Star Wars Sale Guide

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Another year brings another Star Wars to the big screen, this year it's Rogue One hitting cinemas and to celebrate we've got a fantastic Star Wars themed sale, with discounts on the franchise up to 80% off! Though we understand it's hard to learn the ways of The Force and so we've put together a guide for most of the games on sale to help you navigate the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

So without further ado, let's explore a galaxy together!

LEGO Star Wars III : The Clone Wars

LEGO Star Wars III is essentially The Clone Wars movie and TV series wrapped up in a bundle. Graphically it's a massive improvement over The Complete Saga, some levels even feature you having control over an army and building structures (not that complicated or hard, but a nice change of pace). Levels felt more exciting and the space levels were a particular highlight for me, everything felt polished but I still feel like Complete Saga had more going for it. That's not to say Clone Wars is bad, it's just that if you had to pick one I'd go for The Complete Saga as it's a better package.

Grab it here.

LEGO Star Wars III : The Clone Wars

The game that started it all, before LEGO Star Wars all we had were games like LEGO Island and LEGO Racers but along came this out of basically nowhere. This set the foundations for all LEGO recent LEGO titles, it's gameplay and humour were unique and set TT Games path for the future. All 6 Star Wars movies are included in this package, you have around 62 levels in total (6 per film, 20 bounty hunter levels and 6 bonus levels), a vast aray of characters and the ability to create Darth Vader with Princess Leia's bikini body. LEGO Star Wars - The Complete Saga to me will always be the title that started it all and it's got so many good moments in it that it still remains in my top 5 LEGO games to this day. It's not aged great though, graphically it's dated but gameplay still holds up - despite a couple issues that got fixed in later LEGO titles, but it's a great way to experience the Star Wars experience and a fantastic way to get keep the entire family entertained.

Grab it here.

Star Wars Battlefront II

Ever wanted to be an Ewok battling Storm Troopers on the forest moon of Endor? Well good news because you can do that and much, much more. Battlefront II has so many modes and features it's quite a feat they managed to pack in that much into the game. You have battles in Space, you have the Clone Wars, you have Heroes vs Villians, and a campaign set between Revenge of the Sith and ending during Empire Strikes Back. Multiplayer is the big highlight here with support for up to 64 players (just like Battlefield), but they shut the servers down so it's a little hard to get a game off the fly. There are workarounds to go should you feel the need play you could try GameRanger. The ultimate Star Wars expierience for everoyne that's wanted to battle in the universe against others.

Grab it here.

Star Wars Republic Commando

Begun the Clone War has. Set during the Clone Wars, you play as Delta Squad and it's your job to go to various planets and do missions. It's a first person game with tactical elements, you control your squad by looking at something and selecting an order. The game does a very good job about making you feel part of a Squad and everything you do in the game feels like a team effort. Plenty of levels to play in, a game that should last you around 9 hours. One of the better Star Wars titles, worth a play if you like games like Rainbow Six.

Grab it here.

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast

Jedi Knight II is quite possibly one of the best Star Wars videogames ever made. Game engine was moved to the Quake III engine which allowed for new gameplay mechanics such as Lightsaber Dueling and a brand new 3rd person mode. Plenty of new force powers got added such as Force Heal as well as old favourites with some improvements such as throwing a lightsaber or deflecting a blast with it. Levels are huge, requiring you to solve more puzzles and filled with plenty of secrets to discover. The game has plenty of famous faces/locations like Bespin where you meet Lando (who is voiced by Billy Dee Williams). Multiplayer is your standard fair, think part Quake III with Lightsabers and you're in the right place.

Grab it here.

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

Sequel to Jedi Knight II, this time you don't actually play as Kyle but instead you're Jaden Korr, a student that goes to the Academy run by Luke Skywalker and becomes trained by Kyle. You can pick whether or not Jaden is Male or Female, has a double bladed lightsaber, twin lightsabers or just one lightsaber as well as the colour of it. Missions are mixed up every now and then giving you a choice of picking where you'd like to go, which is nice but utlimately not as varied as it could have been. I feel like this is a step back from Jedi Knight Outcast in the story but a massive improvement in the gameplay, it's a good Star Wars title but had a better Multiplayer.

Grab it here.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

You play as Darth Vader's secret apprentice Starkiller, a boy he found on a planet and then took under his wing to teach him the ways of the force. As you'd expect with a game based around force powers you have things like Force Lightning, Force Push, Force Dash and more. The difference between this and other games is that your powers are much more powerful, thanks in part to the gameplay and pyshics. You can combo attacks together, use powerful moves and upgrade via various powerups you'll find in the levels. There is even one moment in the game where you use Force Powers to bring down a Star Destroyer. Problem is the gameplay can get a bit tiring after a while, you'll enjoy it at first especially how badass you feel being someone that has these powers though towards the end you may feel like it's mostly a disappointing way.

Grab it here.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

When I first got this game I felt upset that I paid full price for it considering I finished it in one sitting (around 4 hours). While the game has a few new additions such as platform puzzles, dual wielding lightsabers and a couple new force powers it ultimately becomes something that could have just been an expansion for the original. The story is also a bit of a disappointment after the first game and it didn't have time to grow due to how short it was. Not the worst Star Wars title, but incredibly short and if you're going to get one of the two get the original.

Grab it here.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Without a doubt the best Star Wars game ever created (at least to me). This is set 4000 years before the Star Wars movies and is based in a time when the galaxy had plenty of Sith and Jedi doing battle. One of BioWare's early RPG's that set the foundations for many of their later classics such as Dragon Age: Origins, Jade Empire and Mass Effect. You start off the game waking up in a ship that's under attack with memory loss having no idea who you are, as the game progresses you'll find the answer to those sleepless nights and discover some new truths.

Gameplay wise you have a whole heap of things to do from racing swoop bikes to playing Pazaak. Companions are a big part of the game, you can have a party of up to 2 which you can switch to in combat should you require their expertise and equip them with armour/weapons just like you would yourself. Dialogue may give you an option to pick from a number of choices, these choices end up being your moral compass in how you interact with people. Perhaps you are the person that likes to rule everyone and wants to cause as much harm as possible, you can do just that but be prepared for the outcomes. The story is a great tale and something I feel may have even been great as a movie in the Star Wars universe, plenty of places to visit and things you wouldn't expect make this my favourite Star Wars (and RPG) of all time.

Grab it here.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

Like Knights of the Old Republic before it, KOTOR 2 starts you off aboard a ship with another case of memory loss and you take control of a Droid which has to repair the ship so it can dock with a station to heal you. Many of things that made KOTOR a great game are still present in this, as well as new additions such as new Lightsaber cystals with better effects such as recovering force powers you use quicker. Speaking of Force Powers the game improves on the original by adding 30 new ones to play with such as Force Enlightenment, Force Suppression, Force Light and more. Also new are prestige classes, a sub class based on being a Jedi/Sith depending on your choice these improve powers and stats. When the game was released the story had some missing features and has a disappointing ending cut short due to the rushed launch, the community has taken it upon itself to fix most of the bugs/missing content and I would highly suggest downloading The Restored Content Mod. Lastly the game had a big update a few months back which improved the game by adding support for modern resolutions, gamepad support, achievements and more! A great title and one of my top Star Wars games, I still prefer the original but this is just as good (if not better in some places).

Grab it here.

Star Wars: Dark Forces

Imagine if Doom and Star Wars had a baby, this is what they would produce. You play as Kyle Katarn, a mercenary hired by the Rebel Alliance to help them in their fight against the Empire. This is an old title, being released back in 1995 as one of first games of the Jedi Knight series. Game is a first person shooter with some enviromental puzzles throw into the mix to have some variety. Levels take you over many places, such as a Star Destroyer or Coruscant though the game only features 14 levels but they are mostly enjoyable. The story is set around the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope with some faces from the movies, cutscenes are a mix of 3D and animated. Graphically it's not really held up well and isn't the best in the series but still worth a play. Also controls might be a bit hard to get used to, you can't aim up/down with a mouse.

Grab it here.

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

This is the sequel to Dark Forces and the first game to feature Jedi Knight in the title. Once again you are thrown back into the life of Kyle Katarn, who later finds out that he's got a strong connection to the force and as you'd expect ends up with a Lightsaber and force powers. As the game starts you are treated to a cinematic (with real actors) that has the same vibe as a Star Wars movie setting up the game with it's main villian, as the game progresses you are treated to more cinematics. For a game that was released in 1997 having cinematics like this felt a great touch and something the first game lacked. Gameplay is much like the first game with the addition of force powers which you could pick according to your style and for the first time a multiplayer mode. The great thing is these force powers could be used to solve puzzles in levels such as force pushing a switch or pulling a block. Probably one of the better Jedi Knight titles, though like the original game it's not held up well to this day.

Grab it here.

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith

Expansion for Dark Forces II that takes place 5 years after the events that happened during the game. Not much of a change from the original Dark Forces II, they improved plenty of graphical features such as new lighting, textures and models as well as better AI. Players can also experience playing as Mara Jade, the woman that would become wife to Luke Skywalker in the expanded universe (except now that doesn't really matter because Disney erased it from the franchise).

Grab it here.

LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens

In short, it's fantastic. Possibly the best movie tie in of recent years and has set a new standard for movie > game tie ins. Unlike LEGO Jurassic World which came out last year this features dialogue from the original cast of actors so you'll have Han Solo being voiced by Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn and so on (some were replaced, example Admiral Ackbar actor who sadly passed away but for the most part they do a good job). They even went one further and managed to get them to recreate new parts, so it's not just a case of pulling audio from the movies - THEY ACTUALLY MADE NEW DIALOGUE.

It follows the movie very closely and the first level isn't actually from The Force Awakens at all but puts you in the Battle of Endor with the Ewoks and AT AT's as well as fighting with The Emperor on the Death Star, it's a nice little intro into the series and bridges the gap between 6 and 7 a little. There are even levels which have side stories like how Han and Chewie got the Rathtars which involved having a bigger crew.

There are several new features in LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens, you have multi builds which let you pull apart certain LEGO bricks to recreate something completely new to help you solve puzzles, these are used quite a bit and never overused. Also new to the series are Blaster Battles which are cover based shootouts like games like Gears of War (but easier since it's a family game after all).

It's a huge game too, featuring several hub worlds (much like many other LEGO games) including the Millennium Falcon, Jakku, Starkiller Base and more you have plenty of things to hunt if you're a fan of LEGO games you'll know each one can take you ages to 100% the game, same is true here. The game has over 200 characters (including some throwback characters to some classic ones from previous movies),

As for the Season Pass, it will feature 5 character packs and 3 level packs on various Star Wars things such as The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels etc. The Season Pass will also add levels like how C-3PO got his red arm or how Poe got off Jakku. You can read more about it here.

After a disappointing LEGO Marvel's Avengers this year it was such a refreshing change to play this game, as it made me smile all the way from start to finish (I haven't managed to 100% it yet though). If you're a fan of the movie then you should pick this up, even at this price. You will not regret it.

Grab it here.

So that's a look at most of the titles in our Star Wars sale, there are some others not covered here like Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes or Star Wars Empire at War Gold Pack but each one has a discount going! The Force will only be around for a short time though so you have until December 18th to pick these up!

• Craig Bishop