Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Hands-On

THQ Wireless is preparing a veritable Star Wars banquet this year to serve millions of hungry fans with games and other content, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is going to be the centerpiece. This 2D platformer runs through the entirety of Episode III's story (incidentally, this preview contains a few very mild spoilers), covering almost every major character, confrontation, and set piece in the movie. So far, it looks like this game will offer fans all of the Anakin action they crave, while also servicing the twitch-gameplay needs of more-skilled gamers.

In addition to being an impertinent punk, Anakin Skywalker is just about the coolest antihero since James Dean took his last Porsche ride. By the time the third prequel rolls around, he's become pretty handy with a lightsaber; he's even begun to flash some of Darth Vader's turn of phrase and style sense. At the beginning of Revenge of the Sith, though, he's still very much using his facility with the Force for the good guys. Several of your favorite powers are here, too. You can bowl over groups of droids like ninepins with the Force Push, bunt blaster shots back at your enemies, and unleash a brutal combo if your blue Force meter's full. As the levels progress, you'll get to play as other major characters, including Yoda, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and even ol' Mr. Asthmatic himself. Each of them has essentially the same suite of moves, but they all have their own distinct fighting animations, which have been cadged from the movie.

The game's levels are rendered in Double Dragon-style 2.5D, so you can move up or down as necessary to avoid your enemies' attacks. Most of the basic battle droids are pretty easy to dispatch with a quick lightsaber chop, but you'd better keep your dukes up when clone troopers and royal guards start coming at you. The game's five bosses aren't all that easy, either. They unleash unblockable attacks that will put you down in a hurry, if you don't memorize their attack patterns quickly. Plus, you'll need to go after them aggressively to charge up your Force meter, because you can only damage them with your special move. We found it a challenge to move around adroitly enough to avoid being repeatedly butchered by the first boss.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith looked nice enough on our Nokia 6600, although we wouldn't say that its graphics constituted a quantum leap over the competition. The characters all had their own animations and were detailed enough to recognize immediately, even if they were on the small side. All of the environments were clearly transcribed from the film's various locations and had their own distinct layouts and color patterns, like the silvery halls of a spaceship-cum-battlefield.

THQ Wireless' clear objective with this game is to hit as broad a spectrum of Star Wars fans and mobile gamers as possible, and we think it will fit the bill nicely. If you were going to buy only one Episode III game, Revenge of the Sith is likely to be the best pick--although Battle Over Coruscant will certainly give it a run for its money. Revenge of the Sith will be available exclusively on Cingular starting April 2. We'll have the review available right here soon after that.