The Force is with Us

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to the movie Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith to come out in theaters on May 19. Call me a geek. I don’t care. I’m one of those people that will buy my Star Wars movie tickets before the opening day, and then stand in line with a Star Wars t-shirt that says, “May The Force Be With You,” at least two or three hours before the movie starts to make sure I get a good seat!

With all big movies it’s the norm to see it being promoted all over the place . . . cereal boxes, action figures, water bottles, t-shirts, pins, under-roos (no, I’m not crazy enough to own Star Wars underwear), and of course video games. The gaming industry rakes it in when it comes to these big movies. Hey, all good with me, since it allows me to see scenes from the movie before it’s released. I experienced this with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Spidermans, and now with the latest game-movie release from LucasArts, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

In the Episode III video game, you can control all the Jedi abilities of both Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. This includes devastating Force powers and advanced lightsaber techniques involving combo attacks and defensive maneuvers. As Anakin you unleash the power of the dark side in ruthless lightsaber and Force attacks. As Obi-Wan, you struggle to save the galaxy from darkness by focusing the power of the light side into precise lightsaber attacks and using the Force to control enemy actions. The Force powers include the Force Stun, Sith Lightning and Jedi Mind Trick.

There’s over 12 minutes of actual footage from the movie while you live the exciting moments through Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s perspective. The fights have a series of lightsaber battles against challenging enemies such as droids, humans and Jedi. Sixteen levels move across different worlds including Coruscant, Utapau (the sinkhole planet) and the volcano world of Mustafar. The immersive Star Wars music and authentic sound effects recorded at Skywalker Sound makes it feel like you’re there (especially if you’re playing in a room surrounded with speakers).

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith The Video Game is available for your PlayStation 2 or XBox for $49.99 at your nearest CompUSA or at www.compusa.com.