If you have a kid that likes Star Wars – especially the Clone Wars cartoons – then here’s one of the only gifts you’ll need to buy. Of course, that’s totally false because if you have kids you need to buy thousands of gifts around the holidays, right? Well with this one you’ll have a sure-fire hit on your hands.
According to the product description:
Republic forces under siege! Jedi leaders Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker lead an elite squadron of Clone Troopers against General Grievous and his Separatist forces! The Force is with you when you use the Plug It In & Play TV Games Flight Motion controller. YOUR moves control the game as you fly and blast your way to victory. No video game console or software needed – just plug right into your TV! Requires 4 AA Batteries (not included).
I can’t in good conscience agree that The Force is with you when you play with this item. I used it for hours and felt nothing out of the ordinary. There’s a lot of disagreement about what The Force actually is or does but I found myself with absolutely zero additional metaphysical power while playing. I did have fun, though.
The controller you see up there consists of four main buttons – right and left thumb buttons (seen in blue) and right and left trigger buttons located on the other side of the handles. You tilt the controller up, down, left, and right to control the in-game vehicles.
For some missions you’ll be sitting in a gunner’s seat, so you’ll use the controller simply to aim at enemy ships. Other missions, you’ll use the controller to speed up, slow down, and bank left and right. Here’s a quick two-minute video of some of the gameplay.
All in all, the $30 Star Wars Republic Squadron motion flight game would make a great gift for the little Star Wars fan in your life. Graphics and music may be circa Sega Genesis days but the motion control is wonderfully responsive and there’s plenty of variation in the missions to keep things entertaining for hours on end.
Product Page: Motion Star Wars Republic Squadron