MODERN GAMING: SPECIAL REPORT
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Developer:  LucasArts/Krome Studios
Publisher:  LucasArts
Genre:  Action
Year:  2008
System:  Xbox 360/Wii/PS3 (Played on Wii)

Firstly let us clear one thing out of the window.  As much as I want to be unbiased, I have already been made biased thanks to Star Wars crippling the Soul Calibur franchise when it was already limping from the less-than-stellar Soul Calibur 3, so naturally I was hesitant and irritated to try this out.  But as the game had been forced unto my hands like Jar Jar Binks was forced unto the audience, we might as well see how the ride goes.  Also, this is NOT the monthly review for modern gaming, just a special one because I love you all so much.

Story - The story begins with an attack on the Wookie planet Kashyyyk by Darth Vader, who's hunting down a rogue Jedi and defeats him to find the jedi's brave and force-strong son.  Darth, seeing the potential of the lad, adopts him as a fearsome apprentice known as Starkiller (and Star Wars geeks will know that name as being the original name for Luke Skywalker), who becomes a personal assassin following only Vader, aided by his pilot Juno and service droid PROXY.  The game is set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope in LucasArts' effort to combine the two stories together into one long thread.  Whether it does so well or not is up to you.  The list of hits soon turn more and more higher up in terms of powerful masters of the Force and it soon boils down to the Apprentice trying to find out his largely forgotten past.


Gameplay - Firstly as I have the Wii version I can only comment on the well-done controls of the lightsaber with the wiimote and nunchuk.  The wiimote is your lightsaber and the nunchuk is your Force power.  With the wiimote you have four directions of hacking and slashing away at enemies as well as blocking and dashing and throwing your lightsaber out like the most awesome boomerang in existence.
The nunchuk's Force powers range from electrocuting enemies to picking up objects and enemies to fling them in any direction you move your control stick towards, as well as even slamming them onto the floor.
There's little problem with the controls here and even the Force Throwing is surprisingly easy to handle.  The only irritation is when you want to place objects somewhere and the nunchuk tends to be a little indecisive about moving it up or down, a minor frustration especially when you want to say, make a stepping stone to a higher secret ledge.  The wiimote, like with most games that involve waving it madly like an irate farmer with a rake, also tends to be indecisive in that you want to make a five hit combo instead of two.

Boss battles turn a little bit different as while there's the various strategies of sticking with the Force's wide repertoire of powers or your lightsaber, there are also the quicktime events (because of course EVERY game nowadays must have them) which while are not frustratingly fatal (usually) if you fail them, they are needed to be achieved to end a boss battle.  I always wonder what's with the need for quicktime reactions in such cutscenes, you use up all that time making an awesome ending to a fight with lots of crazy ass moves but NOBODY'S watching it because of the buttons on one part of the screen distracting them.  Feels a bit of a waste of a cutscene, not just for this game but for most games that have them.
Unfortunately the Wii version also has the exclusive Force Pummel ability which allows you to hold an enemy in the air while objects can be made to crash against them like conkers, which is understandable in one way but to not be on the other systems is a disappointment considering it is the most awesome Force Power.  Not only that but there is also an odd absence of puzzle solving parts which are in the 360 version, as well as a multiplayer duel mode only on the Wii.
So the Wii version is basically longer but easier with less responsive controls, while the 360 version is shorter with less cooler controls but more difficult.


Lastly you have your homebase, the Rogue Shadow starship where you can look up on items you've collected, upgrade your Force Powers, change into new costumes and customise your lightsaber.  Customising it isn't like back in KOTOR though, it's a very simple case of three parts to change.  The hilt, the Power Crystal and the Colour Crystal.  The Power Crystal allows more power to a certain ability like Force Choke or Lightsaber Throw, while the Colour Crystal changes the colour of your lightsaber.  Which is awesome and, dare I say it, FABULOUS.

Graphics - Naturally the graphics all depend on which version you have.  The Wii version has graphics that are practically PS2 quality.  And I don't mean Shadow of the Colossus quality, not when there are people having faces that look like masks cut out of ham.  Not only that but the scenery is very bland, and it all feels rather like again a PS2 game.
The 360 and PS3 graphics however are astonishing.  Characters lip-sync and look very realistic with wonderfully gorgeous scenery that is also quite destructive too, at least looking moreso than the Wii.  They have actual faces, not the faces of the kids from Pink Floyd's The Wall which the Wii version has.  Here it is more or less a question of quality over quantity.  There is no real wrong way here.

Music/Sound - If there's one thing you can rely Star Wars doing well, it's music.  The soundtrack of the game is classical Star Wars stuff with grand riveting pieces as you slice through hangars and the slow forgettable parts during anytime when there isn't any fighting.  You get a soundtrack that feels true John Williams stuff and it only will add to the great atmosphere of being in the Star Wars universe, and some of it is from John Williams himself from the movies, mixed in with some game-only pieces.  Not only that but depending on the situation in terms of pace, plot and environment, the music will alter depending on such, which is surprisingly not noticeable most of the time and blends the whole experience marvellously.


As for the voicing, the main characters sound decent, Vader especially sounding like the original and naturally great care was taken with his voice.  The Apprentice himself is rather...soft, he has the air of Hayden Christensen about his voice which is rather frustrating and I recommend you turn on the subtitles because sometimes you just cannot hear what the boy's saying.  On the upside, the dialogue is as good as the dialogue of say, Attack of the Clones.

All things considered, this is not a bad game.  It's a game that does, as the makers have said, let you feel the true power of the Force.  It's a game that lets you CHOKE people.  It's a game that lets you slam people back and forth on pillars like a ragdoll.  It's a game that has honestly good lightsaber battles.  Some will find it repetitive yes, it can be quite repetitive ESPECIALLY in lightsaber combat, but it all depends on how much childish glee you still have, and if you still feel a tingle of something when Darth Vader chokes a bitch in the films, you'll love it here.  For once, the Force IS with you.  But I still hate that goddamn Starkiller, which is why I immediately had him in the outfit that covers his face the most so I start forgetting what he looks like and by that line start forgetting about Soul Calibur IV.
Again, fuck you for ruining that game I was eager for, but well done on your own game.  But next time, don't advertise through someone ELSE'S game.  People don't like that.  And by people I mean mainly me.

Fun and Innovation - 3
Replayability - 2
Gameplay - 4
Presentation - 4

Like this review? Digg it here!

Yeah definitely doesn't look particularly fun. An interesting note: According to IMDB the guy who does the voice of Vader in this and Soul Caliber 4 was the guy who did the voice of Chad in Chad Vader.

It's only awesome if the community diggs your articles... and so far only 4 people have. Bad turnout.

Also, I don't like it when games are developed for consoles, but are not put onto PC.

I would have played it one way or another if it were on PC.

Bastard's copying me at this point lol

Nah seriously he's way better than me by light years and he pretty much summed it up better too.