Fun Controlls, Horrible Lack of Polish
I'm going to start this review by going on record as being a huge Star Wars fan. I mean, a really big Star Wars fan, and thus my review might be just a little bit biased. I am also, though, a gamer through and through, and as a gamer I was constantly frustrated by this game.
As a Star Wars fan, I enjoyed the game for the most part, and I definitely think the game is worth a play-through. As a gamer, I was constantly frustrated and disappointed by this game. This thing has been in development for way to long to have all of the glitches that it does. To be fair, the decision to put the game on everything that wasn't the PS3 or XBox 360 came kinda late in the game at a point where the game couldn't really afford yet another delay, but it's still really no excuse.
Graphically, this game is definitely on the side of horrible. Now, I know that there's the standard "but it's the Wii, not the PS3 or XBox" statement is supposed to go here, but the graphics look like sort of higher end PS2 graphics, which is probably due in a big part to the fact the Krome, the developers on this game, also developed the PSP version. It's just a bit disapointing when they didn't even try to get close to the beauty of the other console versions of the game, especially when there have been games like Metroid Prime 3 and Super Mario Galaxy that have proven that the Wii is more than capable of some pretty amazing visuals. All of the character models look extremely basic, and the textures used in the environments are pretty much universally flat and lacking in any detail whatsoever.
Also, the enemy models are broken a lot of the time. The boss fights were you fight pretty much anything that doesn't carry a lightsaber are pretty much broken. The Rancors and AT-STs, most notably, do not play well with their environments at all. They constantly get caught up on the environment itself and anytime the footing is uneven, they lurch up and down uncontrollably.
There are also signifcant camera problems in the game as well, expecially on the boss fights mentioned above. The game only allows you to control the camera on the x-axis, which means you can't look up or down. So, to be able to see anything on the big bosses beside their legs you have to use the lock-on system which makes it pretty much impossible to deal with the minor baddies that the boss inevitably spawns. The camera also just seems to like to put itself in the least convenient spot possible, and it will kill you pretty frequently.
On the plus side, the Wii Remote controls for the lightsaber are pretty awesome. The fact that they make you time your swings to put together combos really makes you feel like you're wielding a lightsaber, which is a big reason why everyone was looking forward to the Wii version of this game. The motion controls for the Force powers with the Nunchuk don't work so well though. In fact, more often then not you'll just find youself using Grab, Lightning, or Push. Grab and Lightning because they're the only ones actually mapped to a button, and Push because it just requires you to move the Nunchuk semi-quickly, and it's what your attempts at pulling off some of the more complicated Force moves will turn into most of the time anyway.
The story for this game is definately the high point for me. As a Star Wars fan, the story is what I found most enjoyable about the game, and what made it worth playing even though the game itself is so unpolished and close to broken. It really is masterful and fills the gap between the Episode III and Episode IV Star Wars films very nicely.
So, all in all, The Force Unleashed is disappointing because the game has so much potential, but it just doesn't quite get there. It, simply put, wasn't finished when it store shelves, but coupled with the drama surrounding LucasArts lately and the fact that the game had already been delayed something like three times over the course of about a year, they really couldn't afford to delay the game any further. The great story and fun, if frustrating, gameplay makes the game worth a play, but overall, it just isn't very good becuase of all of the problems with it.
"I'm really sorry I couldn't finish you Threepio." - Anakin Skywalker
Three flailing stormtroopers out of Five.
