One of the very first Star Wars games I played was the space-sim X-Wing on my old PC, and from the moment it loaded up I was absolutely hooked. Since then I've played all the spin-offs and sequels to the Star Wars starfighter games, and loved every single one of them. In fact, I had often wondered why it has been almost five years since the game was re-made. That is until shortly after purchasing my Xbox, when I heard about Jedi Starfighter. Despite my grievances with Episode One, I had every intention of picking it up and giving it a go...and I'm glad I did!

First up, fans will be a little disappointed to know that this game is *not* a proper sequel to the X-Wing or TIE Fighter games, it's more of a spiritual successor. Jedi Starfighter aims to take the fun elements of the Star Wars sims and make then accessible to a wider audience on a console. While this means a sacrifice to the depth of the simulation, it still means Star Wars space-battles, and plenty of it!

In fact, Jedi Starfighter is pretty much a new franchise of Star Wars games, it's just that this is its first visit to Xbox. Playstation owners (and American Xbox owners) experienced Star Wars Starfighter, and Jedi Starfighter is its sequel. Set between Episodes One and Two, Jedi Starfighter introduces us to Adi Galia, a former Padawan who is now a full-fledged Jedi. Despite still being green around the gills (no, she doesn't actually *have* gills!), Adi is left virtually to her own devices in the Karthack System, instructed to uncover a nefarious plot. To do this, she enlists Nym, a very Han Solo like character who is equally reluctant to extend a helping hand.

The scene is set for a very fitting Star Wars adventure, which is virtually a side-story to some of the events in Episode Two: Attack of the Clones. This puts the game into historical and filmographical context for both fans and casual gamers, and helps make Jedi Starfighter an extremely accessible title. The controls are also quite easy to use, and the on screen displays show you all the important information you need. The cross-hair even changes for each different weapon, so you can tell at a glance what you have selected. Some of the more detailed aspects of the older Star Wars sims, such as managing your energy between weapons and shields, have been removed in the name of accessibility, but once you get playing you wouldn't even notice.

Jedi Starfighter begins with only two ships, Adi's Jedi Starfighter, and Nym's Havoc ship. The Jedi Starfighter is a prototype ship which magnifies Adi's innate Force-ability and projects it into space in a number of ways. The most basic is a Force Shield, which offers you extra protection for a short amount of time. As you progress, more powerful abilities like Force Shockwave and Force Reflex become available, and add massive area-of-effect damage and the ability to slow down time Matrix style. It really makes you wonder how things went from so damn cool and powerful in Episodes One and Two to t he sad and sorry state of affairs in the original trilogy when a proton torpedo and targeting computer were the best you could get! The Havoc is a far more traditional vessel, replete with more bombs, torpedoes and beam weapons than the average Carrack-class Cruiser. What all of this means to the average Joe Jedi is that you will be blowing stuff up. A lot.

Which works out quite nicely, as Jedi Starfighter looks and sounds great, and it is genuinely good fun to blaze your way through the missions. Although the graphics are fairly obviously ported from the ps2 incarnation, Lucasarts have at least tried to improve them for the Xbox. Coloured lighting and real-time shadows have been added, as well as some overall improvement in textures and frame-rate. Neither of these are perfect though...some of the ships look bland, and during some of the epic space battles game performance can take a real hit. But these aren't game-breaking problems, and for the most part you will be too busy enjoying the game to notice the negative.

The sound helps a lot here too, for as usual, Lucasarts really shine in the aural arena. All the usual Star Wars sound effects are present as you would expect, but the voice acting is very well done. Radio chatter brings the game to life and fleshes out the story. The music is superb; a blend of Episode One and Two with a few new tracks thrown in for good measure. It all captures the essence of the Star Wars universe wonderfully, and enhances the experience.

Unfortunately, it's not a particularly long experience. The campaign should be fairly easy even for the uninitiated, taking around 10-15 hours to complete in its entirety. Luckily there are hidden objectives in most of the missions, some of which require a second play through to accomplish. Doing this will unlock hidden features in the game, including some DVD-style extras like behind-the-scenes and artwork, as well as game trailers and previews. More importantly though, it unlocks new ships and levels as well. In addition to the campaign there is also a variety of single-player missions, which are just one-off games to play. More of these can be unlocked through persistent play, as can starfighters like Boba Fett's Slave I and an advanced version of the Jedi Starfighter.

On top of this, a multiplayer mode has been included, which allows two players to slog their way through some co-operative, death-match and domination levels. It's a nice addition to the game and it helps round out the title, but it isn't the most enjoyable multiplayer you will experience, being limited to two players only. Hopefully one day Lucasarts will heed my threatening/bribing letters and release an Xbox Live version of X-Wing versus TIE Fighter!!!