Lethal Alliance is one of the Star Wars games that aren’t about massive clone/droid armies, Jedi(s) and the Force. No, we have a change of flavor, this time being a bounty hunter. This isn’t really a bad thing. Lethal Alliance has very good ideas and could’ve been a Top 25 action game on the DS platform, but its short adventure really brought down its stock. This sums up to a solid, yet unspectacular third person shooter that won’t be winning any Grammies.
Story: You play as Rihanna Saren, a Twi-Lek bounty hunter who is out for the booty. During her escapades, she frees a drone called Zeeo, who would follow her around on her missions from now on. Impressed by the skills of the new dynamic duo, the Rebel Alliance decided to pay her to help bring home the plans of the Death Star, as well as other tasks to halt the Imperial war machine. Of course, Rihanna is not out there just to do what the rebels want. She is also out there to get Zarien Kheev, her former slavemaster and the one who had cut off one of her lekku.
Although the plot could smoothly carry the game along, we have very little info on both Rihanna and Zeeo. A back-story about both those characters would be very useful, although that is provided in the instructions manual.
Gameplay: The game is broken into many different activities. Although you would be blasting mercenaries, droids and later Storm Troopers, you would also be doing some platforming, racing levels and puzzles.
Speaking of blasting enemies, the gunplay is mediocre at best. Although you could switch between 5 weapons, the controls in combat could feel a little sticky and limiting. You auto-lock on an enemy and just fire at it. Though it helps, your movement gets mitigated and you end up circling around your foe.
Thankfully, that’s the only thing wrong about the gameplay. Lethal Alliance excels in all other aspects. For one thing, the semi co-op of Rihanna and Zeeo works very well. During battle, Zeeo could help by creating a shield, distracting the enemy, or by lifting to the opponent and let you stab on it with your Ryloth Thorn (melee weapon). As the team keeps fighting, an Alliance meter starts filling up. The more filled up the bar, the stronger the duo becomes as a team. Soon you could unleash the Dual Cannon, a weapon that 1-hit-KOes anybody in the battle.
In some parts of the game, you would need to control Zeeo. You control him with the touch screen and you maneuver around without getting caught by enemies. You could then hack into devices, open gates and control suicide droids. While they are short, these parts are interesting and it compliments the running and gunning part of the game.
If you think that’s all you’re doing, then think again. Lethal Alliance also lets you do a lot of platforming, racing levels and puzzles. The puzzles are worth mentioning because they are very unique and challenging. And if you fail on them, the Alliance Meter starts to dwindle, giving you an incentive to not screw up.
So overall, Lethal Alliance feels like a polished gem, with its good combat system complimented by well-designed puzzles and platforming. In fact, it’s so good, it alone might give you some incentive to replay the adventure all over again.
Presentation: Lethal Alliance looks great by DS standards. The character models, while not the best in terms of animation (besides Rihanna and Zeeo), are still impressive. You would be going around an awful lot of places, from Coruscant, Tatooine, Mustafar and later the Death Star. Although there is a lof of metal, the backgrounds look very different to one another and they too look impressive.
The soundtrack of the game is comprised of moody, calm of the storm, and typical Star Wars melodies. They are serviceable, although they keep looping and can soon be boring. There is also little voice-work, and the things you would only hear are Zeeo’s bleeps, Rihanna’s grunts, and screaming Storm Troopers.
BARs (bonuses, alternatives, replay value): The story mode lasts for about 6 hours, which is just enough for an adventure shoot-em-up like Lethal Alliance. However, the second buzzkill of the game (the first being the wonky targeting system) is that there is very little in store after you’ve finished the story.
Sure, the racing levels are unlocked, but they can be finished in a heartbeat. Sure, there are 3 multiplayer games, but I don’t like them for 2 reasons. First, they aren’t that impressive. And second, it doesn’t really fit. I mean, Lethal Alliance is about the adventures of Rihanna and Zeeo, and the multiplayer games feel more like a throw-in, rather than a legitimate addition. The thing that could help in this department is most definitely a stage select mode (besides racing levels)
Overall: Chris Watters of Gamespot made a point when he reviewed Watchmen: The End is Nigh. He said that it’s all about expectations, and I think I’ll apply the same concept here.
If you want varied, diverse and non-repetitive gameplay, this is a game worth considering to pick up. People who want pure and polished shooters should go look elsewhere, because the god-damned targeting system can really get in the way of things. But even with the mediocre gunplay, the game is still very much playable; It’s just too bad that it’s really short. So overall, this game is more serviceable as a rental.
Story: 3/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Presentation: 4/5
BARs: 2/5
Overall: 13/20 (3.25 stars, or around 3.5 stars)