Publisher/Developer: THQ
Genre: Flight
Price: $4.99
Acquired: Reviewer Purchased
Verdict: Fun while it lasts, but that ain’t long.
Pros: Simple to play, decent control, authentic Star Wars product
Cons: Buggy, sparse presentation, very short game

As someone who has played this game in many different iterations (Arcade,PC, N64, & Gamecube) I have enough love for the concept to give it another go.  It’s a true testament to the staying power of the iconic “Death Star Run” that this game never seems to get old, although this could be the tipping point.

Red 5 standing by...

If you are old enough to remember the 1983 arcade game or “The Death Star Trench Run” bonus level from Rouge Squadron on the N64, then you have played this before.  Gone are the old school vector graphics of the arcade original that had you playing Luke Skywalker in your X-Wing, trying to avoid ever approaching asterisk-shaped projectiles.  For the iPhone, the graphics have been modernized with textured meshes at least as good as the first level of Rogue Squadron II on the Gamecube.  Those two levels are faithfully recreated here, although in Mission mode it’s broken up into 5 parts: Dog Fight (which takes place over the surface of the Death Star with the Yavin moon in the background), Cannons (the beginning of the titular Trench Run), Obstacles, Darth Vader (and his fancy bent wing Tie-Fighter), and finally the coup de grace: Exhaust Port.  These ‘levels’ are micro games strung together to give the game a narrative.  Your other choice is ‘arcade’ mode in which you have 2 game types: ‘Trench’ and ‘Dog Fight’.  ‘Trench’ consists of basically skimming the trench avoiding obstacles and tower fire as you blast away at them in a succession of waves to up your score before you run out of your allotment of 3 X-Wings.  ‘Dog Fight’ is just that, surviving waves of Tie Fighters buzzing around the Death Star.  Is this worth 5 bucks?  Hard to say.  How much do you love Star Wars and the memories of playing this game before?

Hmm, I don't remember these Death Star donut holes from the movie...

Some will complain that for 5 bucks, this game is way too short or simple and they may be right, but this game falls more into the quality over quantity category.  That isn’t much here, but what is, is done very well and is fun to play for a momentary diversion (and I’m sure that Lucas license doesn’t come cheap for THQ).  If you have never played any of the aforementioned games and you are a Star Wars fan (which would mean like 7 people), then you will dig this game.  If you have played it before, and you want to have it in your pocket, then you will dig this game.  Only the very frugal fans and non fans will want to pass.  The game offers up the distinct and familiar John Williams score and heavily-used Ben Burtt samples that so many games before have successfully implemented.  Game play is very fluid and smooth and the tilt controls work great if you are not laying down.  Contrary to popular belief, you can recalibrate by pausing the game, laying down the iPhone, and unpausing.  I’ve heard complaints of the game not working on the iPhone 3G, but since I only have two 3GS devices (editor’s note: Lucky bastard), I couldn’t try it on the older hardware.  I did have an issue where I had to delete and reinstall the app on my 32GB 3GS as it would load to a black screen even if I rebooted the device.  I did not see the same thing happen on the 16GB version.

"You say this space station can blow up planets, but it's going to orbit this one?"

As you can see from the screen shots, the graphics are a mixed bag.  Some textures (like the exhaust on the X-wing) look detailed while others look highly compressed and blurry.  The turret models, for instance, are extremely simple but easy to recognize while you are skimming the trench.  You have the choice of in-cockpit and behind the fighter view.  And as the one added twist to the format, you can press the bottom left side of the screen to initiate a ‘force slow-mo’ effect where the game goes into a ‘laser-time’ slow effect for easier combat.  The game isn’t that difficult on any of the settings, so this particular feature seems a bit tacked on.

"Check out your score, Luke"

Ultimately I would love to see the original PC X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter game make its way to the iPhone, but if that game was comparatively priced, it would clock in at around $100 bucks. I hope THQ can update the game with a bit more depth to help the price/content ratio.  They could add in the Millennium Falcon turret sequence or the timeless AT-AT battle on Hoth.  As it stands now, only the hardcore Star Wars fan should apply to the academy.