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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Published: Wed 10 Dec, 2008 | On:

As children, it was always common for us to indulge in exceptionally noble (or destructive) fantasies. Seeing ourselves cut through squads of plastic armoured soldiers, or pretending to shoot our way through a bar shouting “peow peow!” with our fingers pointed…is an incredibly sad dream, but that’s okay, because it was Star Wars. The latest addition to the series, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, is courteous enough to let you do half of the above, in the guise of Darth Vader’s young apprentice…who seems to like holding his lightsaber toward his behind. With the hopes of many a virgin nerd on its back, this new Star Wars title has a lot to live up to, and as it turns out, is a decent entry in the Lucasarts franchise.

One of the main draws of the game is being able to do anything to anyone with the force, so I’ll try to resist mentioning Michael Jackson. The abilities you have are incredibly overpowered, but that’s not a bad thing. Starkiller (the apprentices’ name), will casually crush Imperial walkers using the force, take on some rather large, green creatures and even cripple a Star Destroyer. Such abilities are not exclusive to special occasions however, as the Apprentice can share the love with more common folk as well. There comes a cruel kind of satisfaction with picking an enemy off his feet, jolting him with Sith lightning and throwing him into a steel pole. The targeting reticule which helps you do this though can be inconsistent, and sometimes frustrating. In some cases the game will lock onto something you don’t want it to, and fight for control of the camera. Helping to dilute this though, is the Euphoria engine, which causes the AI to grab hold of objects when they’re afloat and actively search for things to hold onto, which adds a nice touch of realism.

As you would hope, your force powers can be upgraded. The system for doing this however, is rather archaic. As you defeat more enemies, you obtain more points towards buying new combos, abilities or improving your attributes. It’s a shame it’s so basic, because while you have these great force powers at hand, the progression system behind them is uninteresting, and ultimately, falls short of originality.

Thankfully the visuals themselves do not follow the upgrade system. The amount of detail in the characters is rather impressive, especially during cutscenes. The textures are good, but you will find the occasional wall that looks slightly flat. Speaking of flat, I couldn’t help shake the feeling that Darth Vader’s helmet looked out of place and well…physically flat. Something that does look right though, is the art style, which the developers obviously paid a considerable amount of attention to. Looking at the background environments is very pleasing, even if you can’t interact with them. The worlds look vibrant, and do justice to the rich universe Star Wars is known for.

All would be Christmas at Grandma’s had the level design not been poorly done. Not only will you find average, uninspired environments, but you will see them often too. There isn’t anything in particular that stands out about any one level, because really all your doing is going through a bunch of corridors, and going outside on occasion. Even when there is variety, the linear design of the levels spoils any creativity that could have been had. Sure the artistic direction is great, but I want to be able to explore more than just a straight line, which unfortunately, still doesn’t lead to Grandma’s…

As you tend to find with reviews, there’s never a happy ending, which might explain why some of us are so depressed. If there’s one thing I’ve learned though, it’s that repetition is not a good remedy. The issue lies mainly with lightsaber combat, which for all its nostalgia, doesn’t seem to impress in this game. Fighting normally consists of repeated combos being mashed over and over again. People will likely just find a button sequence they think is good, and stick largely to that for much of the game. The only reason you might use another combo, is to satisfy that part of you that isn’t so cheap, and in the end, find that it has virtually the same effect anyway. This is only worsened by the boss battles, which follow a formulaic design. Its simple, discover the puzzle to beating a foe, and do that three times. It’s a mechanic that has become the staple of movie-licensed video games, projects known for their minimum development time and possum piss execution. So why is it in here?

If it wasn’t for the story, I would be hard pressed to recommend this game to anyone. It’s a good thing then that the narrative is of a high quality. What you’ll find here is a plot far more intriguing than the prequel trilogy, and perhaps even worthy of the originals, or close. I won’t spoil anything for those of you who haven’t played it, but there are a fair number of twists that any fan of the films will gladly enjoy. Too bad its only lasts six hours…

The Force Unleashed could have set a new standard for manliness. Being able to use the force in fun and refreshing ways is a very enjoyable experience, and the story is one you’ll remember. It’s a pity that outdated ideas and repetitious design prevent the game from being something better. Most likely, many of you will want to play it for the story, and for that, you should. However if Star Wars doesn’t really ‘flow through you’ then I would recommend going for something different, just as long as it doesn’t make you depressed…