Lenovo Star Wars Jedi Challenges, we tested augmented reality challenges

Become a Jedi. In the real world . Lenovo Star Wars: Jedi Challenges is a gaming system that combines the real and the digital. A look at the future of entertainment in the years to come. To play these challenges, augmented reality glasses, a lightsaber and a beacon are combined to calculate the space and be able to show enemies and allies in your room.

Lenovo Star Wars: Jedi Challenges has three types of game: one of fighting with your lightsaber, a kind of virtual chess and a war strategy game in which troops are managed and battles are fought against the dark side.

The price of the Lenovo Star Wars: Jedi Challenges is 200 euros . I have had the opportunity to test the way of the Jedi. These are my impressions.

Lenovo Star Wars: Jedi Challenges Datasheet

And how does this system work?

But first things first. How does the Lenovo Star Wars: Jedi Challenges gaming system work? If you have ever played Pokémon GO, you will already know the mechanics of augmented reality . In this mobile game that became a real hit, we could hunt these friendly beings in the real world. In this case, they appeared through the mobile camera itself in the most unexpected places.

Lenovo Star Wars repeats the same mechanics but with the reinforcement of augmented reality glasses . After installing the mobile inside the glasses, the vision of the real world is mixed with superimposed images of the game.

Such glasses are combined with two elements. On the one hand, a position marker to be placed on the ground - taking care that there is not enough space around it to not carry anything ahead of us. On the other, the handle of the lightsaber that we will use to fight enemies during the game.

Both the sword and the beacon have an LED light that is used to calculate the position of the virtual images. Keep in mind that the installation process of this game can be somewhat cumbersome. It is not only to turn on the sword and now, you have to go through several previous steps.

The longest of all is the installation of the app itself. You will need to have a good amount of free disk space. And time. Only the installation file is about 1 GB, but there are also updates that are installed after opening the app and that can take about 15 minutes. You know, patience is part of Jedi training.

By the way, keep in mind that the app has a profile for the screen of a handful of mobiles. If your mobile is not among those chosen, you will have to choose a profile that is as close as possible. This is key to having a better gaming experience.

3 types of game: fight, chess and military strategy

The Star Wars Jedi Challenges comes with three different game types. It is a way to bring a bit of versatility to this bet, although it is evident which is the star mode.

Fight

The quintessential mode. This is where you will put your skills with the lightsaber to the test . Through this game you will face all kinds of enemies, increasingly fearsome. Once you power up your saber, you will see a bar of light appear that extends beyond the physical saber. And that it will move in the same direction as your movements.

Thanks to this, you will be able to reject the laser shots of robots and enemies of all kinds that will appear in waves. Also, at the end of each level you will face one of the "bad endings" from the Star Wars movies. In this mode the movements are more choreographed, you have to place the saber at the right time to defend yourself from the attacks. And make concrete moves with it when the opportunity to counterattack opens.

As you progress, you will also have available a series of special powers typical of a Jedi, such as the ability to push enemies.

There are times when this experience is truly immersive. The feeling of returning the laser bullets and splitting robots in half is very rewarding. But you also have to keep in mind that it is not a perfect system. There are times when the calibration of the sword is lost, and it must be straightened again (there is a dedicated button on the sword for this). The problem comes when we duel with one of the bad endings. In this case the movements are more frantic and you will probably have to center the sword on multiple occasions.

In short, you will feel like a Jedi at times, but in others you will notice the path that this type of proposal still has to go.

Chess

The second type of game is something like virtual chess. Of course, with an oval game board in which different creatures and robots fight. Each of the characters that participates in this game has a different life, hitting capacity and movement points. So knowing well the characters you are going to use is essential to win the challenges. For example, there are huge spiders that can move up to four squares, but have low health and attack. Or, on the contrary, true moles that are resistant and do a lot of damage, but have little movement.

The dynamics of the game consists of directing your eyes towards the creature you are going to use, pressing on the button of the lightsaber and then indicating the square towards which you want it to march. It is a fun game but with simple dynamics, which can feel repetitive quite quickly.

Tactical battles

I find this third way more interesting. According to our Jedi trainer, to develop leadership capabilities. As a fan of classic strategy games like A ge of Empires or Medieval: Total War, I was immediately dazzled by this mode . In it, the ground becomes the battlefield. You are separated by a line between your terrain (where you can launch troops) and the enemy terrain. In addition, there are different elements within the battle such as buildings that are part of the game.

The strategy consists of knowing how to deploy troops and combat units (such as turrets) well. You also have heroes like Luke Skywalker who can make a difference in battle. The deployment is done in the same way as in galactic chess. Another aspect that we liked is that you can send the turrets to fire at a certain area or point.

Honestly, it is a pleasure to see how the troops invade the floor of your living room . I found it to be a very fun way that is challenging. Of course, if you do not like the strategy as in my case it can be a bit overwhelming and we must not forget that the handling is more complicated than in the PC with mouse and keyboard.

Augmented reality glasses and autonomy

If you have previously used virtual reality glasses such as the Samsung Gear or a similar one for Android, you will know the main pros and cons well. And although in this case we are not talking about virtual reality but augmented reality, we continue to use a mobile that is the one that must be inserted into the glasses.

This has an important but. The weight of the glasses is noticeable when you insert the smartphone (even when it is thin), and it shows after playing for a while. In addition, you depend on the mobile battery itself and it overheats after a few minutes. Therefore, the normal thing is that the battery drains faster and that you even have to take the occasional pause for the smartphone to cool down.

Regardless of the weight, the glasses are well made with a strap that fits behind the head and has a good fixation. To see the images well it is important to have little light in the room , although I have tried to play with the room lit and it is also feasible (although spectacularity is lost).

As for the beacon and the lightsaber, they give for a few hours of play and that is excellent news. These gadgets work on batteries.

Price and conclusions

The price of the Lenovo Star Wars: Jedi Challenges is 200 euros. A high price for a single game system, so clearly it is geared towards true fans of the Star Wars saga. It is not the perfect gadget, but it allows you to feel in many moments like a true Jedi. And kill your enemies with your saber.

Among its main advantages:

-The feeling of becoming a Jedi in your living room

-How spectacular it is to wave a lightsaber, even if the blade is virtual

-The tactical battle mode. It is a real delight to see your troops move through a virtual battlefield

-Good autonomy of lightsaber and beacon

Points to improve:

-The weight of the glasses makes it uncomfortable after a while playing

-Its price makes it a very focused system on Star Wars fans

-Mobile can overheat

-Some movements still need to be polished and the response of the saber is not always perfect