he dust has settled, and the much-anticipated launch of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace has been something of a disappointment. There has been a fair share of pleased fans and pleasantly surprised movie-goers, but the movie failed to wow most die-hard fans and fell short of industry box office expectations, although that last statement sounds ridiculous, considering that Episode I grossed more than $100 million faster than any movie in history. Still, the movie's release wasn't exactly the earth-shattering event that it was prophesied to be. At our own offices, for instance, half of us haven't even seen it yet, and of those that have, more hate it than love it. Still, there is always the computer if you want to indulge your Star Wars fantasies. For years, this was a mantra spoken by those who wanted more Star Wars tales when Lucasfilm just basically wasn't ready to show more movies. But now, it might serve as a mantra for those who want to drown their Star Wars sorrows in games that might better live up to their expectations.

The history of Star Wars is a long and prosperous one (to paraphrase another cultural icon with the prefix Star). For more than five years, the PC has played host to more than a dozen Star Wars games - more than a few of them critical successes - that really brought the Star Wars universe to life. The Star Wars legacy on console systems and in the arcade is longer, stretching back beyond the ten-year mark, but the PC has managed to carry some of the best Star Wars games ever made, including TIE Fighter and Jedi Knight. TIE Fighter is counted among the best games of all time by many fans and at least one major PC gaming magazine, having won numerous awards from gaming magazines. Jedi Knight likewise was an award-winning game, as was X-Wing, the game that launched the whole Star Wars saga on the computer.

With the release of the latest three Star Wars games, a storied era of gaming has perhaps come to an end. X-Wing Alliance recently shipped, and then two Episode I games, Phantom Menace and Racer, hit the shelves around the same time the movie released. When Force Commander releases this fall, it could herald the end of the classic Star Wars game. From here on out, LucasArts might not ever look back to the old trilogy for computer game inspiration (or would that be forward?), so we thought we'd take a long look at the Star Wars canon on the computer. Take a look at our round-up of all the Star Wars games ever released for the desktop, and see what we have to say about the games themselves and their place in Star Wars and computer gaming history. And when you're done here, head on over to videogames.com to read their History of Star Wars feature on the console and arcade legacy of Star Wars.

Next: X-Wing