Get Your Star Wars Gaming Fix With Namco's New Star Wars: Battle Pod

We've waited too darn long for truly immersive new Star Wars video game, but that wait is finally over with the release of Namco's Star Wars Battle Pod, an arcade game that gives users an incredible cinematic gaming experience.

Star Wars Battle Pod is the first new Star Wars arcade game in years, but this is no ordinary gaming experience. Gamers sit in a semi-enclosed arena with a domed screen that almost entirely surrounds them, but it's the 5.1 surround sound, in-seat vibrations and synchronized blasts of air that help to make this a truly immersive experience.

Gameplay allows users to pilot a number of iconic craft from across the Star Wars universe, including the Millenium Falcon, X-Wings and TIE Advanced Fighters. The backdrops to the missions are just as recognizable as the vehicles used to navigate them; Hoth and the Death Star are arguably the most iconic, and many of the storylines from the game are lifted directly from the movies.

Star Wars Battle Pod arrived in US arcade arenas this past weekend, and while it is no replacement for Battlefront 3, it will certainly make the wait a little less excruciating.

Warning: This GoPro footage of the gameplay experience will undoubtedly make you motion sick, but it does give a good idea of how immersive the experience is.