With over 40 years in the making, ‘Star Wars’ is one of the most popular sci-fi media franchises of all time. Starting with a string of movies, it has now become a part of pop culture due to massive influences on tech nerds and movie buffs alike. Due to this popularity, the franchise has expanded to several other platforms like music, gaming and literature. It is impossible to explore the sci-fi genre without drawing parallels from this franchise; such is its influence on our day to day lives. Needless to say, there have been a lot of video games released over the years; some extremely successful, some not quite so but all have left their mark in gaming history. There are several Star Wars video games presently playable on the eighth generation of consoles, so we decided to rank some of them on a list for the convenience of all those troopers out there. You can play these top ‘Star Wars’ games on Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PC, iPhone, Android or even online.
9. Angry Birds Star Wars (2012)
‘Angry Birds Star Wars’ is a hilarious game that combines the ‘Star Wars’ universe with the gameplay format of the ‘Angry Bird’ games. Tell me what you will but there is something insanely comical about launching the birds in space now that they are themed on ‘Star Wars’. Rovio has made some critical changes to the looks of the birds as well in order to portray the characters from the universe. In addition, the mighty eagle has also been replaced with the Millennium Falcon and quite frankly, it is the best part about this game.
The Gameplay is similar to other ‘Angry Birds’ games with the physics borrowed from ‘Angry Birds’ space. Other than that, everything else remains the same. You are able to play through levels that thematically represent some of the most iconic locations of the franchise. You start in Tatooine and make your way through places like the Hoth and Cloud City, eventually landing in Death Star 2. It is currently available on every modern device imaginable, so we highly recommend that you head on over to your preferred playstore and try it out for yourself.
8. Super Star Wars (1992)
‘Super Star Wars’ is a run and gun platforming video game that was released for Super Nintendo Entertainment System back in the year 1992. It closely follows the events of the first film while introducing small tweaks here and there in order to keep the game play interesting. It is considered to be one of the toughest Star Wars video games of all time and also happens to be the port equivalent of Star Wars that was released for NES. It was re-released in the year 1996 as a part of Nintendo’s player’s choice series due to its overwhelming popularity.
The game still remains relevant in modern times and as a result has been ported to several new generation consoles. The first port was released in the year 2009 for the Nintendo Wii U system with ports for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita following in the year 2015. There are no actual physical copies available for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita versions but you can find the game on various digital stores. However, a physical release does exist for the Nintendo Wii U version which is quite rare nowadays.
The gameplay is very addictive and requires you to control the team of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca as they fight their way through hordes of enemies. Most of the time you will be running, dodging and jumping from platform to platform while solving puzzles and shooting down enemy minions. As mentioned earlier, some of the elements of the story have been altered in order to keep the gameplay relevant but we are sure that fans of the franchise will definitely find themselves at home with this one and hence we highly recommend that they try it out.
7. Star Wars Bounty Hunter (2002)
‘Star Wars: Bounty Hunter’, also known in Japan as ‘Star Wars: Jango Fett’, is an action video game that was initially developed and published by LucasArts in the year 2002 for PlayStation 2 and GameCube devices. It was again put back in the PlayStation store by Sony in the year 2015, making the game available for modern PlayStation consoles. You play as Jango Fett, the main protagonist of the story and a Mandalorian bounty hunter. You are probably familiar with the character since it was featured in the 2002 film ‘Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones’.
The storyline here serves as a prequel to the film and you traverse through the world fighting various bosses in order to take down the vicious Dark Jedi Komari Vosa. There is a wide array of weapons available to you and the game automatically locks on to the nearest enemy so that you can focus on maneuvering alone. Movement is where the game shines and the LucasArts has made sure that they direct your undivided attention towards this aspect. Jango is a natural at acrobatics and you need to use this to your advantage in order to get ahead of your enemies.
The controls allow you to jump and quickly change corners, giving you new angles to shoot at your enemies, surprising them in most cases. The auto lock aiming system makes sure that you are locked on to your target no matter what, giving you the freedom to circle around your targets seamlessly. And if you happen to have the blaster pistols equipped, its lights out for your enemies as it allows you to lock on to two targets at once. This is one ‘Star Wars’ game you should definitely try out mainly due to its innovative combat mechanics and hilarious machinima videos that you unlock as you progress through the campaign.
6. Star Wars: Racer Revenge (2002)
You are probably familiar with this one as it was initially released for PlayStation 2 back in the year 2002. The original version was developed by Rainbow Studios and published by LucasArts as a sequel to ‘Star Wars Episode 1: Racer’. Similar to its predecessor, ‘Star Wars: Racer Revenge’ is a fast paced racing game where you are required to control a variety of sci-fi themed podracers through alien landscapes. These podracers are multi-engined chariot like hovercrafts that are capable of transporting a single driver over long distances in short periods of time. You’re probably familiar with these vehicles if you have watched the movies since there are several vague references.
However, there are no outside ties to the franchise other than the fact that some of the most popular characters from the series are featured here. The storyline picks up directly after the events of ‘Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace’, where famed podracer Sebulba wants revenge on Anakin Skywalker due to his previous defeat in the hands of the same. There are several playable characters in the game divided according to their species with each having their own style of vehicles. These vehicles also have several attributes that define their acceleration, top speed, handling and durability. In addition to the basic mechanics, there are three different modes that alter the style of gameplay. These are single event, practice event and time trial stages, which are pretty self explanatory. If you are looking for a game that is tied to the ‘Star Wars’ franchise but is not one that plays similar to the shooters out there, then we highly recommend that you try this one out.
5. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2016)
These Lego games are simply everywhere and has taken over all of the modern consoles whether it be a handheld one or a couch-based one. Not to take anything away from the franchise or anything — we actually love what they’re doing with all the games that they have adapted, but somehow some of these games feel like a sugary shell without any content inside. However, that is not the case with ‘Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens’.
The game was developed by TT Fusion and published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment in the year 2016 for android, iOS, Microsoft Windows PC, Nintendo 3DS, OS X, Playstation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles. That was a mouthful! When a development team goes out and adapts their game for these many consoles, then they really need to focus on the various challenges put forward by each of these. In addition to this, it is not a franchise that has come up only yesterday. There is a certain level of commitment that is required when developing a game for a franchise that has been going steady for over 40 years. TT Fusion actually does a pretty good job at handling the pressure put on them.
At the core, it really does feel like a ‘Star Wars’ game with an outer shell entirely composed of ‘Lego’ gameplay elements. As expected from the title, the campaign follows the story of the original film while covering brief periods between the time of ‘Return of the Jedi’ and ‘The Force Awakens’. If you’ve played any of the ‘Lego’ games before, then you will instantly get the feel for this one. With over 200 playable characters from the ‘Star Wars’ universe and a storyline that bridges the gap between the two massively popular films, this is one game that you should definitely not miss if you are a fan of the franchise.
4. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (2003)
‘Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy’ is a third person action shooter developed by Raven Software and published by LucasArts in collaboration with Activation in the year 2003 for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox platforms. It is a direct sequel to ‘Jedi Outcast’, and similar to its predecessor, uses the same Quake 3 engine. As a result, the gameplay is similar to the previous instalment but at the same time, introduces several new mechanics that really enhance the experience for its players.
At the start of the game, you are able to choose the appearance and the gender of your character which will resemble your avatar for the rest of the campaign. This adds to the immersion of the title and allows its players to really feel that they are an integral part of the experience. I mean, we all have played as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader before but there are very few games out there that will allow you to really make your personal presence felt in the ‘Star Wars’ universe.
In addition to creating your own character, you are also able to create your own lightsaber by customizing the hilt and the blade colour. After you are done customising your own character, you proceed to complete several missions assigned to you by Kyle and Luke. During the course of the campaign, you will be able to upgrade your force skills in addition to acquiring several weapons in between missions. You can choose what view to use when firing your guns but the game forces you into third person view when wielding lightsabers. There is also a local multiplayer mode where you are able to create avatars similar to the single player campaign and then engage in combat against your friends. All in all, ‘Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy’ is an extremely fun game that really managers to bring to life the ‘Star Wars’ universe. It is presently available on Xbox as a part of the ‘Games with Gold’ program.
3. Star Wars Battlefront II (2017)
‘Star Wars Battlefront II’ is the fourth major instalment in the newly revamped ‘Battlefront’ series by EA DICE that faced major issues on release, not due to its gameplay or immersive value but for its ludacris microtransaction policy that heavily favored gamers who spent a lot of money on the game. This is not a surprise when you realize that the publishers of the game are Electronic Arts themselves but what we want to highlight here is how they handled the situation. It is rare to see a AAA game development firm completely change their commercial policies due to a backlash from the community, that too in a manner dictated by the community.
To understand more about what went on during the release, we really need to speak more on the policies initially implemented by EA in order to sell merchandise for its in-game characters. At the end of each mission, you are given a random dropbox conjuring items of varying rarity. Not only that, you also had the option to spend real life money on lootboxes that never guaranteed a specific loot that you might be searching for. This resulted in a multiplayer gameplay format where people who spend more money were more powerful than casual players. This transcended the game from a skill based experience to a grinding experience where players were not rewarded for their effort. This resulted in the massive backlash from the community and fans, which ultimately led to EA completely removing the lootboxes and microtransactions and restoring balance to the overall experience.
Later, you begin to realize that EA actually had a pretty good ‘Star Wars’ game to begin with, which was ultimately brought down by a faulty marketing system. With the lootboxes gone, you are not able to experience it again as developers wanted it in the first place and hence we highly recommended it to you. If you have played the original ‘Battlefront’ games, then you will definitely realize that the developers intent on providing a good experience for the players. The combat is solid, the characters are well developed and it also has a movement system that feels as smooth as butter — all of which make this one of the leading ‘Star Wars’ titles for modern consoles.
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2. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004)
Oh my God! The amount of time I have spent playing this one. ‘Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords’ is an action adventure role playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by LucasArts in the year 2004 for Xbox, Microsoft Windows, Linux and OS X systems. It is the direct sequel to the original ‘Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic’ and like its predecessor, it is set four thousand years before the events of ‘Star Wars’ Episode I: The Phantom Menace’.
It is a time of peril in the ‘Star Wars’ universe where the Jedi are putting up their last stand against the Sith. Almost all of their clan has been wiped out by the Sith and duty falls on the last remaining few to lead the clan towards glory. This is where are you come in. You find yourself unconscious in an asteroid mining facility which you must escape in order to find out what really happened to you. With the help of your party members, you escape the facility and hunt down the person responsible for your exile. You find out that you had been exiled in order to protect the last remaining few from the hands of the Sith but now that you have awakened, you must reunite the other exiles in order to put up a fight against the Sith.
The immersive value for this title is out of the charts. Not only are you able to witness the back story behind the Jedi but also explore the various nuances that make the universe what it is. In addition to the regular gameplay, you are also able to partake in several side quests and mini games like racing and the card game Pazaak. Considered one of the best video games of all time, it found its way into the book, ‘1001 video games you must play before you die’.
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1. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)
This one shouldn’t come as a surprise to fans of the ‘Star Wars’ gaming universe. We all know what the original ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’ did for the franchise in order to cement its name in history books. Lovingly abbreviated as ‘KotOR’, the game is widely appreciated by fans and critics alike due to its in-depth gameplay elements and loyal depiction of the ‘Star Wars’ universe. When LucasArts put forward the challenge of developing a game that essentially captured either the world during the second episode ‘Attack of the Clones’ or the universe thousands of years before the above mentioned events, game director Casey Hudson, designer James Ohlen and writer Drew Karpyshyn were quick to take it up. They decided that the latter was more intriguing for a new series of ‘Star Wars’ games since that period of time had not been tinkered with. So they began working on the first instalment of the series that would turn out to be one of the best games of the franchise till date.
Initially announced in the year 2000, the release date was delayed several times due to final touches being made to the gameplay, until it was finally released in 2003. Upon release, it was met with overwhelming reviews, with critics praising the game for its in-depth character development, detailed universe and an extremely well written storyline. The role playing depth is commendable as well, with three broad character classes and three further Jedi sub-classes. This keeps the gameplay varied and introduces another level of strategic depth into the mix.
In addition to the initial character creation and customization, there is a skill subset which you also need to level up as you progress through the campaign. There is so much customization and role playing depth that most players are lost for choice even today. If you are a fan of the ‘Star Wars’ universe but never got the chance to experience this classic, then we highly recommend that you head over to GOG.com where Microsoft has made the title backward-compatible with Xbox One devices as part of a 13 game bundle.
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