STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed -

Positives

A decent story that falls neatly between episodes III and IV of the Star Wars films.
Easy to pick up and play.
The Emperor and Darth Vader steal the show with some excellent voice acting.

Negatives

Enemy AI is either too easy or too hard, no happy medium.
The camera is horrible to work with in tight corridors.
There's a ton of cheap deaths here.

Full Review

Star Wars, as everyone knows, is one of the most successful franchises in history selling countless toys, hats, t-shirts and of course DVD sales spanning all the way back to the 70s, and Star Wars is still going, albeit not as strong. The videogames that have spawned from the amazingly popular franchise have always been hit or miss. For me, The Force Unleashed breaks this trend and falls somewhat in the middle.

Ignore the hype and ignore the aura that surrounds the name 'Star Wars' and what we get here is a title that has a mixed bag of talents. Some of which make the game amazing and easy to pick up and play and others are real game breakers and sour the whole experience.

The story follows Darth Vader as he trains a secret apprentice known as 'Starkiller' in an attempt to overthrow the empire and the emperor himself. What makes the story so good is that it falls neatly between Episode III and Episode IV of the films and the story feels like a natural progression. The voice acting is average at best with the real downer being Juno with her upper-class British voice that just feels oddly placed. Starkiller himself is another that, in my opinion, falls flat of the emotional response we should feel for him. That might sound unfair but I just didn't feel for him at all throughout the story.

The graphics throughout are good but the lighting effects are brilliant, reflecting the light brilliantly, none better so than on Darth Vader. The effects, as you might expect from Lucas, are spectacular with lightning and explosions by far the best of the bunch. The real meat of the game though, the game play, is where the game slices in half and leaves me with a very mixed opinion. I'll start with the positives before the negatives.

The game is structured as an over-the-shoulder third person action game with elements of RPGs thrown in for good measure. Starkiller is a brilliant character to control with agile moves and some excellent combos with his lightsaber. Blasting through the early levels really hammers home the feeling of being an all-mighty Jedi with Stormtroppers falling prey to an array of different powers. More powers are unlocked throughout the game so the array of powers never really get old and you'll find yourself experimenting throughout the linear levels with all the different ways of slaughtering your enemies.

The biggest problem with the game is the enemy AI. The range here is jaw-droppingly bad ranging from the dumb (enemies standing waiting for you to hit them) to the ridiculously tough. The enemies that are tough to take down are made harder by the fact that the spawn time for explosives are almost the same length of time for you to get back to your feet if you've been knocked down. What this means is that you can easily fall prey to the cheap-death syndrome and may find yourself spamming the jump button just to try and get away. The later levels are a real danger with frustrating enemies and the cheap deaths racking up tenfold, breaking the feeling of being a strong Jedi.

The triangle button initiates the lightning power, lightsaber attacks with square, jump with X and force push with the circle so all the powers are neatly arranged on the controller. However, each individual enemy has a certain way of killing them and bosses especially can turn into real downers with pressing certain buttons and jumping away and repeating for the duration of the battle. This can become really tedious really fast and coupled with the frustrating camera at times this can provide some really frustrating moments.

On the whole though, the RPG elements really help to alleviate the game with unlockable combos, powers, and health and force boosts unlocked through levelling up and then reaching the appropriate screen on the menu. Personally I felt the levelling up section took way too long to load up compared to other parts of the game so I found it better to save up lots of points before spending them.

The sound and music are spot on with familiar Star Wars tunes remixed slightly to fit into the atmosphere. The theme that surrounds Darth Vader is spot on and he, coupled with the emperor, really steal the show with some excellent voice acting and brilliant sound effects and music.

If you can get past the annoying AI of enemies and some really tedious boss fights, Force Unleashed is a solid game with some excellent ideas. The main being the feeling of being overpowered as a Jedi which really is what the game is all about. The early levels hit the right note while the later levels are frustrating and really tough. The story is what drives the game overall and although some of the game is really fun to play, others are tough and suck the fun out of the title which is a shame. The game has a lot of potential and what it does well it does fantastically but other elements really sour the title and make it a mediocre one overall. The game is worth a play but perhaps rent first to see if you like it.

Conclusion Scores

Graphics -

The graphics are average overall but the lighting effects are superb with accurate lighting effects on Darth Vader's suit being the main highlight.

Story -

This is what really drives the game. Falling between Episodes III and IV, Force Unleashed is a brilliant story that really helps to keep the player moving. Without which, the game wouldn't be as good as it is.

Gameplay -

Button mashing can become apparent in tight corridors, as can smashing the jump button after getting knocked down. The early levels are brilliant but the later ones are a chore to play through at times.

Trophies -

There's a good mix of trophies here but its unlikely you'll want to platinum this one after playing through it once.

Sound -

The Star Wars themes are all here but they've been remixed slightly to fit into the context of the story. The voice acting is good but some of the returning characters from the films don't have the right voice actor which could put some people off.

Lasting Appeal -

Although Force Unleashed is a good game with some excellent moments, the enemy AI and general toughness of the later levels will put a lot of people off from playing through it again.

Overall Score -

Force Unleashed is a mediocre title at best. Poor placed enemy AI, too evident button mashing and some dodgy camera work drag Force Unleashed down from the good title it could have been. The real highlight here are the early levels which are amazing to play through!

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