Star Wars: Episode II - The New Droid Army (GBA) - Game Boy Advance

This game has two important things going for it: the graphics are top-notch, with 3-D polygons, smooth animation and vibrant colours, and the music includes snippets from the movies, with impressive sound effects given the GBA's tiny speaker. Hearing the hum of the light sabre, the twang of laser shots and (perhaps most impressively) the creepy guffaws of the Tusken Raiders could bring a tear to the eye.

But while the sights and sounds of Star Wars: the New Droid Army are impressive, the gameplay is a mixed bag. As young Anakin you run around, slicing stuff up with your light sabre. And then you slice some more, and then a bit more. You do have certain force powers that add to gameplay (moving quickly, jumping really high, becoming invisible, healing wounds and so on), but not enough to completely relieve the tedium.

The biggest flaw is the lack of character interaction. You will often need to talk to people to gather information, but not all people can talk; thus most characters are window dressing. Worse, there is no cartridge save option in the game. This is a good-looking game that falls well short of classic status. --Bryan Karsh