Star Wars: the Force Unleashed Reviewed

I don’t know about anybody else, but I have been waiting for this game since February last year. I’ve clung to every preview, trailer, gameplay video , and anything else ign, gametrailers, or lucasarts.com has spit out. Now that it’s out, and I’ve beaten both endings, does it live up to the hype?

Gameplay:

Force:

The whole point of TFU was, well, to unleash the force. You do so with your force powers, Force Push, Grip, Lightning, Repulse, lightning shield (which I found ridiculous and useless), and saber throw. While all these powers (save for Lightning Shield) were extremely powerful, some or just plain better than others. Near the end of the game, there are too many powerful enemies you can’t pick up with grip, or when you do pick someone up, you’re hit with some attack that stuns you so you can’t throw them around. Also, those same enemies that are too big to be picked up aren’t terribly affected by push, which renders the power kind of useless by the time you’re facing lots of purge troopers. It’s still good for shoving troopers to the ground or over ledges, but it hardly does any damage unless they’re throw hard into a wall. I found myself using force lightning way too much, especially against Purge Troopers (they’re droids). I’d shock them until my force ran out, run around till it recharged, and then go back for some more. Another point that bothered me was the absence of one too many force power favorites. I can understand the limitations of the PS3 and Xbox 360 controllers, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t find some way to switch a power through a button. My personal favorite from Jedi Knight 2 Jedi Outcast, was force pull. Nothing felt better than force jumping over a squad of stormies and yanking ‘em in the air so high they fell to their deaths. Mind trick is completely absent, as well as force heal or life drain or something like that. Still, I suppose that leaves something to be expected from the inevitable sequel.

Combat:

TFU essentially plays like a hack and slash. You’re given a health bar, and a force power meter, as you run around with a camera that floats over you (but not exactly over your shoulder) and you swing your saber and force powers to slaughter ever tangible thing in your way. Force regenerates slowly once you haven’t used it for a few seconds, and health is regained by defeating enemies. This is one of my biggest problems with the game. Any respected star wars fan knows that bacta is the galaxies medical miracle, and either a medkit with bacta or force heal should do the trick. Instead, glowing green balls come out of dead enemies, whether it be droid, vehicle or trooper, and replenish your health.
Combos can contain only saber attacks, or end it with a force push or lightning infused saber slash. Force powers like grip can also combine the use of push and lightning. Once an enemy is in the air, you can throw him away like a rag doll, either by using force push or flicking the stick in the direction you want to throw him, and letting go of the grip button, or you can zap him with lightning, and use your newly created lightning bomb against his allies. While this is amazing fun at the beginning of the game, once you start getting swamped with enemies on turrets, with repeaters, or Purge Troopers, it becomes insanely difficult to do this properly. You’re either barraged to the brink of death, since Starkiller just isn’t able to block any blaster bolts with efficiency, or you’re stunned and you drop your target. I eventually gave up and favored shocking people and then attacking them with my saber while they were stunned.

Still, I found the lightsaber combo system to be detrimental to the overall game, though necessary with the camera given. TFU has third person camera, though it is not over the shoulder, like in the jedi knight games. Because of this, the game favors an auto lock system for your force powers, where a bracket shows which enemy or object your powers will be directed at, and your saber combo moves in the direction you move your stick. This means you aren’t forced to commit to one enemy with your combo, but it’s still restrictive because if you’re stunned during your combo, you can’t reach the powerful, damage-dealing finale. Also, you’re unable to move quickly while attacking, so you become a sitting duck. I much prefer the third person over the shoulder camera from Jedi Knight 2 Jedi Outcast, because it gave you a good view of everything, but allowed you to direct your powers and attacks where you wanted. Because of that, it also had a lightsaber style system, where your swings changed based on the direction you moved in, but your movement was not hindered. Hopefully TFU will use this system in the next game, but I highly doubt it.

Pseudo- RPG elements:

I call these pseudo RPG elements because they’re sort of there, but not really followed through with. Each time you level up in game, you gain 3 ranking spheres. One for force combo, one for force powers, and one for force talents. You can also find ranking spheres in jedi holocrons, or gain them by completing a side objective. Combos are your light saber attacks, powers upgrades the power of your force powers, and force talents are your passive abilities, like faster force regeneration, or more health. You can upgrade your powers and talents as you wish, creating a character that suits your play style better, and purchase the combos you find more appealing. However, by the time I beat the game, I had a lot of force powers not upgraded to max, and talents were missing left and right, while combos had been finished a long time ago (I’ll take this time to mention none of the aerial combos were clear on how to initiate, so I gave up trying).

Also, there wasn’t any real indication of when you’d level up (at least none I could find), so it was more like a random treat I was getting, as opposed to something I was working really hard for and was waiting a long time. Also, I never knew what level I was, how much experienced I had, and there weren’t any stats like strength or speed that could be upgraded. I appreciated the ability to mold my character to my play style, but the combos really didn’t do that at all, and most of the force power upgrades were kind of lame. I think it would’ve been better if the game had just upgraded your powers as you progressed, or give you certain points you could align with your powers after missions (as per Jedi knight 2 and Jedi Academy, respectively).

Presentation:

Graphics:

I’m going to start off by saying TFU looks fantastic. Whether in game or a cut scene, the game looks stellar, especially thanks to many of the assets implemented in the game. DMM really adds realism to your affect on the world. Being able to bend blast doors open with your powers really looks amazing, but the engine is absent from most of the games objects. This is understandable because it would put quite a toll on your system if applied to everything, but it’s still disappointing. Euphoria also adds a nice touch, especially when your gripped enemies hold on to each other. Also, the use of this special camera system I don’t know what it’s called, that captures the voice actors face really helps lip synching. The lip movement in TFU is really good, especially for Starkiller.

Sound:

Again, spectacular. Whether the sound effects from in game, the sound track used ( which is obviously awesome because it’s star wars ) or the voice acting, there are no flaws. In particular, I was extremely impressed with Sam Witwer in the role of the secret apprentice (Starkiller). I found he was really good at getting the tone and emotion across, especially when he was angry or in pain.

Plot:

Another one of the big points of TFU was it’s plot. Lucasarts had already said that Starkiller’s role in the galaxy was pivotal, but I had my doubts, especially because George Lucas was directing it. BUT FEAR NOT! The plot was fantastic. I’m pretty sure the game leaves a lot out that maybe the book or comic books expand upon, but the parts you see are generally good. Also, Starkiller did play a pivotal role, while I expected it to just be something small made out to be big by lucasarts. Still, there are a few things that are questionable. The use of two different plots was kind of strange. The light side ending was obviously the canon for the history of star wars, which makes you wonder what the dark side ending served, other than to give you that costume (you get a costume for each ending once completed). However, they set up the dual ending very nicely. Dialogue was written carefully throughout the game, so Starkiller’s words could be seen in both lights, until you ultimately decide which way to go. I was particularly impressed with the plot, and am relieved to know that George Lucas can still create some good ideas. Sometimes…

Design:

Almost everything is amazing. Concept art, costumes, enemies, everything is insanely cool. However, level designed is quite repetitive, and not all that creative, and the SPOILER ALERT way you drag the star destroyer down just got annoying. Seriously needs some rethinking if they try to do the same thing in the inevitable sequel. Also, there are the same types of enemies, but with different skins over them that appear on several different levels. Not a big deal, but I thought it was kind of lazy of the designers.

Overall:

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is by no means a bad game. It delivers on solid gameplay (albeit a few too many bugs, whether minor or game stopping) , and coupled with excellent presentation, this game is really good. However, when compared to Jedi Knight 2, Jedi Outcast, arguably one of the best star wars games ever, the gameplay falters in a few aspects, giving it more of an arcadey feel to the game. As it’s own game, I give it a solid 7.8 out of 10, thanks to excellent presentation, and some interesting gameplay aspects, but when compared to Jedi Knight 2 Jedi Outcast (and this is my biased opinion) the game drops down to a 7.2. Even if it means not being able to combine force powers, shatter glass like glass, or look at jaw dropping visuals, the gameplay wins me over on Jedi Knight 2 Jedi Outcast. Remember, that’s completely biased of me, and shouldn’t stop you from trying this game out. I would suggest a rental though, as no multiplayer and a short 6-8 hour play through time make it not quite worth the 60 bucks you’d pay for it.