in the end of Star Wars Episode II : Attack of the Clones). The minute the game starts, and the endlessly horrendous loop of Star Wars music plays you realize what a painful experience you are about to be treated to… and “treated” is me being kind to this game.

Apparently the game is coated in butter or grease because your characters seem to slip and slide and whoosh about huge plat forming screens where they have to shoot, run, jump, climb and so forth to get from point A to B… and while the controls are OK to pick up the gameplay just seems to be endless plat forming (and not the quality of plat forming like in the Super series of Star Wars games, I mean assisine broken plat forming that only repetitive playing and memorization can beat. That kind of plat forming. Also while the world of Super Star Wars was

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intense, addictive plat forming action this is no so addictive, not so intense gaming… in fact I only got once to Luke’s first Tatooine level before I finally gave up on the game and stopped playing. Might have helped, maybe, if the game had continues or a way to pick up the game where you left off (a password function maybe). As it stands once you run out of lives and continues and whatever it’s back to the start again, and the game is not a pushover either so it’ll take a lot of work just to make any progress in this game. Also I heard later parts (like the Death Star scene) is supposed to be really good, but I never made it even to the point of meeting Han Solo the game being so wonky as it is. The plat forming is not the easiest to play (character moves too fast, always seems to be another enemy just around the next corner ready to smite you, and it takes awhile to master each level enough that you can make it through it without losing all your lives) and after awhile of this underwhelmer you’ll just give up and throw in the Game Gear in disgust. If the game was just more interesting, or exciting or easier then I would see wanting to keep on pounding away at it until you were done… but the game isn’t any of those good things so I eventually gave up on it.

Sad, after such good experiences like Super Star Wars and LEGO Star Wars I would have wanted better from my Star Wars gaming experience (movie wise), but as it stands this game just barely earns a 2 out of 5. I know some people actually love this game, it’s just that I’m not one of those people… sorry.