In my years of playing videogames, I've discovered one universal truth: games based directly upon movies are usually horrible -- unless they're related to Star Wars. Having never played a Star Wars game I didn't like, I inserted Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace into my CD-ROM drive with great anticipation. The result was the expected enjoyable 15 hours or so in front of my computer -- but not without a little disappointment. Overall, The Phantom Menace is a game that should entertain any fan of the film. I've had few gaming moments more exhilarating than those as Obi-Wan Kenobi, slicing my way through Battle Droids as I jumped about with moves reminiscent of Ewan McGregor's in the movie. At times I would even give the mechanical soldiers a good Force push to disable them for a while.

The ability to play as four different characters was also nice, though the double jumps and lightsabers of the Jedi are missed when you're Queen Amidala or Captain Panaka. Windows 98 live cd iso download windows 10. And I was especially impressed with the voice acting that, when it wasn't performed by an actual actor (i.e., Anakin Skywalker, Jar Jar Binks and Watto), often matched very well. While the game is primarily action-oriented, adventure aspects such as puzzles and interacting with others offer a sense of variety. The main adventure-based levels are those with Qui-Gon on Tatooine. He must find parts for Anakin's Podracer and then somehow gather some money to bet with Watto for the hyperdrive generator and the boy's freedom. Along the way, rogues will attack you and you'll even confront a couple of very powerful enemies (one for Jabba the Hutt's 'entertainment').

In a sadistic way, it's a blast to kill those you know you shouldn't. Does the 'whoop-tee-dee' of Jawas get on your nerves? Do you ever wish you could go on a Gungan killing spree? You can in The Phantom Menace. Sure, you won't last much longer after doing so, but it's still fun.

An especially ironic situation dealing with your bloodthirsty ways occurs when the future Darth Vader tells you that he won't help out a murderer. Though it does have its bright spots, the rushed production of the game to coincide with the May 19, 1999 release date of the movie really shows with The Phantom Menace. Several little annoyances hinder an otherwise wonderful game.

About once per level, for instance, Big Ape felt obligated to insert a nigh impossible jump. When are designers going to learn that this is NOT fun? All the jumps succeed in doing is increase the time you spend playing the game and frustrate.

Who enjoys this? I spent a considerable amount of time saving my game just before the jump, dying and then waiting a full minute for my game to load up again so that five seconds later I could die once more. This process would occasionally go on for as long as 30 minutes. Even the most Force-proficient being will have trouble. Speaking of the Force, each Jedi's use of it seems extremely limited.

Aside from the Force push, the Jedi mind trick, the double jump and the ability to wield a lightsaber, you wouldn't know that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are any more powerful than Captain Panaka and Queen Amidala. Apparently, Obi-Wan doesn't even have the power to make himself a trail through Naboo's forest to ease his following of Jar Jar Binks. And those jumps sure would have been a lot less frustrating if they had the power to leap as high as Obi-Wan did in the movie. Besides the frustrating leaps, many stages are not without other weaknesses in overall gameplay. One of the most common has to do with perspective, which often allows bad guys to attack from offscreen or at times when you can't even see yourself!