Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner Preview

Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner Preview

Whether you love them or you hate them, augmented reality games seem to have found a comfortable niche on the App Store. Despite their popularity though, nobody has thought to incorporate a popular license into one – that is, until now.

Developed by Vertigore Games and published by THQ Wirless, Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner will put players in the gunners seat on the Millennium Falcon as they attempt to destroy TIE fighters, Star Destroyers, and more.

The game will feature 20 levels, and will allow players to switch between a normal mode featuring what Vertigore describes as “stunning HD graphics” and an augmented reality mode. Playing in ARG mode while sitting in your kitchen might not be that exciting, but as you can see in the demo video above, playing with the proper landscape in the background can make it seem as though you’re fighting off a real Imperial invasion.

Judging by the video, it seems as though players will be able to view radar to locate their targets, while using a twin stick setup to control both movement and shooting. Sound clips featuring the likes of Han Solo and R2-D2 also seem to be sprinkled in the mix.

On a side note, it’s nice to see the Star Wars Arcade moniker brought back to life in some fashion. Formerly used by SEGA for the arcade games Star Wars Arcade, Star Wars Trilogy Arcade, and Star Wars Racer Arcade, it’s a branding that offers up a comforting ring of quality to those who frequented arcades in the late nineties. It should be interesting to see if THQ spawns this into a similar Star Wars Arcade franchise on the iPhone, or if Falcon Gunner will be the only title to bear this prefix.

Word around the campfire is that THQ is shooting for a release in the middle of this month, and it looks as though Falcon Gunner may only be compatible with the 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod Touch 4 due to the camera functionality for ARG mode. Stay tuned to Gamezebo for our full review!

Jim Squires

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Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.