Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Lead the Republic army in the greatest battles of the Clone Wars!

NA release: 29th October 2002
EU release: 15th November 2002
JP release: 20th March 2003
Developer: Pandemic Studios
Publisher: LucasArts
NGC Magazine Score: 71%
Mods Used: Widescreen Code

When it comes to Pandemic and Star Wars games, everyone immediately goes to the Battlefront games. But before Battlefront, they made another Star Wars game that very much gets overlooked, probably partly because the name was later used for two animated TV shows. It’s a shame as The Clone Wars is a fantastic game that captures the spectacle of the film extremely well, starting with the battle on Geonosis (the only good part of Attack of the Clones) before telling its own story.

The Clone Wars is primarily based on ground combat, with you piloting an assortment of vehicles, such as a republic tank, a walker, a few speeders, an animal and a couple of one-off vehicles. The great thing about them is how they really feel distinct, with slightly different controls. The walker is a particular highlight as you can use the analogue shoulder buttons to aim your head while still walking forwards. They all feel great to drive around in and are satisfying to use.

One “vehicle” that is really awkward to use is being on-foot. It still controls like a vehicle (so “tank controls” are a very appropriate description) and attacking is very clunky. There isn’t even a jump. Thankfully, these sections are only short parts of the levels, so they serve to help make the gameplay more varies, which is something the game excels at – you change vehicles and objectives often so you’re always doing something new, keeping the game feeling fresh.

And what makes up for the on-foot sections is the Republic Gunship, the only flying vehicle you’ll get to used. It’s powerful and its special ability fires all the turrets, which can aim at different targets. It’s immensely satisfying to use and a complete and utter joy for every second you’re in one – this feeling probably helps by it not being overused and mixed in with the other stuff. I do wish there were a couple of starfighter sections, but I wonder if Pandemic weren’t allowed due to LucasArt’s own Jedi Starfighter game being released in the same year (just not on GameCube).

The Clone Wars also excels at spectacle. The battles are large, with loads of units involved – some you don’t have to concern yourself with as your focus is on another part of a battle. One highlight is defending a Wookie village. You usually expect to defend it for a certain amount of time then a cutscene plays, but in this, a Star Destroyer flies out of the clouds, lands and deploys reinforcements without interrupting the gameplay at all. The ongoing battles and everything being busy really really makes it feel like an epic battle.

The multiplayer is also a load of fun. There are various deathmatch and team-based events, and then a few co-op wave modes, one in vehicles and one in the Geonosis arena. I remember having a ton of fun with this as a kid – the controls are a lot better than the standard on-foot sections and the more simplistic nature works better with the isometric view. Completing bonus objectives in the singleplayer can unlock new maps and characters to use in the multiplayer.

All-in-all, The Clone Wars is a wonderful package which is massively underlooked when it comes to Star Wars games. It deserves to stand alongside the Rogue Squadron games and is an immense joy to play from start to finish, with no missions that I would dread replaying again. There are lots of great moments within levels and it constantly keeps you on your toes so it doesn’t get stale.

Fave

On the whole, though, Clone Wars is an entertaining game, and probably (and obviously) more so if you’re a massive Star Wars nut. But even if you’re not, the frenetic blasting action is still fairly enjoyable, extremely challenging and you’ll most certainly want to see it through to completion. Just don’t buy it expecting the kind of consistent quality, depth or replay value that you’ll find in Rogue Leader.
Geraint Evans, NGC Magazine #75

Remake or remaster?

A remaster would be great, especially one that changes the on-foot settings to be more of a standard control scheme. Either that or a “prequel fighter collection” containing Battle For Naboo, Starfighter, The Clone Wars and Jedi Starfighter.

Official Ways to get the game

The Xbox version of the game is available to buy as a backwards compatible game on Xbox One/Series.