Episode 0

I have to take a minute and recommend the film reviews at  redlettermedia.com.  So far I've only got through the 70 minute review of Star Wars The Phantom Menace, and it's absolutely brilliant.  It's far more enjoyable than watching the film itself, and elucidates many of the thoughts, complaints and confusions I have about that film.  After sixteen years of intense waiting, The Phantom Menace was a kick in the crotch from George Lucas.  I believe it should really be relegated to being Episode 0, and we should get a free replacement made for our wait, troubles and disappointment.  Jar Jar is punishment enough, with Lucas's response being that it is a film aimed at children.  If that's true, then why the hell does the plot revolve around some obfuscated story about trade routes and taxation?  I've been to college and I can't understand what the hell it's about.  Anyway, if you are as frustrated as me then check out these reviews.

Deal with the Dark Lord

Here's an article suggesting that the Star Wars universe is much better expressed in games than on film.

"[T]his epiphany began back in 1998, when Rogue Squadron came out on the Nintendo 64 -- a note-perfect evocation of in-flight combat. I played it nonstop for four months. Then every year or so, another superb Star Wars title came along to get me addicted, from Knights of the Old Republic to Jedi Starfighter to Battlefront. Each time, Lucas did a much better job of recapturing the original spirit of his universe"

Now, while I can see his point and agree with the premise, I don't concur that this is actually the case. The lineage of Star Wars games has not increased in quality. I'm not that familiar with Rogue Squadron, but from what I've seen it doesn't come near 1993's X-wing. X-wing and its sequels Tie Fighter and X-wing Alliance are probably the best space sims ever made, but there has been no advancement to the series since 1998. Imagine what could be done with the current level of processors and GPUs. Jedi Knight, and particularily its sequels Jedi Knight II and Jedi Academy are some of the best first-person games I've ever played, but once again the last installment came out in 2003. KOTOR and KOTOR II just bored me, while the universe it created fascinated me, the playability did not. Give me first-person real time action game over a turn-based RPG any day. Both Battlefront and Republic Commando seemed like mindless shooters to me and I tired of them quickly. Galactic Battlegrounds is a good strategy game, for Age of Empires-like conquests in another galaxy, and I have yet to install Empire at War.

Every since the domination of console systems, PC games have seemed to be dumbed-down. All I'm asking for is a fully controllable space sim like X-wing. One set during the clone wars with flyable Eta-2s, Delta 7s, ARC-170s and V-Wings would seem like a worthwhile endeavor. Also, its time for a new saber-wielding Jedi title.

A similar thing has happened to the world of Flight simulators. With the exception of the Allied Force update to Falcon 4, there has been very few modern-jet sims since the 90s. The trend has been to make "simple" sims that are playable on console controllers.

Its time for game makers to utilize the technology thats available to make games that have better playability. Only then do I think the game world will rival that of film.