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It is a dark time for The Force (when isn't a dark time for The Force?) and you, Obi Wan Kenobi, the young Jedi apprentice, must kill loads of robots! This new Episode One tie-in from THQ gives you the chance to show off your budding Jedi powers in an adventure that takes you from the Jedi Council to the swamps of Naboo, the Princess's castle and the final fight to the death with Sith Lord, Darth Maul.

On the way there are puzzles to solve, evils to fight and a serious amount of robots to blow up. Your master Qui Gonn Jinn (or however you spell it!) will dispense vaguely wise Jedi sayings and battle plans to you before each level (although you'll notice he never seems to bother doing anything himself!).

With a simple password system, you will become locked into a world of droids, space cruisers, lightsabres, dark forces and strange prawn-like beings who play the bassoon. The game will be un-putdownable from the start, but that's the problem - it won't last that long. You get a choice between easy and hard mode, but that's it. Eight big levels, well done everybody, the dark side have lost.

This is undeniably a serious fault that makes the price tag a little less tempting, but the game is extremely well made otherwise. The stirring Star Wars theme tune is well done, and the sound effects are fine. But, movie renders aside, it's the quality of the animation that makes this remain a great game. As you move around the kind-of-3D landscapes you can use your lightsabre or laser gun to deflect laser bolts and destroy enemy droids, or The Force to move objects and destroy machines - the tiny Obi Wan moves incredibly realistically. It's sometimes just like watching an excerpt from the film, except from a helicopter viewpoint, and if Ewan McGregor was only made up of about 20 pixels!

The way that every laser bolt shot at you deflects at differing angles depending on how you strike them is also very clever (making a lot of the game like a frenzied cricket simulation). Unfortunately, this can also lead to a marathon of constant A button stabbing as you try to deflect the beams back at the robots. Some of the puzzles are LucasArts favourites - such as "Indiana Jones-style" floor puzzles, but generally it's a big old lightsabre shoot-'em-up which you can still get a bit of fun out of even after easily thwarting the Empire.

Let's be honest, this is Star Wars. Buy it you will, if Star Wars you like.

There's always a sure-fire way to get a hit in the land of the videogame - stick Star Wars all over it! Yes, in the past we've seen games sell well based on the prestige and popularity of the Star Wars brand and THQ will undoubtedly get the sales they want from this game regardless of whether it's deemed to be good or not.

As Jem says, the trouble with this game is that it is a bit on the easy side and you might find yourself defeating the Dark Side a little more easily than expected.

Apart from that it looks stunning and plays well, so it's worth a spin if you're a Star Wars fan.

Graphics 100%
Scaled down action.

Sound 100%
Dum, dum, diddly DUM dum.

Playability 80%
Keeps you interested...

Lastability 40%
...but not for that long.

Overall 85%
The Force is strong in this one!