Gamer's Diary - Jade Empire, Eternal Sonata, Star Wars Starfighter

I've slowed a bit in my posts as a result of chemo-related fatigue. I have spent more time sleeping than playing. But I have done some, so here comes my blatherings about it.

Jade Empire: Another winner from the random game picker! I hadn't played Jade Empire in over two years, so I started fresh on Thursday. As before, I chose a balanced character to play as, and this time I chose the easiest difficulty instead of the default.

The whole package just works for me, delivering an entertaining mix of RPG, martial arts action, magic, and a story of an ancient alternate China. I've found a couple of "Whoa! Nifty!" moments so far, and both story and gameplay entice me to continue. This one definitely stays in rotation.

Eternal Sonata: I started this one over as well on Sunday, mostly to refamiliarize myself with the combat system and the story. It struck me, memory having faded in the year since I've played it, just how gorgeous the game creators made it. Even the sewers look beautiful.

The game revolves around the story - fortunately - since the gameplay, especially the battle system, elicits little more than a yawn. The game creators have given us get another ill-bred combination of turn-based fighting and realtime action in the form of action bars, with a twist or two not worth mentioning. I far prefer one or the other - either give me turns or give me action.

On the other hand, the story fascinates. What if Frederic Chopin had a dying dream of a magical, musical world that seemed to him more real than the world he fell asleep in? Might that dream world survive his death? Might that dream world offer him an afterlife? Play and find out.

Star Wars Starfighter Special Edition: Unable to sleep Sunday night, I rummaged through my playlist and chose this one. I wanted something that would offer plenty of action while taxing neither my brains nor my reflexes over much. Starfighter fit the bill admirably.

I enjoyed my time with it, though sadly I had to play it on my original Xbox; the 360 does not yet have a working emulator profile for it. Still, it looks good and plays well and offers plenty of fun.

Xbox - Star Wars: Starfighter: Special Edition - One Hour In

Review: I never liked the Star Wars prequel trilogy much. But I do like space fighter games. So deciding whether to buy Star Wars: Starfighter: Special Edition was tough. In the end my taste for space fighter sims outweighed my distaste for what George Lucas had done to his own brainchild. Besides, Lucas doesn't have a direct hand in the novels, games, and other "Expanded Universe" materials. So there was a chance of goodness.

I'm glad I did buy it, for this game is fun. It's one of those rare gems I can't put down. I start the game intending to just do one mission, and an hours later I'm still saying to myself, "Just one more..." Any game that engaging goes on my "must play" list.

The plot is a side-story that takes place in the same time frame as the first prequel movie, but only occasionally intersects with its events (for instance, assisting the Queen's starship in its escape from Naboo). It ends up working rather well, and tells a more interesting tale (for me) than the movie's.

The presentation is extremely slick and well-produced. Everything looks and sounds like it should, vibration is well-integrated, and the voice work is outstanding.

Gameplay is equally solid. Wingmen are pretty stupid and get in the line of fire from time to time, but that's so common in space shooters it's virtually a tradition now. Everything else works smoothly. Controls are well-laid-out and responsive

Star Wars: Starfighter: Special Edition is recommended. It's not for the hardcore sim fan, but everyone else should enjoy it. Even if you're not a fan of space fighter games, give it a rental. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Xbox 360 Owners: You're out of luck. As of this writing it's not on the compatibility list.

PlayStation 2 Owners: This game was released first for the PS2 (minus the "Special Edition" in the titile), and I owned it. As best I can remember, everything I said above about the Xbox version applies equally to the PS2 version.

Grade: A-