Apparently Yoda wasn't too far off base when he stated that "begun, the Clone War has." So far it's been six years since the release of Attack of the Clones, and as time has proven, this game was just the tip of the iceberg that is the Clone Wars marketing dreadnaught.

The Clone Wars picks up right at the ending of the corresponding film, during the climactic Battle of Geonosis. As the game's plot progresses, a scheme involving a Confederate superweapon (no, not the Death Star) is uncovered. While initially original and refreshing, the plot elements soon become repetitive and overused, showing the first signs of the vaunted, near-legendary Clone Wars cow being milked to the point of induced anorexia.

However, if the plot lacks in originality or energy, the actual gameplay is nearly the opposite. The majority of the game is based on vehicular combat, allowing you to take control of Republic speeders or Confederate Hailfire droids, all in a fairly loose engine that allows for more fun than realism. Ultimately the selling point here is allowing the player to essentially recreate the Battle of Geonosis and have their fun.

Graphics in the game aren't what they could be, even given the GameCube hardware. It's obvious that ground textures are pixellated, and character models are relatively simple. With most of the game focused in vehicle-on-vehicle combat, hitboxes are about as inaccurate as possible; you're meant to be firing at a target a good four meters on a side in silhouette, not small, individual soldiers as would be the case in a first person shooter. As such, these are minor issues that don't generally present themselves whilst you are in the midst of larger-scale battle.

The game's soundtrack is decent, but there really isn't much to distinguish it. You have generic Star Wars sound effects such as lightsabers and laser turrets blasting away, and the recognizable voices of clonetroopers and battle droids alike. The combination of the deep bass of battle over the grand orchestra of Star Wars music provides the right feel for the game, but the music generally isn't original--most of it is recycled from the soundtracks of the first two prequel films.

At the end of the day, it's an okay game at best. It'll be nice to blow off a few hours and have some fun fighting to defend Geonosis; my personal favorite to pilot is the Hailfire tank. Perhaps the multiplayer shines more brightly than the campaign part of the game, but I have yet to find anyone who is significantly excited by it. It's a decent, but not great, expansion on the then-new Clone Wars label--evidently a sign of things to come, as the following spin-offs and expansions on the Wars were just as mediocre as this attempt.