Lucasarts and Microsoft continue to tease Star Wars fans with ads about their upcoming Xbox game, Kinect Star Wars. The following, featuring Chris Pratt as Obi Wan, is the most recent one.
I wonder why Star Wars characters are depicted lately as silly, clumsy or even incompetent. Not long ago, Lipton launched a smartphone game called Brisksaber, which they advertised with an animated clip featuring a clownish Darth Maul. Frankly, the Obi Wan Kenobi from the following Kinect Star Wars ad is not far from that, either.
In the first seconds of the ad, Darth Vader welcomes Obi Wan to what seems to be their final confrontation. Not does only Obi Wan come in a hooded bathrobe instead of the classic outfit, but he also finds the sound made by the lightsaber while cutting the air terribly appealing. He starts rambling about how Darth Vader is now a master of evil. The lightsabers clash in what looks for a few seconds like a real swords fight. However, the childish Obi Wan gets a taste of inertia and centripetal force when he starts swinging the lightsaber helplessly in the air.
The Imperial Stormtroopers start gathering to watch the fight, while Obi Wan taunts Darth Vader, probably in an attempt to discourage him. After a few failed attacks, Darth Vader witnesses how Obi Wan vaporizes. The bathrobe falls to the ground, along with the lightsaber. The victor turns to the window to enjoy his accomplishment, but hears once again the lightsaber reactivated and turns around to see Obi Wan in an even more ridiculous outfit.
The final scene of the ad, with Chris Pratt… erm… I mean Obi Wan Kenobi holding a lightsaber while dressed only in his underwear, has a meaning that is completely unknown to me. It might suggest that Kinect Star Wars can be played from the intimacy of one’s home, while wearing any possible outfit or no outfit at all, for that matter. However, judging by the comments posted by Star Wars fans, the feedback is not entirely positive and some of them rightfully consider that their beloved characters are mocked. Until April, when the game will be launched and the true nature of the characters will be revealed, we can only hope that they are not like in this ad.
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