Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter

• Set just before the events of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
• Investigate a secessionist movement in the Karthakk system
• Fly the Republic's new prototype Jedi starfighter
• 20 story-based missions
• 1-2 players

Amazon.co.uk Review Jedi Starfighter is the latest in that much abused of gaming genres, the Star Wars game. Included in the few gems was Jedi's prequel, Star Wars: Starfighter, a cockpit-view shooter on the PS2. This Xbox version of the sequel serves more as an extra set of missions than a full-blown follow-up, but there are some new features and the gameplay feels a lot smoother. The finest of these new additions are the Force weapons; when playing as the Starfighter itself, you're able to utilise the Force to unleash mass devastation on your foes. The 15 missions alternate between control of this craft and a more robust ship well stocked with missiles; despite being based around a basic protect-and-shoot premise, the missions are nicely varied in style. The controls are baffling at first but you'll soon be pulling off some outrageous manoeuvres as you hunt down the enemy ships while issuing commands to your comrades. The graphics in these dogfights are fantastic, especially when using the zoom option, but larger ships tend to explode in a less than convincing fashion. The lack of recognisable characters, bar an appearance from Mace Windu and a Yoda voiceover, does detract, as does the lack of the classic Star Wars ships (the game is based indirectly on Episode 2). This is partially made up for by an unlockable Tie Fighter along with some new missions and some truly bizarre bonus material. While being a bit too similar to the previous game to warrant buying both, Jedi Starfighter is a very accomplished title that only suffers slightly from its repetitive nature.--Jonathan Winter