Star Wars: Lethal Alliance (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Since George Lucas created a Star Wars universe there seems to be no end to just how many games can be based on what was, some 30 years ago, a small science fiction movie which no one really had much hope for (including the cast and crew). Even Nintendo has had its fair share of games based on the further adventures of Luke Skywalker with the original trilogy appearing on the SNES and 'new' outings such as SW Racer, based on elements of the movie have appeared on everything since the N64. Unfortunately none of these have been particularly good and whilst the last DS outing was released quite early on in the console's life we can only hope that they have got to grips with the development for Lethal Alliance. So... Is the force strong with this one?

Gameplay

Lethal Alliance sits nicely in-between Episodes III and IV of George Lucas' epic Space Opera and while a few of the characters you'll interact with are recognizable from the series of films, our main heroine is not. Instead Rianna Saren (a criminal for hire) has been employed by Princess Leia in order to locate a set of important plans. It's up to Rianna and her droid sidekick Zeeo to travel from planet to space station and a number of locations in-between to reunite the princess with her vital documentation. This could have easily played out like just another third person shooter if it weren't for the inclusion of the trusty droid, which makes for a more collaborative effort as Zeeo can be called upon for everything from combat to gliding up walls.

Zeeo really comes into his own though when you encounter a locked door with only a small access panel allowing you thorough to the other side. You them seamlessly switch over to your droid in order to locate a control panel, which unlocks one of the many touch screen games. This generally opens the door but it will also occasionally unlock a remote controlled bomb in order to dispose of a storm trooper on duty who will otherwise gun Zeeo down on sight. Zeeo is also called upon for what can best be described as a speedway section with a number of obstacles. These range from simple solid blocks to mines (both fixed and exploding) and even moving electrical pillars which have probably sapped your power throughout the game. Finally, the end of level boss on each planet gets more challenging but there is more than enough on-screen help to easily enable you to identify their weak spots. It's just a shame this level of plain English assistance isn't available all the way through the game and you'll find out exactly what I mean when you reach the 'impossible' puzzle.

Controls

Given that Rianna can't jump or climb the control is pretty simple but mildly frustrating. The one instance where she does make a leap is played out thanks to a cut screen, which is completely unrewarding. In fact, apart from running around and shooting/swiping enemies, she's one of the less useful leading ladies for some time.

Graphics

While the initial images at preview time were suitably impressive the actual release is not nearly as spectacular. We can only speculate as to why. The speed is constant and whilst the frame rate is never compromised, it is at the expense of the textures. Although the actual design and modeling is fairly good the lack of detail does detract from the overall atmosphere. Keep your eye on the top screen though as each section is linked by some rather wonderful cut-screens that bear a remarkable resemblance to the Ralph McQuarrie original concept paintings in their style.

Sound

As usual with Star Wars games the audio is quite spectacular thanks to the original orchestral score. Unfortunately you can only digitize so much for the DS' tiny cart and, as a result, it repeats a bit too often. The sound effects all do their job but they're not really outstanding.

Dual screen

The majority of your touch screen use is given over to the mini-games and while this is hardly original in today's DS offerings it does break up the action sections. They are centered on disarming bombs or opening doors and are varied, to say the least, in their success. Most of them are based on tried and trusted formulae such as following a sequence although one (early on in the game) features such badly worded instructions it took us several hours, not to mention visiting almost every help forum on the net, to figure out how to get through it. The rest of the touch screen use is handed over to options and moving both Zeeo and the odd gun emplacement but you may never get this far thanks to this one puzzle

Final comments

Lethal Alliance could have easily have been the Star Wars game to break the rather disappointing track record of mundane and uninteresting titles based on the franchise. It looks and sounds great and has a storyline to delight followers of all things Jedi. Unfortunately there's also more than enough to bring the whole thing crashing back to earth. The game's structure is incredibly linear which means some rather predictable and repetitive gameplay. Obviously this is reason enough to question purchasing the game but the various touch-screen games (one in particular) are so badly documented that even if you do actually get around to buying it you still may never complete more than a fifth. Challenging it is, but for all the wrong reasons.

Pro: Looks and Sounds Great.
Con: Poor Multiplayer, On-Screen Instructions and THAT Puzzle.
Final score: 6.5

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