“There has been an awakening… have you felt it?”
Star Wars fans will indeed get to have their own awakening once they put on the Jedi Challenges augmented reality headset made by Lenovo and Disney come Nov. 3. Lenovo’s polished up the $199 headset and lightsaber motion-tracking and, wow, what a difference it is.
Forget all those robotic BB-8s and action figures every company under the sun is selling as we inch closer toward the The Last Jedi premiere. Jedi Challenges is going to be one of the hottest toys this holiday season.
SEE ALSO: Finally, you can lightsaber duel Darth Vader and Kylo ren in augmented reality
The last time we saw Lenovo’s headset was back at the end of August and it was an OK experience, but not amazing. The headset was difficult to see at the company’s IFA show floor booth and the lightsaber motion-tracking was wonky.
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The headset is light and comfy. IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
But first, a little about the setup process. The AR headset works with about a dozen approved smartphones, including the iPhone 6/6 Plus, 6S/6 Plus, and 7/7 Plus. iPhone 8/8 Plus support is coming and should be ready by launch. All of the most popular Android phones (think Samsung Galaxy S7 and newer, some of the higher end Motorola phones, and Google’s Pixels) are supported. You’ll have to check for compatibility, but I imagine many older devices with less powerful processors won’t work.
After popping your phone into the plastic tray and sliding it into the top of the headset, it’ll walk you through connecting the glowy motion-tracking beacon on the floor and then how to connect the lightsaber controller via Bluetooth.
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Supports about a dozen phones. IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
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Simply slip it in and then connect a cable to the headset.IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
It’s simple and straightforward and there’s no wires at all, which already makes the headset and controller a lot friendlier to pick up and play with.
The headset was as light as I remembered it and the head straps felt very secure. But most importantly, because the room I was in had black curtains hung up to block out ambient light, the augmented reality graphics were a lot sharper and clearer. At home, you’ll have to make the call to either use the headset in a darkened room or deal with the potentially dim visuals. Using the headset in a properly prepared environment changes everything.
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IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Naturally, I had to try the Lightsaber Battles mode again because that will be the mode Star Wars fans will love the most. In this mode, you can lightsaber duel with some of the most evil villains from the universe. I got to face off against a handful of villains including Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, and the Grand Inquisitor (from Star Wars Rebels), but I’ll spare you the full list because their appearances are a pleasant surprise.
There are three difficulty levels in Lightsaber Battles, and you can choose to fight in a survival-style mode where you have to deflect laser gunfire from battle droids and then hack them down with your lightsaber, or you can duel the villains.
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This real-time strategy style/tower defense game lets you place Clone Troopers, cannons, and even Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi on the AR battlefield to fend off battle droids. You use your lightsaber to select and place your troops.
It’s a neat little game and the motion-tracking beacon even lets you move around the field so you can see the battle happening from different perspectives. Similarly, you can move yourself closer into the action to see the action closer and enlarged. It was pretty neat and lends itself easily to sit-down style gameplay.
Arguably, the weakest of the experiences was Holochess. But I say weak only because it was a demo and there’s probably more depth to it beyond just moving monsters on a circular chess board and ordering them to attack other monsters.
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Source: Mashable