With this turning of the tide, could Star Wars: The Clone Wars bring Star Wars games back up to par with those of their vastly improved sci-fi brethren? Unfortunately not, but really damn close.

The Clone Wars puts you through a variety of missions spanning after the events of Episode II and lets you take on the persona of several Star Wars veterans including Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. You will have three distinct play methods through the course of the game. At times you will find yourself piloting a tank/walker/lizard, flying a ship or walking on foot, and while the vehicle missions are usually fast-paced arcade action, the foot-soldier objectives become tedious from the get-go.

The main problem with the on-foot missions is the controls feel very clunky. Your character moves nothing like you would expect after playing games such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City or Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2, where the third-person view is executed perfectly. Usually, these missions focus on your character making it to a specific location, or destroying any number of objects. To cause adversity, the game’s designers chose to usher waves upon waves of enemies at you with the hopes that you won’t actually realize you can just run by them and be okay. Adding to the frustration and tedium is the objective to collect items in a very “Rare” way.

The game is defiantly billed as an arcade-action game, and rightfully so, this is where it would be better suited. On a majority of levels, when you aren’t protecting some of your own vehicles, you can simply just accelerate, spin in circles and hold down the fire button to complete the mission. You have a primary mission objective that must be fulfilled by the end of the level, and several sub-objectives that are up to you if you want to complete them.

Graphics range from acceptable to slightly outdated, and considering the pedigree of developer Pandemic Studios, it is somewhat of a surprise. The vehicle missions look great; while nowhere near the beauty displayed by Rogue Leader, they are crisp, clean, and capture the landscape of the various worlds easily.

Voice acting is the highlight of the game. Each character, through in-game cutscenes, has tons of spoken dialogue which enhances the play experience greatly instead of having to read menus, but the fact that the cast is comprised of sound-alikes rather than the actual actors detracts from the best part of the game.

As I stated before, you can easily progress through most of the game’s missions by holding down the fire button and just go forward, occasionally spinning from side to side to dodge upcoming attacks, it brings the game down to a very simplistic level and also to the point where every vehicle controls exactly the same, which may throw you off at times when you want your tank to perform an action only your fighter can do.

Even though I hate to say it, the whole game just comes off on me as a way to cash in once again on the Star Wars license with the money of fans because of the name on the box. And while many movie-goers were less than entertained by George Lucas’ latest entry into the second trilogy, many will pick up this game expecting an expansion of the story and characters. Unfortunately those gamers will meet a game that brings things to the table in such a simplistic manner that gamer’s may be hesitant to play through the game again once they have completed it. If you are looking for some Star Wars gaming goodness, wait for Galaxies or pick up a used copy of Rogue Leader and share the glory of Factor 5’s opus.