Two years ago, I sat in a ballroom at the Las Vegas Hilton, listening to the crowd go nuts over Sony Online Entertainment's official Free Realms announcement. Right at the front was a little boy who freaked out whenever the publisher said anything about the game; the kid looked at his father (a huge SOE fanatic) for approval and went bonkers whenever papa bear gave the thumbs up. The excessive enthusiasm was a bit odd, given that Free Realms was a virtual unknown in the competitive MMO space. I thought about him when SOE let me play the newest member of the family, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures.
You don't have to be a 12 year old to get excited about this (mostly) free-to-play video game. Although it follows the Clone Wars TV series and characters, you're able to customize an avatar using a wardrobe of Star Wars costumes from all six movies, including Boba Fett's helmet and Tusken Raider fatigues. And no, no word yet on the famous slave Leia outfit.
In addition to your duds, everyone gets a house ... or personal quarters, or whatever folks who live in the Star Wars universe call home. I quickly learned, though, that this is one way SOE plans to make cash off the game. Become a premium member, and you'll score fancier digs; SOE would not comment on price or items that paying subscribers receive.
On top of that, you can have an astromech, protocol droid or vehicle (a pint-sized AT-AT, for example) as a pet. You can even make it produce a cool light show and dance; SOE plans to include the moves from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Beyonce's "Single Ladies" music videos ... no, really.
The biggest draw, the one that will inspire everyone's inner child, is the ability to create your own lightsaber. SOE walked me through the process, and I couldn't help but think back to the time when I attempted (and failed) to make one out of tinfoil and whatever else I could get my hands on. Here, it's much easier, as you choose from an assortment ofdifferent hilts and crystals. And yes, you can have a double-bladed one. Just don't expect the process to be more complex or rewarding than in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Just because you have a Jedi weapon, however, doesn't mean you can walk up to some poor soul and hack him or her to pieces. Clone Wars Adventures, like Free Realms, doesn't contain graphic content, or allow you to battle players to the death. In fact, aside from the free areas to explore, the game operates a bit differently than Free Realms. Instead of wandering through large environments, SOE restricts you to hubs, such as the Jedi Temple and a hangar. There, you can chat with other players (using pre-determined messages) and launch one of 20 different mini games.
This is probably where you'll either love or leave Clone Wars Adventures, as the majority of games may be too simple to offer a challenge. The 12-stage Star Fighter game, for example, is an on-rails effort where you have no direct control over the spacecraft, but can fire its weapons to destroy incoming targets; that said, you can boost and perform barrel rolls.
Another mini game, Star Typer, aims to help improve your typing skills, as letters trickle down the screen, forcing you to press the correct keys to blow up enemy ships.
As for using those lightsabers, the only game that I saw (and played) was a one-on-one duel, where two players (or someone versus the computer) lock blades to see who is the ultimate warrior, but in a more unconventional way. Rather than controlling my character directly, I had to watch the bottom of the screen, where a series of arrow keys appeared. Once that happened, I quickly hit the corresponding arrows on the keyboard before my opponent. If done successfully, I was treated to an animation where my character kicked, slashed and Force-pushed the opposition.
After making short work of Obi-Wan, I moved on to Stunt Gungan, where the object is to keep the infamous Jar Jar Binks airborne by any means necessary, whether that involves placing bombs at his predicted landing spot or maneuvering him onto jump pads. Later, I tried my hand at R2's Rocket Rescue, a 2-D flying game where the goal is to use R2-D2's hovering ability to snag as many fuel power-ups (with the arrow keys) as possible and reach the end of the stage, one of 30.
If anything, tower defense will probably be the number one game for older Star Wars fans like myself. Here, players can square off against waves of Battle Droids and other threats by placing and then upgrading turrets, tossing thermal detonators and calling in orbital strikes. You can also expect dynamic gameplay shifts, as different parts of a board will explode and reveal more bad guys, forcing you to readjust your strategy.
Concerned that Clone Wars Adventures was too easy, we contacted Lead Designer Matt Higby, who responded with:
"Since it's not just kids that are watching Clone Wars we're working on ways to layer in some additional difficulty and long-term goals to make gameplay that appeals to every possible fan. One of the ways we're doing that is through challenge modes for many of our game content which will add various fun bonus objectives to the basic gameplay such as 'Ace Challenge' where you need to achieve 100 percent accuracy in a Starfighter stage, or an 'Economy Challenge' where you earn half energy in our Republic Defender tower defense game."Since it's not just kids that are watching Clone Wars we're working on ways to layer in some additional difficulty and long-term goals to make gameplay that appeals to every possible fan.- Matt Higby, Lead Designer
What separates this MMO from the others is content. SOE can update the game as events unfold in the show, so if there's a huge battle on TV, expect it to appear in the game.
Higby says, "All of this access we've been given is going to allow us to do some really unique things with CWA, such as simultaneously release in-game content; new battles, characters, items, minigames, etc., the very day that that content is first revealed to fans on the TV show. We're also building our own content to be released in the upcoming year that's not tied to new episodes, so, when the show is on hiatus for a couple weeks, or in the summer re-run period; there will always be new and exciting things to do in Clone Wars Adventures."
There's another reason to play these games: credits. Each time you blast letters or destroy evildoers, you'll earn currency used to unlock new clothes, lightsaber hilts, items for your character and other cool stuff. Premium members, of course, have more options, but for the most part, you can enjoy Clone Wars Adventures without spending actual money.
Meanwhile, the game runs smoothly, without any noticeable hitches. Credit goes to SOE for applying the same tech powering Free Realms for this MMO, as the company plans to patch the assets to you, rather than use a disc or mandatory installs. Dark magic indeed.
All of this makes the game both accessible and appealing for youngsters as well as Star Wars worshipping teens and adults in desperate need for a George Lucas fix. The only gripe that I have is the lack of Mac support, but SOE wouldn't confirm or deny that Clone Wars Adventures would appear on the platform. That small bit of hope means that, perhaps one day, I'll run up to my dad and go "Dad! Dad! Clone Wars Adventures on Mac! Wow, dad! Clone Wars on Mac!"
Okay, that's probably not a good idea.
