Unless you've spent the last year frozen in carbonite (darn that Jabba), you undoubtedly know what galaxy-shaking event next week holds: the release of The Phantom Menace computer games. Oh yeah, there's that movie thing, too. But why waste your time watching the action on the movie screen when LucasArts is going to give you the chance to be a part of the action on your computer screen? While the imminent release of The Phantom Menace games are still a few days off, there's plenty of Menacing action to be had on the Internet with everything from Phantom Menace demos to Phantom Menace screensavers, all yours for the downloading. Phantom Gaming Previews Your first stop on your gaming sojourn to a galaxy, er, URL far, far away is the Official LucasArts website, which will bring you up to speed on both Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace game, an adventure title based on the movie, and Star Wars: Episode I Racer game, a breakneck game of high speed based on the pod-racing sequence in the movie. Both of these games are slated for release the same time as the movie, so after you've seen the flick, you can go straight to Babbage's and blow more money. Here you can read about the features of each game and see screenshots of them as well, although to be honest, there are far better resources on the Web if you really want to find out more. GameCenter has an excellent preview of both titles with several pages and many more screenshots devoted to both games. For the best look at both these titles, however, you're going to want to head over to GameSpot and check out the huge amount of information they have devoted to both Phantom Menace and Star Wars Racer. But the ultimate information source for the Phantom Menace titles is Molding The Myth: Behind the Scenes of TPM Games. This absolutely incredible look at the making of games and the film as well is a must read for gaming and Star Wars fans alike. Phantom Gaming News If you simply must follow the progress of the Star Wars games on a day-to-day basis, be sure to check out JediKnight.net, which is the ultimate repository of everything Star Wars (gaming, that is). From Phantom Menace (the movie) news to the latest patches to Star Wars games, it's all here. And while not as slick or as deep, Lucas Games offers plenty of info on all LucasArts games, including those devoted to the Star Wars Universe. Not The Only Jedi In The Galaxy But Phantom Menace and Star Wars Racer aren't the only titles slated to be released this year based on the movie, just the only ones set to be released simultaneously with the movie. LucasArts has said that there are at least two other games that could have been released as well this month, and more titles are slated to be announced at E3. But one title we know of for sure is Star Wars, Episode I: The Gungan Frontier, which sees you constructing and managing an ecosystem straight out of the Star Wars, Episode 1 universe. But the best part is that a demo of this game is already available online for both the PC and the Mac. So what are you waiting for? More Phantom Goodies Even if you're not a gamer, there are a few non-gaming computer goodies for us Phantom Phans. Check out the Phantom Menace Screensaver, which slowly cycles through images from the teaser trailer for The Phantom Menace. And if you're into MP3, you'll want to download Phantom Sonique, a special edition of the popular Sonique MP3 player, designed to reflect the style of The Phantom Menace. Brush Up On The Classics But before there was a Phantom Menace movie, there was Star Wars, a modest hit in its own right. And naturally there were many award-winning LucasArts games based on the well-known world of Luke and Leia. If you haven't yet experienced the fun to be had with those titles, be sure to check out Hotfiles' special section devoted to Star Wars games demos, with such gems as Jedi Knight, X-Wing Alliance, and even the questionable Yoda Stories. Hey, even George Lucas can make a mistake once in a while.