TFU has its flaws, but it hits home where it really matters
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (TFU) was a long time in the making. We waited quite a while for this thing to finally land on store shelves, and now we have seen just how powerful the Force can be. The title speaks for itself; you truly haven't seen anything quite like this in Star Wars before. TFU has some flaws, but those can't stop players from enjoying the fantastic story and ultra fun gameplay that lies beneath.
(Spoilers in this paragraph!) TFU has one of the greatest stories ever told in a Star Wars game. You take on the role of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, Starkiller. The beginning of the game has you following Vader's commands and accomplishing such tasks as killing Jedi and proving your abilities to your master, but after a drastic turning point in the story, you go on to form the Rebel Alliance and eventually fight against Vader and the Emperor. The story is full of deception, has a few crazy plot twists, and is also very well written. It's easily up to the standard of a Star Wars film; in fact, they should definitely get started with a movie.
The story fits perfectly into the Star Wars storyline, actually it's so short (ending at 6-7 hours) that it would almost have been better off being a movie in the first place. The level design is almost reminiscent of a motion picture as well. Each level involves running through both familiar and previously unknown Star Wars planets, destroying all enemies in sight to reach the end of a level, and concluding with an epic battle against a Jedi or oversized enemy. The levels are long but few; again one of the game's flaws is just how short it is. The level design also gets repetitious as you visit several places more than once and even within each visit it feels like areas are reused, leaving you to ask yourself, "Didn't I just see this room 5 minutes ago?" There are also heaps of glitches and limitations; invisible walls restrain you from going to many areas that look like they're wide open for exploration. In reality, though, you have to stick to the path the level lays out for you, with very little freedom to wander around. Also taking into account that you can't revisit a planet whenever you like and you have a game following a very linear pattern, similar to a movie. It's the exact same thing every time you go back through it.
The gameplay, however, is fun enough to make up for the limitations the level design creates. TFU is essentially an action game, and in this sense there are few limitations. When you approach an enemy, you have tons of options as to how to kill it. You could always just run up and slash it to bits with your lightsaber, but what's the fun in that? Why not pick him up and slam him to the ground, throw him at something, choke him, throw him off a cliff, throw other objects at him, push him away, or let go and pound some lightning through him? There's an astounding variety of fighting techniques and abilities at your disposal, and it's a blast to use as many as you can recall. The upgrade system is great too, and makes you able to create even more destruction and dispose of enemies with even less effort.
The lack of effort, though, also makes the game very easy. The first time you play through you may die a few times, but when you die you go right back to the last checkpoint with all damage you've done to enemies still in place. Actually, it's impossible to lose, so anyone looking for some kind of challenge won't find it here: TFU is a really easy game. The gameplay is fun enough to keep you entertained, though, despite the lack of difficulty.
TFU for Wii has fun but slightly flawed controls to keep you immersed in the action. Yes, it is indeed a waggle-fest with the remote as Starkiller's lightsaber, but it's hard to realize what you yourself are doing when the action on screen is just so cool. The only problem with lighsaber combat is blocking; it took me until halfway through my second playthrough to figure out how it works (the game doesn't explain the motion very well). The Force abilities are pretty under control aside from a couple nunchuk issues: Force choke (which is done by picking up an enemy and holding the nunchuk upside-down) doesn't really work unless you have a few seconds to spare to get the position right, and hurling an enemy to the ground also requires a pretty significant movement of the controller. Other than that, though, the controls enhance the game's enjoyment factor considerably by putting you closer to the action than if you were just pressing buttons.
The combat is really what makes TFU so much fun to play, and there's only a couple other gameplay mechanics besides. There are plenty of lightsaber duels and epic battles against foes much bigger than you, and those can be quite impressive. Some situations (such as lightsaber clashes) throw you into a short minigame of matching the angle of the remote or nunchuk to what is shown on screen, then flinging the controller forward. It works pretty nicely and it's kind of fun to do; it's actually a cool way to do a little damage to the enemy. These boss battles are pretty epic, and the finishing moves are really awesome as well. Unfortunately you have to concentrate so much on which controller to wave that it's hard to pay attention to the action during those epic sequences.
Even seen TFU on an Xbox or PS3? It looks pretty stunning, doesn't it? Do you think there was any effort put into the Wii version's graphics at all, then? If you said yes… well, let's just say you're wrong. TFU on Wii has pretty mediocre graphics. Nothing looks very sharp (except Force Lightning), there are plenty of level design glitches that have become Nintendo trademarks (in my mind at least), and it just doesn't look too lively. Objects you can't throw or push stay put and don't even sway in the wind, a feature that would be very welcome especially on the overgrown planet of Felucia. The lack of visual quality also hurts the action and cutscenes as it makes everything look more fake than it should. All in all TFU should (and could) have better graphics; they just look like a lazy effort.
What TFU lacks in graphics it makes up for in sound quality. Like just about all of the other Star Wars games out there, every sound effect from swinging a lightsaber to using the Force is pretty sharp and clear. The sound really helps the game as a whole, with explosions and such having a lot of power to them and creating a better atmosphere than the graphics alone could make. Also adding to the Star Wars atmosphere is the fantastic music. I mean, would we expect any less from John Williams' Star Wars score? The only flaw in the sound I would say is in the voice acting. It's definitely not cheesy or anything, but very frequently you encounter lines that are well written but could have been much better said.
There is also a multiplayer mode in TFU, but it's very glitchy and confusing. Half the time things are happening and neither you or your opponent know what's going on, and all the game mechanics that work well in the single player mode don't seem to function correctly. For example, those minigames of lining up the nunchuk and swinging it I mentioned earlier don't work at all, and when you win those duels you have no idea why. One good thing about it is that there are tons of characters to choose from, and all of them are unlocked by the end of the story. The multiplayer mode was definitely a glitchy afterthought, although it can be somewhat enjoyable to play with your extraordinary Force powers against a human opponent.
Yes, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has its fair share of flaws. The graphics aren't so sharp, it's a short and easy game, and there are lots of sad limitations, but do those things totally take away from the fantastic, well-written story, booming sound and music, and ultra fun gameplay? Absolutely not. TFU is certainly not perfect, but it hits home where it matters for a Star Wars game, and that's what makes it great.
Positive:
+ fantastic story
+ very well written dialogue
+ destroying everything in sight is a blast
+ tons of abilities to unlock and enhance
+ controls are fun despite a few flaws
+ sharp sound effects and awesome music
Negative:
- very short and easy
- lots of limitations on exploration
- graphics could be much better
- voice acting isn't quite on par with the writing
- controls have a couple issues
(Spoilers in this paragraph!) TFU has one of the greatest stories ever told in a Star Wars game. You take on the role of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, Starkiller. The beginning of the game has you following Vader's commands and accomplishing such tasks as killing Jedi and proving your abilities to your master, but after a drastic turning point in the story, you go on to form the Rebel Alliance and eventually fight against Vader and the Emperor. The story is full of deception, has a few crazy plot twists, and is also very well written. It's easily up to the standard of a Star Wars film; in fact, they should definitely get started with a movie.
The story fits perfectly into the Star Wars storyline, actually it's so short (ending at 6-7 hours) that it would almost have been better off being a movie in the first place. The level design is almost reminiscent of a motion picture as well. Each level involves running through both familiar and previously unknown Star Wars planets, destroying all enemies in sight to reach the end of a level, and concluding with an epic battle against a Jedi or oversized enemy. The levels are long but few; again one of the game's flaws is just how short it is. The level design also gets repetitious as you visit several places more than once and even within each visit it feels like areas are reused, leaving you to ask yourself, "Didn't I just see this room 5 minutes ago?" There are also heaps of glitches and limitations; invisible walls restrain you from going to many areas that look like they're wide open for exploration. In reality, though, you have to stick to the path the level lays out for you, with very little freedom to wander around. Also taking into account that you can't revisit a planet whenever you like and you have a game following a very linear pattern, similar to a movie. It's the exact same thing every time you go back through it.
The gameplay, however, is fun enough to make up for the limitations the level design creates. TFU is essentially an action game, and in this sense there are few limitations. When you approach an enemy, you have tons of options as to how to kill it. You could always just run up and slash it to bits with your lightsaber, but what's the fun in that? Why not pick him up and slam him to the ground, throw him at something, choke him, throw him off a cliff, throw other objects at him, push him away, or let go and pound some lightning through him? There's an astounding variety of fighting techniques and abilities at your disposal, and it's a blast to use as many as you can recall. The upgrade system is great too, and makes you able to create even more destruction and dispose of enemies with even less effort.
The lack of effort, though, also makes the game very easy. The first time you play through you may die a few times, but when you die you go right back to the last checkpoint with all damage you've done to enemies still in place. Actually, it's impossible to lose, so anyone looking for some kind of challenge won't find it here: TFU is a really easy game. The gameplay is fun enough to keep you entertained, though, despite the lack of difficulty.
TFU for Wii has fun but slightly flawed controls to keep you immersed in the action. Yes, it is indeed a waggle-fest with the remote as Starkiller's lightsaber, but it's hard to realize what you yourself are doing when the action on screen is just so cool. The only problem with lighsaber combat is blocking; it took me until halfway through my second playthrough to figure out how it works (the game doesn't explain the motion very well). The Force abilities are pretty under control aside from a couple nunchuk issues: Force choke (which is done by picking up an enemy and holding the nunchuk upside-down) doesn't really work unless you have a few seconds to spare to get the position right, and hurling an enemy to the ground also requires a pretty significant movement of the controller. Other than that, though, the controls enhance the game's enjoyment factor considerably by putting you closer to the action than if you were just pressing buttons.
The combat is really what makes TFU so much fun to play, and there's only a couple other gameplay mechanics besides. There are plenty of lightsaber duels and epic battles against foes much bigger than you, and those can be quite impressive. Some situations (such as lightsaber clashes) throw you into a short minigame of matching the angle of the remote or nunchuk to what is shown on screen, then flinging the controller forward. It works pretty nicely and it's kind of fun to do; it's actually a cool way to do a little damage to the enemy. These boss battles are pretty epic, and the finishing moves are really awesome as well. Unfortunately you have to concentrate so much on which controller to wave that it's hard to pay attention to the action during those epic sequences.
Even seen TFU on an Xbox or PS3? It looks pretty stunning, doesn't it? Do you think there was any effort put into the Wii version's graphics at all, then? If you said yes… well, let's just say you're wrong. TFU on Wii has pretty mediocre graphics. Nothing looks very sharp (except Force Lightning), there are plenty of level design glitches that have become Nintendo trademarks (in my mind at least), and it just doesn't look too lively. Objects you can't throw or push stay put and don't even sway in the wind, a feature that would be very welcome especially on the overgrown planet of Felucia. The lack of visual quality also hurts the action and cutscenes as it makes everything look more fake than it should. All in all TFU should (and could) have better graphics; they just look like a lazy effort.
What TFU lacks in graphics it makes up for in sound quality. Like just about all of the other Star Wars games out there, every sound effect from swinging a lightsaber to using the Force is pretty sharp and clear. The sound really helps the game as a whole, with explosions and such having a lot of power to them and creating a better atmosphere than the graphics alone could make. Also adding to the Star Wars atmosphere is the fantastic music. I mean, would we expect any less from John Williams' Star Wars score? The only flaw in the sound I would say is in the voice acting. It's definitely not cheesy or anything, but very frequently you encounter lines that are well written but could have been much better said.
There is also a multiplayer mode in TFU, but it's very glitchy and confusing. Half the time things are happening and neither you or your opponent know what's going on, and all the game mechanics that work well in the single player mode don't seem to function correctly. For example, those minigames of lining up the nunchuk and swinging it I mentioned earlier don't work at all, and when you win those duels you have no idea why. One good thing about it is that there are tons of characters to choose from, and all of them are unlocked by the end of the story. The multiplayer mode was definitely a glitchy afterthought, although it can be somewhat enjoyable to play with your extraordinary Force powers against a human opponent.
Yes, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has its fair share of flaws. The graphics aren't so sharp, it's a short and easy game, and there are lots of sad limitations, but do those things totally take away from the fantastic, well-written story, booming sound and music, and ultra fun gameplay? Absolutely not. TFU is certainly not perfect, but it hits home where it matters for a Star Wars game, and that's what makes it great.
Positive:
+ fantastic story
+ very well written dialogue
+ destroying everything in sight is a blast
+ tons of abilities to unlock and enhance
+ controls are fun despite a few flaws
+ sharp sound effects and awesome music
Negative:
- very short and easy
- lots of limitations on exploration
- graphics could be much better
- voice acting isn't quite on par with the writing
- controls have a couple issues
