Exciting multiplayer action makes up for dull single player modes.
Graphics: The characters are portrayed as they appear in the Clone Wars TV series, which is not a bad thing. The levels in the game look really good, and its really exciting to duel on a sphere while its falling down to the surface of the planet. The cut scenes in between the campaign missions are from the Clone Wars movie and TV series, and they look really good. Overall, Lightsaber Duels has a nice graphical presentation. 7/10
Controls: These are a little rough. You play with the Wii Remote attached to the Nunchuck. To swing your lightsaber, simply swing the Wii Remote in the direction you wish to swing. This sounds simple enough, but the controls are not always responsive, and don't feel as smooth as they should be. In particular, the stab attack is very difficult to use with these controls, since you must thrust the Wii Remote forward to use it. Parrying with these controls is an even greater challenge. That being said, the Force based attacks controlled by the Nunchuck perform fairly well. 6/10
Game play: As with most fighting games, your objective is to run opponent's life bar down to zero. You attack using combos specific to each character, and use the Force to perform smash attacks. What makes this game unique from other fighting games is when the two combatants lock sabers. At that point, one of three minigames will take place, with the winner gaining an advantage in the fight. These minigames are fun at first, but they get really old really fast. The playable characters are from the Clone Wars series, and they each have their own unique abilities. For instance, Ahsoka Tano uses her speed to land fast combos, while General Grievous uses brute force to overpower his enemies. However, there are only 10 playable characters, and you have to unlock most of them. For game modes, there is a single player campaign mode in which you simply run through a rough story line, switching between Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka. You simply have to beat this mode to unlock a large chunk of the characters, and there is no reason to return to it afterwards. In addition, there is a challenge mode, where each character has his/her own missions. You clear them by defeating your opponent and satisfying all other objectives, which vary from executing a certain number of combos to destroying dragon teeth. Again, the only real reason to play this mode is to unlock the other characters. However, this game really shines in its multiplayer mode. The game play is no different from the single player modes, but fighting another human is much more exciting than fighting an average AI. The unpredictability in multiplayer matches is enough to keep the game fresh for a while. 7/10
Sound: The sound effects are what you would expect from a Star Wars game. You simply cannot go wrong with lightsaber sounds. The clashing from your Wii Remote speaker is a really cool effect. The characters are voiced by the same actors who play them in the series, which is good. However, the characters are always talking, and can become very annoying after a while. The music is also from the TV series, and while its not the John Williams score we all know and love, it still applies well to this game. 7/10
Overall, if you are a Star Wars fan looking to swing the Wii Remote like a lightsaber, this game is for you. This game is certainly an enjoyable experience for Star Wars fans (like myself), but others may quickly become frustrated by the unreliable controls and the shallow single player. Still, this is a great Star Wars multiplayer experience on the Wii that is worth a rent for serious Wii gamers.
Overall grade: 7.0 / 10