Star Wars: Trench Run ($4.99, iTunes link) puts you in the seat of Luke’s X-Wing during the climactic run on the Death Star. For lovers of all things Star Wars, the game offers an authentic feel and has excellent graphics and controls, great level design, and that magnificent John Williams soundtrack. The only knock we have against the game is lack of replayability.
The game is split into two modes: Mission and Arcade. Mission mode takes you chronologically through the trench run, starting with a dog fight above the Death Star, then into the trench, avoiding Darth Vader, and finally, bombing the exhaust vent. Each of the levels have a distinct play style, except the trench run/Vader sections, which play very similarly. Arcade mode is only the dog fight and trench run, with points allocated for speed, accuracy, and how many targets you demolish.
The controls make excellent use of the accelerometer and touch screen. Movement is handled by tilting, and tapping on the bottom right chunk of the screen fires lasers. The bottom left enters “force mode” which slows down play to get you out of a tight spot, and the top corners change view and pause the game.
Graphically, Star Wars: Trench Run is impressive. The blocky look of Star Wars ships lends themselves well to the limited number of polygons that the iPhone can handle, but they still look good. Apparently, the game looks even better on the 3GS, but I’m stuck with a 3G, so can’t comment.
The score for the game is the same glorious orchestral tracks and sound effects that we all know and love. Since it’s an official Star Wars app, they even have clips from the film tucked in the game. One oddity is that the Darth Vader voice clips are obviously not James Earl Jones, but a poor facsimile fed through a mediocre vocoder.
The one significant issue we had with this game was replayability. The Mission mode can be beat in around 15 minutes, and Arcade doesn’t add much. Sure, there are 5 levels of difficulty, and apparently “Hidden Features”, but for the $5 asking price, it’s asking a bit much.
Conclusion
Star Wars: Trench Run captures the look and feel of that pivotal moment in episode IV, with great controls, fun gameplay and an epic soundtrack. However, as much fun as it is, the gameplay value is limited, given the high price. Due to this reason, we cautiously recommend the game, and give it a 7/10.
Star Wars: Trench Run is a $4.99 download from the iTunes App Store.