Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is another title to add to Star Wars' impressive game library. However, when working with such a big franchise name, developers tend to prefer getting their title out quickly instead of making sure it's a quality game. As a result, the Star Wars videogame library consists of a lot of terrible games with the occasional excellent one to shake things up. Obviously, the next question is whether or not The Force Unleashed belongs to this small group of excellent games. Fortunately, the answer is a resounding yes!

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is about Starkiller. The events in The Force Unleashed take place between Episode III and IV, when the hunt for the remaining Jedi is still in full effect. Vader tracks one of them to the Wookie planet of Kashyyyk, where he, after easily dispatching lots of Wookies, fights him. Vader emerges victorious, but just as he is about to deliver the killing blow, his lightsaber gets snatched from his hand by a small child. He then takes the kid, whom he codenames Starkiller, under his wing and teaches him the ways of the Dark Side.

For LucasArts, inventing new storythreads must be getting increasingly difficult, as a lot of Star Wars' backstory has been filled in by now. Still, The Force Unleashed actually manages to tell an excellent story that doesn't get in the way of other canon events, while still having its own sense of purpose. Starkiller is supposed to become Vader's secret weapon, as he wants to use the boy to take down the emperor. But first, he must fulfill other tasks, such as killing the surviving Jedi. After the first few levels that each have you hunting down Jedi though, the story has a somewhat expected twist to it that severs Starkiller from Vader's direct control. It's here that the script's cohesion gets a bit wonky. The game has always been touted as a game where you control a super-powerful Sith lord, but after said twist, Starkiller basically becomes the good guy. You'll start doing a lot of missions for the good side of the conflict, and helping a lot of people. This wouldn't be such a big deal, if the final sequence in the game didn't require you to make a moral choice, like so many games do these days. Basically, it goes like this: first Starkiller is evil through and through. Then all of a sudden, he's a good guy. And then, at the very end, he can wipe that off the table as well by becoming evil again. While it does make some sense in the context of the game, I thought that this moral progression didn't work out at all. But then again, the shifts between the Light and Dark side of the Force have always been pretty nonsensical in Star Wars.

This is my only gripe with the story though, as for the most part, The Force Unleashed tells a great tale. Joining Starkiller in his quest are his pilot, a pretty lady called Juno, and his personal droid, Proxy. The latter is also a training droid, who has been programmed to attempt to kill Starkiller at every available opportunity. This actually becomes a bit of a theme in the game, and it causes some funny situations. On the technical front, the story is very stellar as well. The dialogue is pretty well-written, and the characters really come to life thanks to that. The cutscenes look fantastic and are very well-directed as well, so I'd even daresay that some of the stuff here is better than the movies. The Force Unleashed truly has a fantastic execution of its script overall.

But of course, you're still playing this videogame, and good gameplay is also required for greatness. Central are the Force powers. The prologue of the game allows you to play as Darth Vader as he traverses the world of Kashyyyk in search of the Jedi that turns out to be Starkiller's father. This sequence is great, because Vader is basically fully leveled up. Throwing around Wookies is great fun, as is strangling them in an all-too-familiar manner. Vader can't die in this segment, and it makes you feel like the badass he is in the movies. After playing this sequence, you probably can't wait to switch to Starkiller and start rocking with him as well. You may be disappointed, however. While Vader rightly starts out as a powerhouse, his apprentice is still a student, and you start out the game as Starkiller with a single Force power. Thankfully, that power is probably the best one in the game as well: Force Grip. It's your basic telekinesis power, but man is it awesome. The first level only forces you to face off against basic stormtroopers and militia armed with tazers, so it's almost too easy to toy with these guys. Making troopers do insane flips in the air before sending them flying into the abyss is some of greatest fun I've had in a long, long while. Thing is, it doesn't stay that way. While you will gain awesome new Force powers like Force Repulse and Force Lightning, the enemies seem to quickly outgrow you. It already starts in the second level where you take control of Starkiller: Force resistance. Enemies understandably don't like being played with, so a large amount of them start showcasing an annoying immunity to your Force powers.

One of the reasons the Force Powers are so damn great is because of the technology supporting them. There are three big engines at work here: Euphoria, DMM (Digital Molecular Matter) and Havok. Euphoria, of GTAIV fame, allows enemies to react realistically when manipulated, specifically with Force Grip. For instance, they've been given a survival instinct, and as such they'll attempt to grab on to stuff as they're being waved around. DMM on the other hand, does exactly what its name implies: it makes stuff come apart in realistic ways. Havok is the familiar engine that allows for ragdoll effects and such. These engines were all over the advertising, but they aren't used to such dramatic effect. Havok is everywhere, but this isn't anything new, as ragdoll is just about standard these days. But Euphoria and DMM are used to very light effect. Euphoria is pretty fun, but you only get to see it when you're toying with enemies. Thing is, you won't have time to do this past the first two stages. On all other occasions, you'll be pelted with lasers and hit with all kinds of weapons at every possible second. So you'll just throw aside enemies immediately, and they won't have time to "react realistically". DMM is even less frequent, as it's applied to a couple of doors, trees and glass windows. Especially this last one feels kind of forced, as you'll come across rooms that are filled with glass casing for absolutely no reason. Still, while these engines are underused and don't add as much as was advertised, they still are fun to marvel at occasionally.

When the Force fails, Starkiller must rely on his lightsaber skills. Lightsabers are awesome, but using it isn't as awesome as using the Force. You'll be forced to though, either when you encounter a Force-resistant enemy or when Starkiller's Force power juice is momentarily depleted. You'll also encounter enemies that are resistant to lightsabers thanks to a little energy shield they carry around, and in the worst case, they are also resistant to most Force powers, usually leaving stunning them with Force Lightning and then slashing at them your only option. It's these kinds of things that drag the combat in The Force Unleashed down a bit.

An even bigger emphasis is given to lightsaber combat during the Jedi-on-Jedi fights. These fights look awesome, as they get the authentic look of those movie battles down just right. Using Force powers seems almost useless, as you'll be better off using lightsaber strikes infused with lightning to hit the opponents (in fact, this applies to the entire game). The Jedi do make for a nice change of pace, and while they can occasionally be frustrating, they're supposed to be hard. Jedi are hard opponents to beat, so the level of challenge is legitimate.

There are also some unlockables present. Starkiller will gain a new costume at the start of each level, and hidden bonuses such as lightsaber crystals can be found throughout the level. It's not the type of stuff that keeps you coming back for more though.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed also benefits from some high-tier production values. The art direction is spot-on throughout, and the cutscenes are, as mentioned, great. The game manages to get that Star Wars look down perfectly, and thanks to the fact that it's set between Episode III and IV, it's allowed to show off some original designs that display how some of the objects transitioned from the Republican style in the prequels to the Imperial style in the orininal trilogy. It's fantastic. Great voice-acting is also present and the game is very colourful. “Brown games” is a popular term these days, but The Force Unleashed is not of them. It's all pulled off very well.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a great, albeit short game, clocking in at 7 or so hours on Normal difficulty. It provides a great story and some excellent, if not always balanced gameplay that really allows you to “unleash” the Force. If you're a Star Wars fan, you're all but guaranteed to enjoy this one. It might not be worth full retail price, but it's definitely something you should rent or look for in the bargain bin.