While waiting for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, there are plenty of good Star Wars games to play that can help pass the time until November 15th. Let’s take a look at some of these other great Star Wars gems.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
KOTOR is still one of my favorite Star Wars games. When Microsoft announced the original Xbox games backwards compatibility, this was one that I was hoping for. They delivered on it, along with its sequel. A true RPG game based in the Star Wars universe with the events taking place some 4,000 years before Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, you are a lost Jedi that must find his path again. It was very interesting to play with the ability to either lean towards the light side or head towards the dark side, and depending on your direction, it affects the story along with your other teammates you pick up along the way. I still consider this game to be one of BioWare’s best games to date. The game is currently available to play on Xbox, Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
The sequel is nearly as good as the first. This is a rare feat, and they have done an amazing job. The game was criticized for being too similar to the last one, but I feel sometimes this can be a good thing. The story takes place in the same time period as the first game; however, the Jedi have been nearly wiped out by the Sith. You play as an exiled Jedi Knight who wakes up unconscious on a mining facility. You then seek to learn why you were exiled. Another reason I really liked this one was the ability to “turn” you party members. You are rewarded for investing in your team by being able to either turn them into Jedi or Sith. Once you get a party that can all use the Force and wield lightsabers, the game just gets more fun to play. The game is currently available on Xbox, Windows, Linux, and OS X.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Unlike the first two games on this list, which are more RPG-based, The Force Unleashed provides a lot of action. You play as Starkiller, Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. You learn to become a Sith from the Sith Lord himself with the goal to eliminate the Jedi and to stop the rebellion. The game takes place between the two Star Wars trilogies. Many know that there are only two Sith, one master and one apprentice, yet Vader has his own apprentice whom he keeps hidden from his master. The ability to hack and slash with a lightsaber and use Force powers is great. The story was done very well and really pulls you in emotionally. The game is available on iOS, N-Gage, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2 and 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360, Windows, and OS X.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
The sequel to the Force Unleashed also did not disappoint. Without revealing spoilers, the game picks up not long after the original, with Starkiller searching for his identity and his love interest. The game also added a lot of physics and Force power features to continue the fun. These two games starred Sam Witwers as the likeness and voice of Starkiller, and his career exploded afterwards, opening him up to a lead role in the American version of Being Human. The game is available on PlayStation 3, Xbox, Windows, Wii, Nintendo DS, and iOS.
Star Wars: Jedi Knight II- Jedi Outcast
Kyle Katarn has forsaken the Force. One major difference with this game from the rest of the franchise is the fact that Kyle was part of the Light and Dark sides. This gives him the ability to use powers from both sides of the Force. He decided to cut his ties to the Force for leaning towards the Dark side, so he then becomes a mercenary for the New Republic. The game takes place eight years after Return of the Jedi. The game also has a great multiplayer experience. It is a great example of combining a first-person shooter with Jedi combat abilities. The game is available for Windows, OS X, GameCube, Xbox, and most recently on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
Star Wars Episode I: Racer
“Now this is podracing!” This famous quote taken directly from the movie describes this game very well. To this date, it is still one of my favorite racing games. My wife and I have bought several Dreamcast systems just to replay the game. I had so much fun playing as Anakin with his podracer. I remember fully upgrading his pod and trying to top the Dreamcast leaderboards on the Boonta Eve Classic track, only to be thwarted by cheaters. I did end up with the best non-cheating time on that track. Now if only back then there were achievements or trophies for such accomplishments. The game has a Guinness World Record for the bestselling sci-fi racing game. The game is available for Windows, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Macintosh, and Sega Dreamcast.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan
This classic original Xbox title was a great game that revealed more of the backstory behind the Padawan known as Obi-Wan Kenobi. The game takes place weeks prior to The Phantom Menace. Obi-Wan is an apprentice to Qui-Gon Jinn and later becomes a Jedi Knight after the demise of his master. This was a fun third-person combat game. The only downfall was that the graphics were not as good as they could be, but it did have fun gameplay and a good story. The game is only available for Xbox.
Any Lego Star Wars Game
Legos? Yes! Star Wars? Yes! By combining these two with some humor, you have a great franchise that spans all the movies. It is hard to pick one of them as the best, but the retelling of the movies with comedy and breaking other Lego enemies with lightsabers is great. It is also a great time to use the Force powers to assemble Legos into items you need to proceed in the levels. The games first started out with no voice-overs being used, but they had more character movement to suggest feelings. Voice acting was then added into the later games. Another great feature for these games that adds replay value is how you can use additional characters after first completing a level to venture into unexplored areas. The great thing about this is that you are not limited to just characters from a specific movie. Most of the games can add characters from various films and even some other media, such as the Star Wars: Rebels TV show. The games vary on availability from title to title.
