I can imagine that among the companies present at E3, none would be as frustrated as LucasArts about the surprise announcement of the Wii Motion Plus.  With two games that involve swinging around a lightsaber in different fashions, they’ve been able to make up for the lack of a 1:1 movement ratio that the Wii Remote currently doesn’t offer.


Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels (Wii)

In this built from the ground up lightsaber fighting game, players duel against characters from the newly released film and upcoming TV series.  The developers worked with the studio to create an authentic experience for the Wii.  Players will be able to duel against previously known characters along with two new ones, Ahsoka Tano and Asajj Ventress.

Combat is using the Wii Remote to attack and the Nunchuk to position your character.  Controllers were made simple so that they’d be more accessible to a wider audience.  While you can Wii mash your way through, there are also ways to do fancier moves.  Saber locking can occur during duels which can only be broken by playing a short mini-game.  It breaks the action up, but only for a short while.

I don’t know that I was too impressed with this game, but then again I’m not a huge fan of fighters.  It’s clear Krome Studios put some nice touches in the game, including sounds that emanate from the Wii Remote.  For the fan of Jedi sparring, I could see this being something to check out.


The Force Unleased (Wii)

While being shown the 360 version of this game, it looked pretty and seemed to be easy to control.  I yearned however to try the Wii version since you’d be a bit more hands-on than with a regular controller when getting involved with a lightsaber.

The Force Unleashed follows the path of Darth Vader who has taken a secret apprentice his master doesn’t know about.  This apprentice is you and you’ll be assigned to take care some of Vader’s dirty work.

Controls in the game are really the joy here.  You’ll use the Wii Remote to use your lightsaber, while the Nunchuk serves as a navigation and Force utility.  Being able to slice through a few enemies is satisfying, but not as much as using your Force ability to put them in the air, charge them with lightning, and throw them at objects.

Not many hack and slash games get me real excited to play them, but that’s changed with the discovery of this game.  It’s definitely near the top of my most wanted games to be released in the future and I can’t wait to get my hands on the full retail copy.


360/PS3

Fracture

Fracture is an original IP from LucasArts and Day 1 Studios.  In this third-person shooter, you’re in the middle of a war in 2161 between two factions.  One faction believes that genetic manipulation of humans is the way of the future, while the other uses cybernetics.

The game play is really what’s intriguing about Fracture however.  One of your main weapons is a gun that can alter the terrain in front of you.  You can create hills with just a pop of this particular weapon that makes cover for you and a hindrance for the enemy.  A fun strategy we were shown was with a grenade that could ricochet around and would not detonate until you hit a button along with the terrain gun to trap enemies.

Looking at the game really made me yearn for it to come to PC since I’m horrible with a control pad.  Those who liked Gears of War I think will be able to appreciate the game fully when it comes time to be released.

Overall

I was honestly surprised to see a new IP from LucasArts, though I know it was previously announced.  Generally I don’t keep up with too much Star Wars though I did enjoy the movies and own them.  Their Star Wars titles seem to do what they’re set out to do well, especially The Force Unleashed.  Kudos to the company for their offerings this year.