Star Wars Jedi Challenges doesn’t rely on virtual reality.
Instead, the setup built by Lenovo is actually based on Augmented Reality, or AR. That means instead of removing the world around you completely, it augments the world by putting characters and challenges in whatever space you may be standing in.
So in the case of this game, instead of transferring you to the moons of ender to do battle with Darth Vader, it puts Darth Vader inside your living room. Or in this case, the Esquire‘s office.
But let’s start at the beginning. Star Wars Jedi Challenges is a standalone game that makes use of four devices. You need the tracking device, the lightsabre as well as the headset. But you also need your phone.
Everything but the phone is included in the purchase, so you’ll need to be using a mobile that’s compatible with the Jedi Challenges app.
Setup is a tad tedious. You need to slop the phone into the headset, and then sync the headset with the lightsabre. The tracking device adapts well to both the floor and the table top, and while you won’t need a huge area to make it work, you’ll still need a decent-sized room for the projections.
So that’s all a bit clunky, but fortunately, the games themselves are quite a bit of fun. ‘Trial Of Combat’ is the biggest draw, letting you use the lightsabre to slash enemies, counter attacks and activate The Force.
When you face-off against the likes of Darth Vader, yellow lights on screen indicate how to hold your lightsabre, in order to block against his attacks.
Let’s be honest, it makes you look super silly when you’re playing it. But with the headset on, it all looks kind of amazing.
Lenovo has said that there will be other games and updates to Star Wars Jedi Challenges in future, however at 200 US dollars per device – precluding you already have the right smartphone – that’s quite a bit to ask for a single game.
But – for people who can’t wait to try augmented reality – or die-hard Star Wars fans, this will no doubt be a huge success.
