Star Wars Arcade Falcon Gunner is the latest game in the Star Wars franchise that is unique which features a style of game play that may have never seen before. It may be not exactly an all-time classic but it still is a pioneer in the genre of augmented reality gaming. In this game, you play as a gunner on the Millennium Falcon. There’s someone controlling the ship, and it’s you who need to fend of waves of TIE Fighters, Bombers, and Interceptors. You need to aim your iPhone, to use the laser cannon. When I say augmented reality, it means that it is a game where you need to hold your iPhone to feel just like you are holding an actual firing mechanism. If you need to aim your guns upward, you simply literally raise your iPhone upward and to fire downward you need to point your iPhone downward. Playing the game will give you a truly immersive experience, although it is not something recommended to play while you are on the bus – if you know what I mean.



Gameplay
The Star Wars Arcade Falcon Gunner is indeed an exciting iPhone game. I like the graphics, sound, controls and the gameplay. It is something new, when it comes to a Star Wars game. However, I did find a proble with its Compass Interference - method displaying onscreen. It sometimes refused to go away even if I am waving my iPhone 3GS in, and the interference message doesn’t pause the game. But then again, the augmented reality is very accurate, and it is fun and an effective way for you to shoot and fire. The game is divided into levels, and each of these levels has 3 waves. You need to survive all the 3 waves to get to the next level. You earn points and medals depending on your game’s performance. Overall, the Falcon Gunner is a lot of fun to play. It also comes with Game Center integration for its leaderboards though there’s no multiplayer mode. It is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, fourth-gen iPod touch, and the iPad.



Graphics
The Star Wars Arcade Falcon Gunner ‘s spacecraft graphics is OK and is on par with other Star Wars games like Star Wars: Trench Run. It is not that breathtaking though ships were accurately detailed. I must say that the most impressive aspect here in this category is the augmented reality.The game uses the real world as a backdrop and it actually works just as well as using the game’s backgrounds, with a game play that runs smoothly and easy to see. Moreover, there’s a few short clips directly from the movies that are also included.



Sounds/Music
In the Star Wars Falcon Gunner game, you will experience an all the classic Star Wars sound effects and soundtrack. It also comes with the classic music from the Star Wars films. While you’re in the battle, you will hear voice clips from Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Han Solo, R2D2, and C3PO which will give you feedback on how well you are playing. For me, the voice feedback is a cool touch, though it plays a little too often, which causes it to become repetitive pretty quickly which is kind of annoying since there is almost nonstop chatter while you are trying to survive or win the battle.



Conclusion
Overall, I give the game a rating for 4/5. I rated the game in 4 categories. When it comes to gameplay it’s OK, something new but still has some flaws. It also comes with decent game graphics which are fused well with live images from your own iPhone camera. I like the sound effects as well along with the music though voices need some tweaking. I must say that the implementation of augmented reality here really provides an immersive and unique gaming experience. Its overall gameplay pushed the game to a whole new level, it will give you a thrill of fighting epic space battles as you fight the evil and for sure the game will keep you coming back for more.

Star Wars Arcade Falcon Gunner
System : iPhone
Developer : THQ
Selling Price : $ 4.99