It is with a huge Damocles sword above his head that George Lucas awaits the reviews of his latest film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Because it must be admitted, the first two episodes of the second trilogy will have cringed the teeth of millions of fans, who found in these works barely the shadow of episodes IV, V and VI. However, the latest trailer for Episode III has enough to get any lightsaber enthusiast excited. The latter indeed allows you to have a glimpse of the fall of Anakin Skywalker from the dark side of the Force with a Palpatine who finally reveals his true actions within the Republic. Because, since the clone wars have been raging, a frank hostility has arisen between Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi council. Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker, winners of the last great battle, are welcomed as true heroes. However, the young Jedi knight, caught between two fires, hesitates on what to do with his peers. Seduced by the promise of unprecedented power, he is, one thing leading to another, tempted by the dark side of the Force. His long separation with Padmé Amidala will lead him to premonitory visions that announce the certain death of his sweetheart. He is then ready to do anything to prevent this terrible tragedy from materializing and then pledges allegiance to the evil Darth Sidious by becoming the famous Darth Vader. The Sith Lords then unite to plot their revenge, which begins with the extermination of the Jedi. The few survivors of the massacre set off in pursuit of the Sith. The hunt ends with a sword fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan, which will decide the fate of the galaxy. The rest, no need to describe it to you, everyone knows it and from the line of the Jedis, only Obi-Wan and a weakened Yoda will remain.
Nick Gillard or the art of wielding the sword
One of the peculiarities of a production of the magnitude of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is based on working in constant contact with the team in charge of the feature film. The game should be released on the same date as the film, so no delay is tolerated. A position that is all the more delicate since the games taken from licenses drag with them a very bad reputation. This was also the case for certain titles adapted from the Star Wars license, but it should be noted that since Rogue squadron on GameCube, Jedi Knight on PC or even Knights of The Old Republic, the quality is now there. For Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the development studio The Collective approached Nick Gillard, stunt coordinator on the film. His presence in the development allowed to bring a new approach to the game. With his experience, Nick was able to teach all the basic techniques of a sword fight worthy of appearing in the films of George Lucas. The game Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith being essentially based on lightsaber combat, it was necessary for the development studio to surround itself with the right people.
Choose your weapons, young Padawan
Working hand in hand with the teams responsible for the feature film, The Collective was also able to ask actor Hayden Christensen to lend himself to a motion capture session in order to give the character of Anakin Skywalker even more depth and credibility. It was necessary to obtain a result faithful to what will be screened in theaters, says Anthony Doe, lead combat designer at The Collective. The game Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith indeed revolves around the two great characters that are Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Each of these two Jedis has a very specific handling of the lightsaber and if the developers unfortunately could not use the services of Ewan McGregor, the presence of Hayden was enough to decide between the two characters. Anakin and Obi-Wan has, in fact, two very own styles. Anakin is young and therefore fiery. Aware of his strength and his gifts, he becomes all the more arrogant that he will not hesitate to prove his superiority to the other Jedi. Moreover, throughout the adventure, Anakin will inexorably sink to the dark side of the Force, which will allow him to gain much more powerful and effective powers. There is also a good chance that the player will experience more pleasure in taking control of Anakin than Obi-Wan who, conversely, will remain faithful to the Jedi order. His calm and poised side thus allows him to be constant in his actions and movements, less powerful than his pupil, of course, but faster and more precise.
Sith is strong, it's syrup sport
If the narrative part holds a dominating place in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, with the integration of 12 minutes of cinematics taken directly from the film, the title is above all intended to be a nag action game. We spend most of the time hitting the bacon with his lightsaber and using the powers of the Force, in case of greater difficulty. Going for a third-person view seems perfectly sensible to take full advantage of the variety of achievable combos, but the inability to change the viewing angle leads to unnerving frustration. It therefore often happens not to see the horde of enemies appear and to type in the void without ever seeing the face of his opponents. In the absence of automatic lock, the fights quickly become chaotic and the repetitiveness of the gameplay often requires turning off the console. We would be tempted, of course, but given the title's short lifespan, we ultimately don't have time to put the game away. If the game has a total of 17 missions, it will only take 5 short hours to come to end and once the solo mode is completed, and even before that, it will be possible to extend the life of the game thanks to the multiplayer mode which allows you to play as either a Jedi knight or one of the Sith masters. such as Count Dooku.
