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Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

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Jedi Starfighter relatively spoiler free

But the comments thread might not be! Attack of the Clones goes on global release

Star Wars Episode II : Attack Of The Clones enjoyed a rapturous reception at the Odeon cinema where yours truly first saw it last night. The film, released globally on 16th May (for which we love Lucas), is a spectacle of unparalleled visual splendour which left this writer speechless. Can you imagine that? My friends thought I'd had a stroke. Admittedly, there are those who disagree, but I feel sorry for people who didn't leave the film feeling as good as I did. Frankly, if Lucas is a bad director and script writer, then I'm glad, because if he had done any better with that film I might have died. One of the things the film has done is give shape to the array of games currently in development based upon it, and many sections of the film were clearly inspired by videogames, which is nice to see. Having completed the impressive Jedi Starfighter on PlayStation 2 last month, I can tell you that nothing revealed by the game goes any great way to spoiling the film, which doesn't floor the viewer with too many plot surprises but relies on wave after wave of amazing computer generated visuals and features a climax to wet the pants of lifelong Star Wars followers. If anything, having played Jedi Starfighter I was able to enjoy the film with ease, not having to concentrate on committing names and details to memory as I might have done otherwise. Nevertheless I would recommend those eager to play the game wait until after the film, because it's an excellent piece of supplementary entertainment perhaps intensified by having witnessed the movie itself. I certainly plan to play it again. Soon. The impending release of the (perhaps superior) Xbox version should see to that. It will take your mind off the wait for the DVD release for sure. Those of you fearing spoilers may also wish to avoid the comments thread attached to this news item. Although criticism will be rife of the acting, the reliance on computers and perhaps even the plot itself, there is enough in Attack of the Clones to endear it to any action film fan, and I make no apology for my own intoxication. Think of it as a big computer generated cartoon, give it a chance to impress you and watch what Lucas does with characters like Jango Fett, C-3PO, R2D2, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Count Dooku and more. Jango's forthcoming game, for instance, has joined a number of titles on this writer's 'games to watch' list, and with any luck the inevitable successor to the Xbox's disastrous Obi-Wan outing will finally do McGregor's character justice. Related Feature - Jedi Starfighter PlayStation 2 review

'I've blown one of them up,' I found myself telling a bloke in a Chewbacca costume last night. Darth Maul on the other hand was sceptical