Ever wished you could swish a lightsaber around in real life, only to have your on-screen avatar respond to your every command? I know I certainly did, and rabid fans of the Star Wars franchise would definitely have entertained this heroic idea at least once in their lifetime. After all, how many of us have re-enacted classic lightsaber duels with our siblings and friends even without the help of video games? Star Wars games of recent times have certainly gone a long way in letting us wave that lightsaber around, hacking down enemies and bounty hunters while deflecting laser blasts (which is pretty silly when you think about it - how come laser blasts in these games seem to travel much slower than bullets?). Unfortunately, these games use the keyboard and mouse on the computer or just a console gamepad as modes of control - you still haven’t achieved full motion control just yet. The release of the Nintendo Wii has brought about rampant speculation that a lightsaber game would make it one of the best games to be released - if executed correctly. That day has now arrived, with LucasArts announcing that a new Star Wars game on Nintendo’s hot selling Wii will take full advantage of the Wiimote’s motion sensitive controls.

I am salivating at the prospect of such a title - imagine flailing your arms around. There are just so many ways to play the game, the replayability value must be astounding! I wonder whether trained swordsmen and fencers will have an easier time with this - will the learning curve be so steep? Or will the controls be dumbed down, where only certain movements are allowed? There are still too many questions that are unanswered at the moment, but a closer look at the game as more details are released will definitely negate (or confirm) our worst fears.

Source: Business Times Online