Lightsaber Escape – the best The Force Awakens free time leech

There is only one thing better than having a trusty blaster at your side, perhaps a weapon of a more civilised age? How does being stuck aboard a Star Destroyer, with Stormtroopers coming at you with only a lightsaber between you and certain death (if the Stormtroopers have sorted their aim out by now)?

That’s the situation in which you find yourself in Google’s new, must-play Star Wars  game called ‘Lightsaber Escape’ built for the Google Chrome browser.

I must say, I managed a minute-or-so before setting off for work this morning and it is pretty cool.

The game turns your phone into your trusty lightsaber, while you fight the bad guys who appear on your computer screen.

Thanks to the involvement of Lucasfilm and Disney, it looks and sounds great. It’s a great way to work out some of that pre-The Force Awakens excitement before going to see it later this week.

Google calls it a “Chrome Experiment,” or a fun technical showcase, like when it made an interactive map of Middle-Earth for “The Hobbit.”

The way the game works is simple. Load up the game on your desktop PC or Mac, via the Chrome browser. Then, it gives you a web address to load on Google Chrome for your iPhone or Android phone.

After a quick calibration, your phone becomes your trusty lightsaber. Wave it around, and your on-screen Jedi matches your movement. If your sound is on, your phone makes the lightsaber’s signature hum and clashing noises – to be honest, it’s worth doing just for that. Much better than having a saber blade appear on your Facebook profile pic.

You get a quick tutorial, and then the Stormtroopers come for you in earnest. When the Stormtroopers fire their blasters, it’s your job to deflect them right back until you’re the last Jedi standing.

Just remember that when the game is over, your phone isn’t a lightsaber anymore.

It’s still okay to make the sounds yourself, though. You’re never too old, right?