The upcoming Star Wars films have inspired a whole new round of movie tie-ins and spin-offs, some of them cheap and commercial, some of them less so, and games are no exception. Though there has never really been a bad time to make a Star Wars game, we are definitely seeing a new rash of games, especially mobile ones, meant to take advantage of the hype. Here are the best of the lot:
Star Wars: Commander – Worlds in Conflict
At first glance you might suspect this of being an obvious Clash of Clans rip-off, and you’d be right, but that’s not all bad. Like most mobile games in the genre, you are tasked with building a base, training troops, and sending them out to do battle with enemy forces at a separate location. You can choose either the Empire or the Rebels, and the emphasis is on building a solid defensive configuration, since attacks are most automated.
So yes, it’s a lot like Clash of Clans, but it’s always exciting to play in the Star Wars universe, and the setting lends itself well to this sort of game. It’s not likely to hold your attention for a long time, but it’s simple and fun and lets you build your own little Star Wars empire.
Angry Birds Star Wars
It might seem a little like cheating to throw in Angry Birds, but in a world full of shameless tie-ins, Angry Birds Star Wars is actually not too bad. It’s got all of the fun of the original Angry Birds with a ton of fun, goofy features that Star Wars fans will enjoy.
It’s also nice that it’s actually a fun mobile game – there are some ambitious attempts at Star Wars games out there that fall well short of being, well, fun to play. If you’re short on time or just have a hankering for some Star Wars goodness, download the first few levels for free and see if you like it.
Star Wars: Uprising
This is a surprisingly deep game that you might not expect to be as good as it is, but developer Kabam has a pretty good track record of creating worthwhile movie tie-ins, and this is absolutely worth checking out.
Star Wars: Uprising takes place between Episodes VI and VII, so you’ll get to see some familiar faces and locations. Your time is divided between running missions and overseeing your cast of characters, and like a lot of good mobile games, there’s a mix of active and passive management.
It’s a fairly simply dungeon crawler which works well even on the limited space of phones, and with an emphasis on crew management, collection, and collaboration with other players, there’s a surprising amount of replayability and depth.
Lego Star Wars
If you’re not familiar with the Lego series of games, you’re missing out – they’re tons of fun, polished, and surprisingly complex. Lego Star Wars is no exception, and if you’ve got a Star Wars itch you just can’t scratch, you can do a lot worse.
The controls can be sticky, but once you get used to them, there’s a whole galaxy of stuff to explore, collect, and achieve, and even the goofy graphics of a Lego game aren’t enough to dim the Star Wars feel. Gameplay is fun and challenging without being frustrating, and there’s enough content to keep any gamer happy for a long time.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Easily the best Star Wars mobile game on the market today is a game that wasn’t designed for mobile at all – Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is an older PC/console game that has aged well and has a solid mobile port. As a full-fledged RPG, it’s got a lot more to offer than most mobile games, and it’s one of the best Star Wars games ever made.
Knights of the Old Republic is deep, engaging, and fun, and it runs great and plays well on most mobile devices, so there’s really no reason not to pick it up if you’re a Star Wars fan. You won’t regret it.
