Review: Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures

While Star Wars fans anxiously await the release of Bioware’s Star Wars MMO Old Republic, Sony Online Entertainment has released their own browser-based MMO titled Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures. Based on the hit animated television series, Clone Wars Adventures is aimed at a younger audience, offering family-friendly environment while at the same time offering up a large variety of arcade-style games. While this isn’t a traditional MMO, Clone Wars Adventures delivers a stellar set of mini-games to go along with some nice social interaction, not to mention the appeal of having content updated to coincide with the new episodes of the television show.

While the Clone Wars Adventures world isn’t going to be full of quests, it is a lively environment. You can wander around the world interacting with other players, go to different areas like the Jedi quarters and the War Room, and even customize your own house where players can hang out and where you can also show off all your trophies earned in the various games. As much exploring as you can do this game is essentially about the various games you can play. While most of them don’t pit you directly against another player, a few offer some excellent multiplayer action. Best of all, every time you play a game you’ll be earning credits to customize your character via the in-game store. Oh, and for the parents out there, some of these games might actually be teaching your kids something (but don’t tell them, because they’ll never play it again if they think they are actually learning from a video game).

The arcade-style games featured in Clone Wars Adventures can be broken down into various categories: puzzle, shooter, strategy, action, and racing. Most of the games can be controlled simply with the mouse, but a few will require you to use the arrow keys or both the mouse and the “wasd” keys to move your character. Some games can be quite simple, but most will get pretty tricky as you move to more difficult levels. For those who have been playing browser-based games for a while now, most of the games will be very familiar to you. This isn’t a bad thing but a lot of the games found in Clone Wars Adventures are variations of those flash games with a Star Wars theme. But really that’s the appeal of this game, the ties to the television show. The voices are from the show, the characters from the show can be found in the game, and there are a few games that will update to coincide with the new episodes. For instance the Republic Defender game, a tower defense game, features some of the bigger battles seen in the show and was recently updated to include Grievous’s attack on Kamino that was in episode 2 of the new season. Words can’t express how awesome this is, I would have loved to have had something like this for my favorite shows as a kid. There’s also a Daily Trivia game that will test your knowledge of the series, I’m sure nerds of all ages won’t be able to resist that game.

There are 17 games to play with a few more that are daily activities that net you a random amount of credits. Most of the games won’t be too challenging for the older audience but a few of them that might appeal to that crowd are Republic Defender, Lightsaber Duel, Droid Programming, Infiltration, Blaster Training, Saber Strike, Speeder Bike Racing, and Starfighter. Droid Programming and Infiltration are puzzle games while the rest of them are more action-oriented. Starfighter is a vertical scrolling flight game and Blaster Training will test your aiming ability in a shooting range environment. Lightsaber Duel and Republic Defender are the two that I enjoyed the most. It’s hard not to enjoy a well-developed tower defense game like Republic Defender, and Lightsaber Duel offers the best multiplayer action. In Lightsaber Duel you go head-to-head with another player or the computer and you are asked to hit a series of buttons to attack. Using the arrow keys only, you have to hit that combination the fastest and if you make a mistake you’ll have to start over. Each difficulty will add more commands to the combo and will also make it more intense. I’ve had games where it came down to the third and final round. This game not only offers the best multiplayer action but it’s a Lightsaber duel that has some really nice fighting animations to go along with it. Sadly, there are only a few games that pit you in direct competition with another player. Most are simply Leaderboard battles and for the competitive type that’s all you need, but hopefully as the game progresses we’ll see more direct competition.

While this game is free to play, there are things that you can’t do unless you have a Jedi Membership. Certain stages of games can’t be played, certain games can’t be played, and there are items in the shop that are only for Jedi Members. If you want the most out of the game you’ll have to dish out $5.99 a month, not too bad at all considering the amount of games and customizations you get. It’s worth noting that the harder levels, the ones that the older audience would be interested in, do require you to have a Jedi Membership. Kind of disappointing. That said, there is still a lot to like about Clone Wars Adventures, even on the free-to-play level.

What parents will probably like most about this game is that it is geared towards children. There are a lot of tutorials for each game and most games start off very easy to give the player a good understanding of the game before they progress into more difficult sections. You can make friends with anyone in the game and interact with them in the game but there is a very strict filter so parents don’t have to worry about their kids being exposed to profanity. The various games can also help kids with their cognitive thinking and their typing. Most of the arcade games will require players to strategize, concentrate on more than one thing at a time, test their memory skills, and think in ways that they probably wouldn’t be if they were playing a different game. Just like how I learned how to type in school, but much much cooler, Clone Wars Adventures features a game called Star Typer, in which you are in control of a ship and to take out the clone army you have to type the correct word or letter. Unlike for me where I had these lame games of popping balloons as they fly up the screen, kids now have an awesome Star Wars themed game that will teach them how to type. Clone Wars Adventures is perfect for kids, especially those who love the show, and all you parents out there won’t have to worry about them playing it so much because they are actually learning something.

Clone Wars Adventures is definitely a game made for Star Wars fans and fans of the show, but I think there are a few games here that will appeal even to those who aren’t a fan of the franchise. There is a lot to like in this free-to-play browser game. The level of customization, the amount of games, and the level social interaction is amazing considering that it’s a browser game. It looks good, too; they definitely didn’t slouch on the graphics. It also has trophies, and you can show them off to everyone in your trophy room (and I think we all know how much nerds love them some achievements). Clone Wars Adventures is a fun game for all ages; it’s perfect for those who are fans of the show and even better for parents who want to their kids to gain something from playing video games. Everyone should at least give it a shot, since it’s free, whether or not you feel the need to pony up the $6 a month is up to you.

Be sure to check back with us next week for my top 5 list of best games in Clone Wars Adventures.

Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures
PC
	Publisher: Sony Online Entertainment Developer: Sony Online Entertainment Genre: Action Release Date: September 15, 2025 MSRP: Free-to-Play, Optional: $5.99 a month ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Rebel Defender and Lightsaber Duel are great games. - Authentic music and it has voices from the show. - Keeps up to date with the television Show. - Great game for kids.	Doin’ It RONG: - Very few “true” online games. - Some higher difficulty levels only available through Jedi Membership - Occasionally will get laggy. - Some of the better items can only be purchased with Sony currency or Jedi Membership.
FINAL SCORE: 8 / 10