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Everyone loves Star Wars.  Seriously, everyone.  Just ask them.  The first three movies are regarded as some of the greatest achievements in filmmaking history, and the prequel trilogy was, well….it made a LOT of money.  The epic adventures of that galaxy far, far away have, of course, spawned countless toys, comic books, novels, lunchboxes, and, obviously, video games.  In fact, there is no single intellectual property that has inspired as many games as George Lucas’ opus.  The memorable characters, locations, technologies and Tolkienesque (Tolkienian?) mythology of Star Wars just seem to lend themselves so well to gaming that we may never see an end to the string of titles featuring Luke, Han, Anakin, Obi-Wan and the rest.  Honestly, what’s more fun than shooting stormtroopers and downing AT-AT’s with tow cables?  

With the next Star Wars title, “The Force Unleashed” slated to arrive sometime early next year, I thought I’d take this opportunity to list the ten greatest Star Wars console titles of all time.  With over 20 years worth of titles to filter through, there was no shortage of games to choose from, even excluding the dozens of PC titles, but I managed to trim the list down to the ten absolute best.  Enjoy.


10 - Star Wars: Episode I Racer (N64)

Take the absolute best sequence from "The Phantom Menace" and turn it into a unique, high-octane racer, and you've got one addictive N64 title that still stands up today as a great game experience.  Plus, no Jar Jar.

9 - Star Wars: Republic Commando (Xbox)

The game that gave personality to the clone troopers.  As the leader of an elite squad of Republic soldiers, you'll use Rainbow Six-style squad commands to lead your team through the thrilling, albeit brief campaign mode.  The multiplayer is only so-so, which keeps the title from being higher on the list.

8 - Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (PS3)

They're just so damn cute.  Playing as blocky interpretations of your favorite smugglers, bounty hunters and Jedi is way more fun than anyone expected.  The game is way easy, catering to gamers of all ages and skill levels, but the spirit of Star Wars is gloriously thick in this mash-up of the two trilogy titles.

7 - Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (N64)

The first 3D console interpretation of the saga featured a new baddie in Prince Xizor, a new hero in Dash Rendar and more variety of gameplay than any other game on the list.  Sure, the camera sucked and the save feature was problematic, but so many gamers have nothing but fond memories of the classic Battle of Hoth and the Boba Fett battle that this one had to be on the list.

6 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Xbox)

The sequel to BioWare's seminal RPG may not pack the emotional punch that the original's story held, but the cinematic combat, superb voice-acting and open-ended gameplay make this one of the best role playing games of all time

5 - Super Empire Strikes Back (SNES)

Going old school here.  Super Empire Strikes Back may have an awful title, but this solid, challenging platformer was the first Star Wars console title that allowed you to use force powers.  Also, riding the tauntaun is awesome.

4 - Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (Xbox)

Lightsabers.  There's just no better way to destroy your enemies than with the legendary glowing blade of death.  The multiplayer is so good that after 4 years, there is still an active online community for this game.

3 - Star Wars: Battlefront II (Xbox)

Reenacting the classic large scale ground battles of Star Wars was done well with the original Battlefront, but this sequel's addition of space combat and "Hero" characters like Leia, Vader, Yoda and General Grievous propel it into the upper echelon of Star Wars games.

2 - Star Wars: Rogue Leader: Rebel Strike II (Gamecube)

With a tight storyline, varied mission structures and stellar gameplay, this space shooter might just be the best Gamecube title that doesn't include the word "Zelda".  More than any other game, Rogue Leader pushes the Gamecube's technical abilities to their absolute limits, making for one of the best looking games of its era.

and of course...

1 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)

Role-playing perfection in the Star Wars Universe.  The story is arguably better than anything that movies could offer and the ability to choose your own destiny through the light side/dark side mechanic made you feel that you were truly immersed in this new era of the  Star Wars timeline.  Add in deep, fascinating characters like Bastilla Shan, Darth Malak and Canderous Ordo, and you've got not only the best Star Wars game ever, but possibly the best RPG of all time.  Hell, it's probably one of the five greatest games of any kind ever.  Period.

So there you have it. One crazy Star Wars junkie's opinion on the best of the best in Star Wars games.  I can only hope that Force Unleashed is good enough to crack this list when it arrives next year.

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