Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
LucasArts
Lucasfilm, Disney
Initial Release Date: September 16, 2008
MSRP: $59.99
ESRB: T
God Of War Meets Star Wars? (Kind of)
There are a number of thrilling moments lurking in The Force Unleashed--enough of them that you'll likely be disappointed that it drifts so often from the things it excels at. Amazing displays of power and destruction are interspersed with inept, poorly conceived gameplay sequences, making for an inconsistent journey that, fortunately, gets more right than it does wrong. It certainly gives a fantastic first impression, starting with a tutorial level that serves as a great introduction to its complex protagonist. Yet while the initial levels impress, the later ones stumble a bit. Force Unleashed is a very good game that could have been great, had it not taken so many unnecessary detours. The fun wins out however, mainly because when it runs on all cylinders, you truly feel like a powerful Dark Jedi, using a variety of force powers and lightsaber slashes to rain death upon rebel and imperial foes alike. You can thank the game's robust physics engine for those thrills. The Force Unleashed back in 2008 was once a showpiece for LucasArts' tech combination of Pixelux's Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) and naturalmotion's Euphoria. DMM essentially gives objects real-world properties and Euphoria infuses AI with self-realization abilities, so enemies will attempt to grab onto objects when lifted and stabilize themselves when tripped or if the ground shakes or moves. It's very cool stuff when it works, but as destructive as you are, the tech doesn't get to spread its wings as much as we saw in something like Grand Theft Auto IV during that same year.
Unfortunately, developer LucasArts often fails to string these amazing moments together long enough to keep the momentum going. The impressive physics work does quite well in huge, open areas like a TIE Fighter facility. The action gets problematic at almost any other time, however, and the hyperactive physics become almost as much of a liability as an asset. This becomes more apparent as Force Unleashed's targeting troubles come more clearly into focus. The targeting is loose, which makes it incredibly easy to grab something other than what you intended, and even easier to throw it at something other than into its actual mark. In the most claustrophobic areas, this might mean flinging an exploding barrel into yourself, throwing it into nothing at all, or targeting a completely immovable item--which then begs the question why the game let you target it with force grip in the first place. And as is the case with many third-person action game cameras, getting in a smaller space means claustrophobic camera angles that cause you to lose perspective of the bigger picture. This is more of a problem here than in most games, though, because Force Unleashed chooses a target not based on the direction the player is facing via the camera, but which direction Starkiller is facing. That's fine in large environments, when there is more camera maneuverability. Otherwise, it becomes a frustrating paradox of ideas: In confined areas, Force Unleashed requires greater player precision, but makes it more difficult to be precise. As good as the game can be I also wish they could've done without the whole QTE quick time events, some of which really do feel like they're lifted straight out of God Of War in an attempt to mirror a trend. They tend to cheapen the game a bit because you can't concentrate on any of the pretty visuals or the action because you're just staring at the button prompts. QTE sequences have always been a cheap trick. That's a minor complaint compared to the whole because there are things that do shine through to make one of the more memorable Star Wars video game experiences you can have, one of which being the sound design. They pull original sounds out of all the Star Wars films and use them properly to great effect. If you've watched any of the films a thousand times it just works.
Once you've completed the game and are the all-powerful Dark Jedi you've always wanted to be, it's remarkably fulfilling to return to Force Unleashed's earlier, better levels to try out the powers and combos you didn't possess on your first play-through of them. Or perhaps you want to experience the second of the game's two endings (a reasonable goal, since one of them is bound to get fans talking) while wearing one of the unlockable costumes. But most players will find that aside from a return to the better areas, once is enough. When the game caters to its strengths, it soars; when it deviates, it flounders. Regardless, it's still a more than worthy entry in a long line of licensed Star Wars games, and a good action game in its own right. The Force Unleashed isn't the ultimate Star Wars game - KOTOR still might be the king. But, as advertised, it amplifies this mystical power in new ways to deliver fun gameplay and some unforgettable moments. It'll leave you wanting more as it is a very short game, but take my word for it, it's worth playing just to see Vader Force-throw wookiees.
Director: Haden Blackman
Producer: Isa Anne Stamos
Writer: Haden Blackman
Composer: Mark Griskey
Gamespot: 7.5/10
Gameinformer: 8.7/10
X-Play: 2/5
Personal Score:
7.3/10
73/100
