The Force Unleashed, Fun in Spades
Providing a dazzling display of assorted force powers, and a story that puts Lucus's prequels to shame, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is, conceptually, everything hard-core Jedihaulics could ever want; unfortunately an uneven difficulty curve dampens what would otherwise have been the ultimate Star Wars experience.
Kicking-off in the cold, fear-inducing shoes of Darth Vader, The Force Unleashed immediately showcases the raw power of the force as Vader chokes, blasts, and slices his way through an army of determined, but ultimately hopeless, Wookies. At the end of the sequence Vader finds young Starkiller, a boy so gifted in the force that Vader first believes him to be a Jedi Master. The story then jumps forward several years, and the player now takes control of Starkiller; secret apprentice and Jedi hunter of Darth Vader himself. Here the games truly begins, as Starkiller sets out on missions that shed curious light on the events taking place between the third and fourth Star Wars films.
Stripped down to its lowest common denominator, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is simply about being the the most bad-ass Jedi you can be. The centerpiece of this is as the title implies, Starkiller's array of deadly displays of force energy. Using these powers is the most satisfying part of the game, as frying Jawas with a blast of force lightning and tossing stormtroopers to their deaths never loses its appeal. These force powers can be upgraded as Starkiller levels up, allowing players to put their own personal touch on their force power development. Sadly, force powers can be slow to come by (usually one per level) and many enemies are resistant to some or all of your force powers, meaning that the powers that are the most fun to use aren't always a viable combat option. Fortunately, The Force Unleashed provides more than just force powers; enter, the lightsaber.
Cutting through swathes of enemies with the fiery colored blade of your choice (crystals can be found that alter your blade's color and abilities) is not as fun as obliterating them with force powers, but the lightsaber combat has surprising death for what seemed on the surface to be just a simple button masher. While buttons will certainly be mashed, the game does provide a rhythm and flow to the combat that gets deeper as you unlock more combos and attacks. Lightning infused strikes, air-juggling combos, and energy exploding swings all become options in your arsenal, and they add some flair to the saber combat that makes it feel like more than just an uncontrolled brawl.
While the flashy force shows are exciting to experience throughout the game, at times combat can become incredibly frustrating, leading to moments of real-life dark side rage. The game's most glaring issue is the boss battles, Jedi on Jedi duels that should be epic encounters of force power, right? Nope. Instead Starkiller must resort to cheap tactics in order to win battles. There is no flow or cohesion to these fights. No great displays of dueling or force prowess, just some dirty fighting and a quick-time-event finale. When battling one of these supposed Jedi Masters, I truly never felt that I won the fight fairly or with any real degree of skill.
Then there's the rest of the game's combat, which shifts uncontrollably from lots of fun to maddeningly cheap. The game commits the cardinal sin of making you feel like it's the game programming, and not your own skill, that has cost you the battle. I believe the best term here is unfair as many of the untenable situations the game puts you in really are almost impossible to beat. This uneven difficulty curve is, without a doubt, the most problematic part of The Force Unleashed, as I am enjoying the game almost as often as I am cursing it in a blind rage.
I found that playing on the lowest difficulty setting was the most fun as the easier battles negate some of the games more challenging areas, allowing you to use all of your force powers with impunity and without all the frustration. In the end though, I'm an unapologetic Star Wars fanboy, and The Force Unleashed's (usually) awesome combat and worthwhile story make it possible for me to accept many of the game's glaring faults, because after it was all said and done, I still had a whole lot of fun with this game.
