Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes Impressions (Wii)
Eli 8.2 is a huge fan of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (so am I--it's very entertaining), and we both enjoy games where we can play together in co-op mode, so trying out Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes was a natural.First off, you definitely need to be a fan of the series to get any enjoyment from this game. I know, that sounds harsh, but the only distinctive element of this game is the license. Our favorite moments have all revolved around the license--the use of the actual character's voices, recognizing elements from the series, etc.
The game itself? Not so much. While there have been some incredibly memorable games set in the Star Wars universe, but man, there have been lots of clunkers, and this definitely falls into the latter category.
The level design is a good example, because it's utterly bland. There's a story arc taking place in the cut scenes, but that story arc is invisible in the levels, really--just run forward, jump, and shoot.
That causes problems, because it blurs the story until it just disappears. At one point, I said to Eli, "I'm having a hard time following the story."
"Oh, I KNOW the story, Dad," Eli said.
"You do?" I asked. "What is it?"
"Well, it's like this," Eli said. "It's--well--it's just that there really ISN'T a story."
That's just it--there is a story, but the levels do such a generic job of supporting it that by the end of the level, I can't even remember where the story is going.
We've played for about five hours, and I have no idea of where we are in the story arc. The levels don't seem to give any sense of progression, because we're doing lots of the same things almost every time.
Okay, now that I've slagged the game thoroughly, please note that there are a few good points. The difficulty is very forgiving for younger players (in co-op, your character is resurrected when your partner passes the next checkpoint), and like I said previously, the license is used well in terms of incorporating plenty of characters from the series.
We're having a decent time, overall, because Eli is enjoying "playing the show," but like I said, you need to be a fan (a big fan, really) of the show, and I definitely wouldn't recommend anything more than a rental.
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