November 9, 2005 - Star Wars: Grievous Getaway is the latest in THQ Wireless' suite of games based on the top 2005 box office draw (and recently released DVD), "Revenge of the Sith." The game zeroes in on the chase scene between Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and General Grievous on the planet Utapau. Grievous tries to flee to his escape ship on his wheelie-mobile while Kenobi gives pursuit on the back of Boga, a feathered lizard of a steed.
Well, guess what? You can never destroy Grievous until the final level. The point of the game is to see how quickly you can bring Grievous within an inch of his life before he races off into the distance and the chase starts all over in the next area. So, if you manage to stay on top of the four-armed cyborg from the get-go, you can finish a level quite quickly. However, if Grievous gets too far ahead, the level ends in failure.
Naturally, there are obstacles that must be dealt with -- and these are often things that Grievous has no trouble avoiding. You must make Boga jump over pits and chasms less you fall to your doom. You should also hop over rocks and water, because they only slow you down. Levels are full of Grievous' staff-wielding bodyguards and other droids (some look like crabs) that can be slashed for extra points. If you time your swipe correctly, you can bat laser fire back at droids for extra points. In the town level, you must avoid running over or saber-ing civilians, as you lose points for each casualty. (It should also be noted that I once managed to get Kenobi stuck behind a rock that split the path in two and had no choice but restart the level.)
Bonus point spheres and health power-ups are strewn across the levels, many which can only be obtained by jumping to alternate paths. However, you often risk falling behind by gathering these bonuses, so really only go for them if they are easily within reach.
Or, you know what? Don't. If you haven't been able to tell by now, Grievous Getaway is a pretty shallow little game -- and it's short, too. One time is enough to see everything, and the game play isn't enough to inspire you to go back and try to defeat Grievous Getaway on its two harder difficulty levels. Because Grievous will always stay ahead you, any real sense of ongoing accomplishment is effectively muted. Why chase a goal when you know it will always elude you? These are the kind of concepts that should fuel deep existential discussions, not five dollar mobile games.
Grievous Getaway looks like it was built with the same tech as Star Wars Republic Commando: Order 66, a game that runs circles around Grievous Getaway. The camera is up top, sprites are somewhat small, and detail is decent, but not astounding. That worked in Order 66 because it pushed a dozen or so enemy droids on the screen to recreate a combat environment. In Grievous Getaway, the far away view just makes things feel small. The audio, on the other hand, is pretty solid. The game pulls a theme from the movie, recreates Boga's call when he jumps, and uses a few other "Star Wars" noises.
Closing Comments
Grievous done got away. THQ Wireless certainly picked a good
sequence from the film to transform into a mobile game, but the end
result just sort of lays there. The impetus to ever replay the game once
you've seen the small handful of levels just isn't there. And that one time
through Grievous Getaway is just too short to justify purchase.
Let Grievous pass go and save your five dollars.
| Rating | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| out of 10 | click here for ratings guide |
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| 6.0 |
OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average) |
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| NR | Reader Average | |