Review: Star Wars: Trench Run Blows Away The Dark Side — And Any Other iPhone Shooter I’ve Played So Far

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This is what you’re about to ask: Is Star Wars: Trench Run so good that it’ll have you wondering how magically your iPhone becomes an X-wing fighter? Answer: No. It’s better — it’s actually so good, you’ll be trying to figure out why your X-wing looks suspiciously like an iPhone.

Hit the game’s icon and you’re zoomed to the battle of Yavin, where Luke and company fought to destroy the Death Star. Fly straight into a dogfight, the trench run, or fight through the whole sequence of events, eventually blasting Vader’s ship of into space and launching photon torpedoes at the exhaust vent (which I haven’t gotten to yet).

There’s not a lot of thought going on here: just fly and blast; marvel in awe at how completely the game puts you in the movie, from the screeching TIE fighter sound effects to the way the targeting reticule glows when you should fire to John Williams’ stirring theme in the background.

Switch between third-person and cockpit views, try the slow-motion mode if you get into a bit of a pinch and upload your achievements to the great galactic scoreboard.

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This is a prime example of a simple, addictive, well-crafted game. THQ has produced an instant classic, and a game every bit worthy as a Star Wars title. The only thing lacking is a multi-player mode. What’s up with that, THQ?

If you’re a casual fan of Star Wars (and who isn’t) and you don’t mind becoming so addicted to an app on your iPhone that you’ll forget what day it is, you should get this game. But if you’re someone like my brother, who has a life-size poster of Luke Skywalker at his place, buying this $5 game should be the very next thing you do.

Red Leader, this is Gold Leader; we’re starting our attack run…

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