Star Wars: Lightsaber Duel – Review
By App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: THQ, Inc.
Version #: 1.0
Date Released: 2010-03-22
Developer: THQ Wireless Inc.
Price: 0.99
User Rating:
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Only in the Star Wars franchise could an app go from free to $.99 and become even more popular. Granted, the creators did do a nice upgrade for the app, but still.
The app starts out pretty simply. After the splash screen, you’re brought to a page where you see Luke Skywalker and various other buttons. By tapping Luke’s face, you can select other characters (and other lightsabers) from various other movies, television shows and games in the franchise.
Once you select your character (and their lightsaber), you can tap the little button on the top right to light it up. The app makes all the prerequisite sound effects and the user can also play Star Wars music in the background (or play music from your audio library, but I’ll get to that in a moment).
Users can have lightsaber "duels" with other iPhone or iPod touch users provided their device has bluetooth. Certain characters can manipulate "Force lightning" along with their lightsaber.
Like the Star Wars prequel trilogy, not every aspect of this game makes sense. I didn’t see any kind of scoring mechanism, so there is no way to competitively play the game. It’s simply a case of swinging your iPhone around. Also, while I usually like the feature, being able to play the audio library doesn’t make sense. If you’re going to wield a lightsaber, you’re going to want to hear the lightsaber sounds, not your audio library.
If you’re a Star Wars fan, then you’ll probably like this app. As for me, I’m giving it a "thumbs in the middle."
Quick Take
Value:Medium.
Would I Buy Again:Possibly.
Learning Curve:Low.
Who Is It For:Star Wars fans and Jedi-wannabes.
What I Like:Good concept. Good execution.
What I Don't Like:Not every aspect of the app makes sense.
Final Statement:While the Force is with you, the money is with George Lucas.
If you and a friend both have this app and devices that support Bluetooth peer-to-peer connectivity (iPhone and iPod Touch 2nd generation or higher) you can connect them as two lightsabers that react to each other. Striking, parrying and crossing lightsabers produce authentic swooshing and clashing sound effects for an intensely fun experience. Of course you can also swing your lightsaber around in the traditional single player mode which is as fun as ever. You can now also play any song from your library as a soundtrack for your battles, or for a true Star Wars experience play the classic theme included with the app.
The cast of characters has been expanded to 15 with some of the most popular lightsaber wielders in the Star Wars universe. You can also create your own characters with customizable lightsabers. Emperor Palpatine makes an appearance and in addition to his lightsaber he has a special Force trick up his sleeve!
FEATURES
* Swing your phone around for authentic sound effects
* Ignite or extinguish the blade, or view it in full screen mode
WHAT’S NEW?
* Two-player mode using peer-to-peer Bluetooth connectivity
* 11 new characters and improved graphics
* Create more than one custom character
* Force lightning
* Play your own music in the background
