Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels Review

By Dan Whitehead Published 25 November, 2008

Obi-Wan to forget.

Version tested: Wii

Back when the Wii was first unveiled, the first thing to go through everyone's head was "Ha! It sounds like wee wee!", because that was really the pinnacle of comedy at the time. The second thing to go through everyone's head was "Oh! Lightsabers!"

Somehow, even after the prequel trilogy, we still all want to be Jedi Knights in videogames. Of course, with the Motion Plus add-on yet to arrive with its true one-to-one reproduction of your arm movements (really this time, we promise!), there's absolutely no way to produce a true lightsaber fighting experience just yet. Not that that's stopped them having a go.

Based on the rather wretched new animated movie-slash-TV-show, the clumsily titled Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels ostensibly follows Anakin, Obi-Wan and their Jedi pals as they try to save Jabba the Hutt's son from a kidnap plot that turns out to be a trap and... Basically, it's got a cute baby Jabba in it. We're at the bottom of a barrel far, far away long since past scraping.

In gameplay terms, it's a fighter, although that perhaps sets expectations a little high. It's an incredibly simplistic fighter, with a shocking paucity of worthwhile content. There's a Campaign mode, in which you slog through a series of encounters with different characters; a Challenge Mode, in which you slog through a series of encounters with different characters; and a multiplayer mode, in which you slog through a series of encounters with your friends. All are undone by the same inescapable fact: this is a very, very bad fighting game.

'Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels' Screenshot 1

Your powers are boring, old man.

The control scheme is not dissimilar to the one in the equally appalling Soul Calibur Legends. Swishing the remote produces an attack in that direction. Swish left for a left slice. Up for an uppercut, down for a downstroke. Lunge forwards for, well, a forward lunge. And that's the extent of your moves list. You can augment your attacks using the Force, or use your mind powers to crudely lob scattered bits of scenery at your opponent. There are also combo attacks, but these fall prey to the common flaw that undermines the core of the game: no matter what you do, the game is terrible at reading your movements.

The basic directional attacks are easy enough on their own, but there's a slight delay between movement and action that means it's impossible to feel any connection with the on-screen combat, and the combos are also a royal pain in the midichlorians as a result. Swish left, up and right too slowly and you just do three slashy moves. Do it too quickly and the game can't keep up and ignores anything past the first movement. Most bizarrely, the same is true of blocking, even though that's mapped to an old-fashioned button press. Bringing up your lightsaber to defend yourself is sluggish, but since it's not always clear who's hitting who as the characters lurch and swing around each other, the fine details pale into insignificance.

The graphics are also ugly, and the characters regurgitate the same handful of quips endlessly during each fight. The Campaign is hopelessly padded out with repeated battles against the same foes, while the Challenges are a tiresome plod to get through. Even the attempt to make your remote thrum and throb like a lightsaber falls flat, since the raspy sound effects emerging from the speaker just make it sound like there's a flatulent vole trapped inside.

'Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels' Screenshot 2

Good against remotes is one thing. One thing beyond the scope of Lightsaber Duels.

What makes Lightsaber Duels all the more insulting is that there was an almost identical mode in the Wii version of The Force Unleashed - which was created by the same developer. Except this arena brawler has fewer characters and moves, and doesn't even come with a deeply average single-player game attached. You could try and mount a half-hearted defence on the basis that it's meant to be accessible to all ages, but even the most cack-handed child will fail to draw nourishment from this thin and flavourless brew. My attempts to involve my own offspring did not go well. It took less than ten minutes for whining requests for LEGO Batman to escalate into angry demands.

All quibbles about presentation and content aside, the game is simply incapable of delivering the sort of fluid gameplay the concept demands. There's no flow or grace to the fights, just frustrated gesticulation as you try to bludgeon your way past a control scheme unfit for human consumption. Shallow and broken in all the ways that matter, Lightsaber Duels is precisely the sort of mindless hand-waggler that gives the Wii a bad name.

2 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Dan.

About Dan Whitehead

Dan has been writing for Eurogamer since 2006 and specialises in RPGs, shooters and games for children. His bestest game ever is Julian Gollop's Chaos.

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Whitehead archive page.

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Comments (66) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Der_tolle_Emil #1 3 years ago

    Nice :)

  • makeamazing #2 3 years ago

    6 out of 10 is nice... doesnt sound very good.

  • makeamazing #3 3 years ago

    Hmm its now changed from 6/10 to 2/10 errrr....lol

  • matrim83 #4 3 years ago

    So it sucks. Both the wii and SW turn anything they touch to crap these days.

  • sweetcheeks #5 3 years ago

    good grief, and this is one of the potential franchises alot of casuals were excited about when the motion sensing wii was initailly conceived.

  • Mugwum Verified Operations Director, Eurogamer Network #6 3 years ago

    "Hmm its now changed from 6/10 to 2/10 errrr....lol "

    Gah, you spotted :-) Dan gave it 2/10 but when it was input into our CMS someone put 6. I only spotted it after exporting. Those responsible will be forced to play the game - I can think of no greater punishment for them.

  • Charlie_Miso #7 3 years ago

    'Based on the rather wretched new animated movie-slash-TV-show

    Well the movie is trash but the show is really quite good. Unlike this game, clearly.

  • bad09 #8 3 years ago

    As a star wars nut, if this turned out fun I was thinking (shock horror!) to re-invest in a Wii. Should of known really.....

  • bad09 #9 3 years ago

    "Well the movie is trash but the show is really quite good. Unlike this game, clearly."

    Agreed, the movie was poo but I've been quite surprised with the series, I've enjoyed it more than episode 3!

    / still dreams of Stars Wars of old.....

  • Darren #10 3 years ago

    Wow... so many great games for the Wii this Christmas... we're just so spoilt. Thank Nintendo for making a great console so we can play all these wonderful games. X

  • Les #11 3 years ago

    Never really got into Star Wars. Like the 'real' first three movies in that they're sort of campy, a bit of a case of 'so bad it's good'. Went to the first two sequels in the theatres and felt insulted both times (almost as much as after watching The Matrix 2) and decided to give up on Star Wars.

  • Dizzy #12 3 years ago

    And still it will probably be the biggest seller this year sadly.

  • Pirotic #13 3 years ago

    Why are scathing reviews so much more enjoyable to read than the hype induced praise filled 10/10 ones.

  • Lexx87 #14 3 years ago

    I miss the Ellie roundups :( They are the most brilliant 'bad' reviews on any website ever.

  • BartonFink #15 3 years ago

    No doubt this will probably get into the top 20

  • systems #16 3 years ago

    Once again the Wii smells of urine.

  • Dan234 #17 3 years ago

    Well at least we know we can safely forget about any Star Wars games until Motion+ comes out.

    Third time lucky?

  • Tzetrik #18 3 years ago

    haw haw

  • morriss #19 3 years ago

    Yet another missed opportunity. I remember when the wii-mote was first demoed and everyone jumped up and down about LIGHTSABRES!!! me included.

    Yet again the effort is half-arsed and the execution poor.

  • michaelius #20 3 years ago

    And here i was looking for something that would make Wii even remotly interesting :)

  • captainrentboy #21 3 years ago

    Ahhh, there we go, balance is restored, after Shaun White getting a 7/10 yesterday I thought things were on the up... No.
    Now where's that review for American Allstar Cheerleading?

  • CallousB #22 3 years ago

    Should have ported Star Wars Trilogy Arcade to the Wii.

    First person saber battles...and it's based on the original films not the shitty prequels.

  • Triggerhappytel #23 3 years ago

    Oh, now there's a huge surprise...

  • andromeda #24 3 years ago

    yay! been a while since we had a 2er.

    Nintendo please save yourselves and announce plans for gamecube 2 . Put this wii nonsense back in the bin. You're losing friends by the bucketload.

  • andromeda #25 3 years ago

    @Pirotic

    because we're english ;)


  • BartonFink #26 3 years ago

    No we are not how dare you make such accusations ;)

  • gingerlink #27 3 years ago

    Anyone else notice Dan's timeline inconsistancies?

    "Back when the Wii was first unveiled, the first thing to go through everyone's head was "Ha! It sounds like wee wee!", because that was really the pinnacle of comedy at the time. The second thing to go through everyone's head was "Oh! Lightsabers!""

    Yes, because it was called something else when the controller was announced and everyone had overdid the idea by the time the name was announced, which they overdid instead...

  • anomagnus #28 3 years ago

    wow, what a shock, a shit wii game, i certainly wasnt expecting this....

  • Steroyd #29 3 years ago

    "The dream is dead"

    Is a bloody understatement.

  • iago71 #30 3 years ago

    Sold..... Definitely getting this. Time to stop playing Fable, L4D, GOW and LBP. ...... Or perhaps not.

  • sneetch #31 3 years ago

    @Mugwum [staff]
    "Hmm its now changed from 6/10 to 2/10 errrr....lol "

    Gah, you spotted :-) Dan gave it 2/10 but when it was input into our CMS someone put 6. I only spotted it after exporting. Those responsible will be forced to play the game - I can think of no greater punishment for them.

    That has to be a human rights violation. I'm calling the UN and Amnesty: you can expect to be policed by UN peacekeepers and protested at any minute now.

  • StooMonster #32 3 years ago

    @ Umberty: n00bs ... had one the xmas before (2006), early adopters FTW!

    My kids love the Wii. I've enjoyed Super Mario Galaxy, Legend of Zelda, Resident Evil 4 was worth a replay too, and playing Mario Kart with kids is good fun . But man, High School Musical Sing Along and some of the other titles make my toes curl. Still, the kids do play on it; darn that WarioWare too. I'm waiting for World Of Goo on Wiiware as I love it on the PC and look forward to playing it will the youngsters on the big screen.

    However, every time I see a crap Star Wars game a little bit of me dies inside; it's like George Lucas is beating up and stealing lunch money from the nine year old kid who loved Star Wars back in the day. :'(

  • karstux #33 3 years ago

    I'm shocked. I mean, I bought the console with Lightsaber (or other sword-fighting) games in mind, back in '06. How can it be that not a single decent sword-fighting title has materialized? It seems such a natural match for the hardware.

  • Diomedes #34 3 years ago

    This was to be expected....the dream of lightsaber duels was really something out of the wii hardware capabilities.To have a true 1-1 motion capture and the machine recording your every movement you would need the developers to map hundreds of different combinations and even mistakes you could make ....not even with Motion Plus this can be done .

    Add to that poor graphics and execution and you have another crap Wii game ....to add to the shitload of crap Wii games on the market.People in other website(IGN) were really ,I mean really happy about Sonic Unleashed and other game getting a 7 out of 10 ....and in frenzy mode when Shaun White got a 8.4.This demostrates how poor are the Wii offerings....two games score a 7 out of 10 and people go nuts .In all truth from the 5 best games of the console (Zelda TP,Mario Galaxy ,Smash Bros,RE4 ,Okami ) three are ports of Cube/PS2 games .....this speaks volume about the lineup quality.

  • Nikanoru #35 3 years ago

    HAHAhahahaha oh my fucking god, this is awful. No, I'm not talking about the fact that the game is rubbish, it's a licensed title, so like, duh.

    I'm talking about the fact that despite everyone having come to expect games based on movies or TV shows to be shit on any platform for YEARS, NOW all of a sudden it's like BAWWWWWWWW IT'S THE WII'S FAULT I'M SELLING MY WII BAWWWW ;___;

    You fantards are fucking awful, Jesus holy fucking Christ on a stick. I can hardly believe it anymore.

  • FTM #36 3 years ago

    I think the wii found its market with the family type games and it should stick to it..its not capable of standing alongside the 360 or the ps3 in real gamer market


    its fun..for about 10 minutes..unless you are drunk in which case its fun increases with each can you pour down your neck

    but while other gamers look forward to Resident evil 5 with sexy graphics and co-op play, wii gamers should just ready themselves for the belly dancing simulator or bee keeping with princess peach or some other inane bag 'o' crap
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/08 @ 10:47

  • karstux #37 3 years ago

    "This was to be expected....the dream of lightsaber duels was really something out of the wii hardware capabilities.To have a true 1-1 motion capture and the machine recording your every movement you would need the developers to map hundreds of different combinations and even mistakes you could make ....not even with Motion Plus this can be done."

    I'm not sure why you would say that. There was this '90ies sword fighting game, "Die By The Sword", which had free-form ("1-1";) sword control with a mouse. If it was possible back then, I don't see why the Wii wouldn't be able to do that.

    Of course there are a few problems:
    - Controller latency. The wiimote is slower than a mouse, since a lot of calculation has to be done to determine controller position and orientation. But there must be ways, such as predictive particle filtering, to overcome this.

    - Blocking. When the sword is blocked or hits an obstacle, the controller position and the on-screen position go out of sync. But that can be resolved when you treat the controller input as relative input while blocking occurs, and sync back to absolute as soon as possible.

    -Character animation. You can't use canned animations anymore. The character model must be dynamically animated using inverse kinematics. Die By The Sword could do that, so it's possible.

    - Player ability. Sword fighting is hard, and it's easy to make a mistake and die. So what? Learn sword fighting! ;-)

    Edit:
    Hell, I just saw that someone has created a Die By The Sword mod that uses the Wiimote to control the sword. The linked video clearly displays some of the problems I listed above - mostly the latency and the out-of-sync-issue - but it looks fun. A professional developer could surely do even better. I want that on the Wii!
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/08 @ 11:03

  • lbmat #38 3 years ago

    All these poor ratings...

    Guess parents aren't much into game reviews...

    buahaha

  • chrisjm #39 3 years ago

    i hear guantanimo bay has ordered 100 copies.

  • melw #40 3 years ago

    AFAIK the developers didn't know about the MotionPlus at all, while Nintendo hid the details from all 3rd party developers until E3. Like why would any 3rd party developer doing a light-saber fighting game be interested in accurate motion capturing? Naa - let's just wiggle with another mediocre release, that'll make good business!

  • canIdoyabombsforya #41 3 years ago

    The Wii is the only console you can play on Xmas day without getting in trouble with your girlfriend, eh lads!.... Lads?

  • Madafunkola #42 3 years ago

    The score will proabably match chart position...

  • Nikanoru #43 3 years ago

    Alright, I don't really want to put up a list, but it seems like it's the only way anymore to reply to nonsense such as "there's just nothing on the horizon but shovelware shit."

    Here are some Wii exclusive non-minigames that I am personally looking forward to. This does not include anything such as war games (WW2 or otherwise), racing games, sports games, or music games, since I couldn't care less about those.

    Another Code Wii
    Arc Rise Fantasia
    Cursed Mountain
    Deadly Creatures
    Endless Ocean 2
    Fatal Frame 4
    Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers
    Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
    Fragile
    House of the Dead: Overkill
    Kizuna
    Klonoa: Door to Phantomile
    Little King's Story
    MadWorld
    Monster Hunter 3
    Muramasa: The Demon Blade
    Mushroom Men
    No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
    Overlord: Dark Legend
    Pikmin 3
    Punch-Out!
    Red Steel 2
    Rune Factory: Frontier
    Sadness
    Shiren The Wanderer 3
    Sin & Punishment 2
    SkyCrawlers: Innocent Aces
    Space Invaders Get Even
    SPRay
    Spyborgs
    Sword of Legendia
    Tales of Symphonia 2
    Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
    Tenchu 4
    The Conduit
    The Kore Gang
    unnamed new Tales game
    Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga

    These are a few minigame-like-games that nonetheless look pretty interesting to me:

    Wii Sports Resort
    Let's Tap
    Kororinpa 2

    And finally some non-exclusives that I may be interested in:

    Sonic Unleashed
    Strong Bad
    Cave Story
    Sam and Max: Season 1
    World of Goo
    Oneechan Bara: Bikini Zombie Slayers (yeah, laugh all you want D;)



    All this is besides the games that are already out now, a lot of which I do not own yet and, frankly, will keep me way too busy until the next new release to complain like some spoiled child.

  • Kryon #44 3 years ago

    /sniggers

    Nikanoru just posted a list of games he's looking forward to...Wasn't there another guy around here who likes to do that? ;)

    Edit - Also, you forgot Cooking Mama 3.
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/08 @ 12:29

  • Triggerhappytel #45 3 years ago

    They should probably just kill off the Star Wars franchise and George Lucas before it gets any worse. If it can get any worse.

    Oh, and Indiana Jones. That useless bearded cunt just makes a habit of destroying wonderful childhood memories, doesn't he?!

  • Nikanoru #46 3 years ago

    I attract Kryon like sugar attracts flies, I swear.


    @"farticusmaximus": it's unfortunate for you that you can't find anything in that list, or anything currently out, worth enjoying (Wow, really? Well, whatever floats your boat I guess?), but like I said, it's just a reply to factually untrue statements like "there's just nothing on the horizon but shovelware shit". I mean, I don't call Gears of War shovelware, just because I think it's a bunch of mindnumbing crap.

  • sifujames #47 3 years ago

    @ Triggerhappytel

    Have you seen the new season of South Park yet? It address that subject in a somewhat direct manner...

    As for the Wii in general... I'm still very happy that I bought it, though I haven't played it for a while. But that's not because I haven't anything to play (I'm still halfway through both Mario Galaxy and Okami, with Metroid Prime 3 and Link's Crossbow still to play), it's more a case that I'm not really in a gaming mood, as displayed by the fact I've still yet to start Far Cry 2 and Fallout 3 on PC, and have Ico and Shadow of the Collossus to play on PS2 (picked up off eBay recently). But with the exception of Mad World, there's nothing due out on the Wii that remotely interests me, and that's what disappointing. There's a complete lack of anything that you would call a AAA title, either from 3rd parties or Nintendo themselves.

    Reggie can complain that 3rd party developers "don't get the Wii" till the cows come home, but it's hardly like Nintendo are showing them the way is it? Aside from the big Ninty franchises (Super Mario, Zelda, MarioKart, Metroid and Smash Bros), Nintendo are just as guilty of bringing out collections of mini games. Hell, if the defining game on the Wii is a collection of mini games with no real depth (Wii Sports), then it's only to be expected that others follow the same path.

  • WinterSnowblind #48 3 years ago

    @Nikanoru

    You basically listed every major title coming out on the Wii in the next year or two. I have a very hard time believing you're interested in even half of those games. Klonoa and Monster Hunter are the only games that have my attention there..

  • Number1Laing #49 3 years ago

    Wii last holidays had a genuinely impressive lineup - Super Mario Galaxy, Zack and Wiki, Metroid Prime 3 (though calling it a holiday title might be stretching a bit), Geometry Wars, etc.

    This year... holy crap. Animal Crossing is probably the premier title, but its not really impressive at all, even for an AC fan. The Wii this holiday season has the worst game lineup I have seen from a major platform in a long long time (we are talking N64 long time, my friends) and its especially embarrassing coming from a 2-year old market leader.

  • Chufty #50 3 years ago

    Die by the Sword was awesome!

  • Royal Fool #51 3 years ago

    Nikonaru was complaining about 'fantards' and then he proceeds to post a list of tons of Wii games.

    Hmmm.

  • Nikanoru #52 3 years ago

    @wintersnowblind: Why do you have a hard time believing that? There's plenty of game genres I'm not interested in, I mentioned them. I cut out all the random minigame collections, too. You want me to justify every entry on the list? I could! And I very much doubt you could justify your disinterest in each of them, in fact, I hardly believe you even know anything about half of them, which seems to be a (perhaps very intentional!) problem problem with many Wii antagonists. They don't even know many of these games exist, and keep it that way so they'll have a reason to say "there's nothing coming out on the Wii!" on the next vaguely-Nintendo-related article.

    -I- have a hard time believing Klonoa and Madworld are the only things -you- would be interested in. Just to name one example among many: if you're interested in Klonoa with its 2D gameplay, then surely Murasama might peak your interest? You know, Odin Sphere developers?

    Of course, I may be talking to a wall here. Some people are so convinced of something they can't be told otherwise, despite facts staring them in the face (welcome to the internet!).



    @farticusmaximus: I'm sorry but now you're just grasping at straws. We have the internet these days, reviews and stuff? If you're going to dismiss the Wii and sell it on the basis that you don't want to read any reviews and just want to blindly grab a game and hope it'll be good, despite there being plenty of good stuff if you open your eyes, then I frankly can't be bothered to argue any further.

  • Nikanoru #53 3 years ago

    Nikonaru was complaining about 'fantards' and then he proceeds to post a list of tons of Wii games.


    I said why I made that post. What do you suggest? Should I just go "there SO are good games"?

  • floppylobster #54 3 years ago

    @ farticusmaximus

    Yeah, but look at the heap of shitware that was piled onto the PS2 and that still sold (and is still selling). The Wii has a tonne of crap, but there's enough gold to keep it going. Popular consoles will always attract any old shit that might sell. It's been the way since before the Atari 2600.

    But what does it matter if everyone sells theirs anyway? Nintendo won’t be giving out refunds for them, and the new owners will probably buy a couple of new games for it themselves, so they won’t be ‘getting the message’. I totally see your point that some people are sick of the Wii but in the face of their sales it's kind of irrelevant.

  • shotgun44 #55 3 years ago

    Is there a household without a wii now anyway? Even we have one and I friggin hate the plastic it's built with!

  • iago71 #56 3 years ago

    I have to say (from that list) I am quite interested in Pikmin 3 And Sin and Punishment 2.......... Shouldnt Pilotwings be in there????

  • Super_Zee #57 3 years ago

    Sounds like it makes Masters Of Teras Kasai look like VF5.

  • sifujames #58 3 years ago

    @ Super_Zee

    Masters of Teras Kasai.... now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time (said in best Alec Guinness voice)

  • schnide #59 3 years ago

    Are they real screenshots?

    I mean, I know they are, but I just can't believe it.

    They're real screenshots?

    On a current-gen console..?

  • migasUK #60 3 years ago

    ahahahh 2/10 wii just sucks hahahah

  • Sid-Nice #61 3 years ago

    The Wii is about as much fun as anal sex with a stallion; Nintendo are crippling the gaming industry with their capitalist view that the “More shit shovelled towards their console” equates to more loot in their ever increasing bank account. I sold my Wii to 2 cute sexy Asian girls; I’d have probably felt less guilty if I had of raped them.

  • spacenugget #62 3 years ago

    God I'm sick of people claiming the wii sucks whenever there is a bad review..... seriously its getting old.
    Its a bad GAME! The review is not about the wii being shite or not. Such comments are pointless.
    Pointless I tells ya!?

    /shuffles off

  • merkdot #63 3 years ago

    how deliciously predictable

  • Sid-Nice #64 3 years ago

    @seanraaron, I'm taking the piss, there's over 70 comments on a review of a very poor Wii game, yet Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip which scored a reasonable 7/10 only managed 23 comments. It’s not like Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels was the most antisipated Wii game for the holiday period; yet it is the same old story with the same old posters and their predictable comments.

    I come from the “If you can’t beat them join them” school of thought; I was actually hoping for some tit to quote me and agree with my comments.

  • merkdot #65 3 years ago

    that kind of ignores the fact that "Star Wars" is a much bigger brand than Shaun White, and also that since the Wii Remote was first announced, the first thing everyone said was "I hope there's a swordfighting game" and then that moved on to "a lightsabre game would be fucking cool".

    as it turns out, the Wii is clearly not very good at swordfighting, at least in its pre-motionplus state. In fact you could say it's something of a disaster, if Eurogamer scores for these kinds of game are used as evidence.

  • HammyWammy #66 3 years ago

    boring!!!!