Star Wars (1977) has a complicated color theme going for its characters.
Darth Vader is a shiny black that complements the high-tech space station he’s riding around in, while his reclusive nemesis Obi-Wan Kenobi wears muted earth tones that reflect the gritty world of Tatoonie and the old way how things used to be.
Meanwhile, as a testament to his shifting allegiances, the scoundrel Han Solo is dressed in both black and white while his feral, guttural partner in crime Chewbacca is decked out in brown.
That may sound like a simple coordination of which character belongs to which side, but then there’s the problem of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and every Stormtrooper in the movie. Despite being mutual enemies, they are all unanimously wearing white.
Only the farmboy and the princess are colored white to match the same color scheme as the other main characters, leaving the indignity to Stormtroopers being colored white for the reason that it looks cooler when they get hit by laser fire.
Even though nothing will take the top spot away from zombies, Imperial Stormtroopers will forever remain an incredibly satisfying enemy to kill, and its color design may very well be the reason.
Sure, a uniform that reduces the soldier’s* humanity is useful for distancing ourselves from the tragedy faced by the Stormtroopers grieving families upon hearing upon their untimely deaths while on duty, just as a face mask that looks like a skull with angular features will get you deemed worthy of being on the business end of blaster.
However, even though white is symbolic for righteousness, as shown by this movie itself, it’s also the color best for staining with your enemies blood (figuratively in this case). Stormtroopers are basically bullet sponges for anyone in a starring role; they’re the absorbent roll of Bounty you reach for whenever there’s a spill of brightly-color lasers.
I was positive that as a (spiritual) rip-off of DOOM, Star Wars: Dark Forces could not possibly be as enjoyable as the former. And yet, shooting Stormtroopers is undeniably fun, much more fun than shooting their managers wearing those speed cycling helmets.
With the brutal violence absent, Star Wars: Dark Forces manages to transcend another missing element to DOOM—the shotgun—by supplying this Stormtrooper itch every player needs to scratch with a well-aimed blaster shot.
Even though isn’t up to par as a console port, the Playstation version of Star Wars: Dark Forces is still fun for providing this alternate way of enjoying the original trilogy.
It still makes no sense to me why someone would cosplay as a Stormtrooper. Once some fat Han Solo shows up, you have to pretend to get hit by his lousy aim. Because that’s your job, soldier.
* or clones, for all you people that paid attention to the prequels
How far I got in thirty minutes: I managed to snag the plans and make it back to my sweet space ride
The good: finally have an outlet to vent whenever someone calls me “Rebel scum”
The bad: the music is so intense, it makes getting lost in the map into a nerve-wracking experience
Will I play this game again once this year is up: I’m interested to find out what the hype is about this game, but I’m going to be disappointed if the Star Wars Universe is lacking a BFG
Days so far in Year of the Play-a-DayStation: 16
Play-a-Daystation 