I’ve had a good two weeks or so with the iPhone version of the next chapter in the Star Wars saga and not much has changed from the demo version we saw at E3. You remember that don’t you? What we didn’t know about back then was the number of levels and the amount of skills that can be acquired throughout the game. You may want to stop reading in case you don’t want any spoilers.
There are six levels, rather, chapters: The First True Test, Closer to Destiny, Senator’s Daughter, Darker Side of Felucia, Against the Empire, and A Hope Reborn. There are two modes: normal and hard. In normal mode you progress rather slowly and earn Force Powers one at a time. In hard mode you acquire powers quicker and the intensity of the game increases and each chapter boss takes a painstakingly longer time to defeat. At the end of each level, you get back onto your ship and go through a training program with droids to learn about your new powers. It gets tedious after a while since you know what to expect.
A Survival Mode is also present wherein you battle through six levels to gain a high score. I didn’t dabble too much into this one, though.
You frantically draw various patterns for various Force Powers to defeat storm troopers, exotic plants, Jedi masters, and AT-ST Walkers among others. Each power or combination of powers help you to defeat said foes and include the following: Force Grip, Force Pull, Force Push, Force Lightning, Force Drain, Force Heal, Jedi Mind Trick and Force Speed. The game actually kind of waits for you to figure out which Force Power to use on your enemies with a glowing blue circle until you figure it out. I have images for everything, but I don’t really want to spoil it for anyone, but you guys let me know and I’ll whip up a gallery.
So, your mission as the Apprentice is to destroy the Emperor, but Darth screws you in the end and you die. That’s the short end of the story. Somewhere in between you have some sort of love interest with your pilot Juno Eclipse, but nothing happens since you die. I actually thought this game was way too short and hardcore buffs will enjoy it if you’re into the story line, which I barely followed. I like Star Wars and all, but I had sitting through dialogue. And I thought the Apprentice looked like an elf or a Vulcan. Would I willingly pay $10 for this game? No. Was it fun? Yes. You be the judge.