While the new Star Wars Battlefront game is out for fans to recreate epic moments from the movie, there was a decent Star Wars action-platformer which got released just recently for Android and iOS. And that game is “Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions ” (and it´s a rather good Star Wars title too), but before I get into any details about the game. It´s story time.
The Empire has expanded their shadow over the galaxy as far as the Outer Rim territories, placing an iron grip over the planet Lothal. All desires for freedom and a life of peace seemed lost even for the young orphan Ezra Bridger, but the young con artist soon finds that destiny has a certain fate in store for him. He eventually encounters a small band of rebels who are ready to make a stand against the Empire and free Lothal from its tyranny. As the Force Sensitive lad himself, armed with the lightsaber-blaster at his side, you must start the campaign to build a Haven, rescue citizens of the world, and eventually pave a road for a new hope.
Recon Missions is an action-platformer much like its Nintendo predecessors. While most of the missions for each level require you to go from start to finish while killing Stormtroopers there are some additional objectives. Some missions require “stealth” by keeping the Alert Bar low (accomplished by killing everything that is on-screen while shooting the alarms in the area), survive for a certain amount of time, or drive an AT-PD walker and wreak havoc on the Imperial forces. The Haven acts as the base of operations and the refugee home for all the citizens you save from the Empire.
From there this secret hideout can be built from the ground up using hope points you accumulate during missions. It is also where you’ll buy health and ability (which can be activated by filling up the focus bar by defeating enemies) upgrades for Ezra, as well as any of purchased character, accept challenges, and stock up on mission items.
Graphics are based on the Star Wars Rebels’ art design, which is based on The Clone Wars’. The cast of characters looks like their show counterparts, with the same slim cartoonish designs. The environments stay true to the franchise’s look, with ships and locals resembling designs from the fictional universe. Star Destroyers and Tie Fighters are spot on, and some parts of Lothal’s urban areas even resemble Mos Eisley.
The music of course has orchestra tracks throughout the game, even using parts of famous melodies from certain scores. Since most of the dialogue in the game is text based, there’s only some voice acting between the cut scenes and the occasional chatter during missions. However, the sound effects are exactly what you would expect from the franchise, from the rifle blast down to the sound of a light saber being swung.
Controls use a simple button interface implemented on the screen: left and right buttons, a jump button, and an analog circle for attacks. Pressing the circle once will have Ezra lunge forward with his light saber while moving it in a direction will fire the blaster part of his weapon accordingly. While the controls are fairly basic to use it will take some time to adjust to, especially with smaller screens where the controls can be too close to one another.
Pros:
+ Simple and fun Star Wars platformer for mobile devices.
+ The free game has a good amount of levels with variety of mission types.
Cons:
– After the 6th mission, the next ones will have a waiting time that goes up as you progress (time can be cut by watching ads).
– Additional levels and the rest of Rebels can only be acquired through the in-app shop.
Verdict: 3.5/5
While it is a bit of a disappoint that there’s a pay wall to get more out of the game, especially since the show focuses on a team of Rebels, there’s still some entertainment value with this freemium game. The Force is strong with this one.
Title: Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions
Developer: Gigataur
Format: Android, iOS, Windows Phone
Genre: Action-Platform
Resolution: Depends on Device
Release date: 2015-03-26
Difficulty: Normal
Spent time: 3+ hours
Average grade internationally: 77.50% Gamerankings.com
PEGI/ESRB age rating: PEGI 7/Everyone 10+
Price: Free (In-app shop)
David Lucas
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @GamerFoxem
More by Guest Author:
Tags: Android review, Gigataur, Recon Missions, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions