Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

"The Force is not quite strong in this one."

Well with all the hype and advertisements for this game that came out, I was quite litterally dreaming the nights before this games release for hopes of it's pure awesomeness. Unfortunetly this game does not quite live up to the full expectations..... Well at least not on the Wii. But what is new about the Wii getting the short end of the stick on multi-console games. Regardless this is a good game for Wii owners to get, Though I recomend waiting for the price to drop or getting it pre-played if you don't have 60 bucks to spend on it. But lets get on with the review.

Graphics, 7/10
....... Well I'm being generous here giving it a seven. Since I've seen the game in HD on the PS3 I'm quite disappointed in the graphics here. Even if the Wii is notorious for having a steaming pile of CRAP for graphics when it comes to multi-console games, I have no idea why this should be. Maybe the creators just figure "Oh it's the Wii, a "kiddie" system" and decide to forgo the trouble of making good graphics for these games then go and pimp it out for the PS3 and 360. WHY!!!!!! Just look at Galaxy, Twilight Princess, Brawl, Great Wii games with amazing graphics. Sure they are supposed to be animated and that helps but they prove that you can give it just a little extra effort and make it look cleaner. Though I'm gonna stop ranting here as it gets repetitive from other games.

Sound/Music, 9/10
It's Star Wars, what more do I have to say. Star Wars has been famous for the amazing soundtracks that it makes for all of it's productions be it game or movie. The Voice acting is amazingly well done though it doesn't match with the charectors mouth movements occasionally though that is more of a fault with the graphics than the sound. My one problem with the sound is pretty minor but I get annoyed by these things. Too many sound effects in the wrong place. It was well done but going through the menus and hereing the lightsaber (which I never bothered using) ignite everytime you changed through the menus made me avoid them as much as possible. Also just random slashing sounds with the lightsaber at some times during the middle of a battle while it's out. Just minors but can get on some people's nerves.

Gameplay, 8/10
Even though this is more around a 7.8, 8 just made it sound better since it is a really good game but it does have it's problems. Well we'll start with the motion controls, Nintendo's Greatest and Worst invention. While this game is quite well done on the motion controls, Especially with the mini Lightsaber and Force duels where you have to get the angle right then lock it in by pushing forward. That was well done, amusing to watch and listen to and just all around good fun. The use of the nunchuck for the force was well done with having to buttons for force grab and force lightning then adjusting to do other fun dark side powers. Now for the main part. Every fan of Star Wars has been fantasizing about having lightsaber duels on the Wii, don't even try lying about it, you have. I must say this part was a bit of a letdown. While it's done alright, you just have this feeling it should of been so much more. During battles if you have time like during a one on one boss fight you can pull off amazing looking moves, but during the insanely intense normal battles with a lot of enemies firing on you it's all moving to quick for you to try anything. And if you do you're a lot more likely to accidently lunge and get yourself smacked around during that bit of recovery time. All in all your better to just stay back and block there, it works a lot better, especially on the death star. Now well we're on the topic of levels that is one area I forgot about in the graphics and am gonna cover here. For the Wii it's well done. Though my one recomendation if you buy this game, DO NOT LOOK AT THE PS3's VERSION. It's probably the same for the 360 but yah. This game was cut down by so much from the other console versions it's basically like "You want a good Star Wars game for Wii huh? Well here it is right in my hand here, Oops I accidently dropped it and crushed it under my heavy boot. But you can have that one in the pile of steaming crap back there." If you haven't noticed yet I am very jealous of the other consoles. And that's all I'm gonna say on it, I believe it works so it does. But for good measure I'll use febreeze and make it unstoppable. Though there is more on the topic of gameplay such as the customization aspescts of The Aprentice. This game is done alright in the customization department but it just was not a part of the game that you really cared about unless you wanted a different lightsaber colour. The power crystals I barely noticed in battle and the hilt, do I even have to say more. THE HILT DOES NOT MATTER LUCASARTS, WE CAN BARELY SEE IT MOST OF THE TIME WE DO NOT CARE. If it had actually done something like change what your lightsaber looked like (beam wise) or powered it up somehow then I'd care but right now it's just pointless. Now onto Customization number 2: FORCE POWERS. Once again I'm gonna do the unfair comparison between the PS3 version of Awesomness and the steaming pile of CRAP they served up on the Wii. In the PS3 version you have a hand full of force powers, your essential dark side powers other than choke odly enough, which I believe is enough to get you through the game. They could of added in one or two but that would of been just for pure pointless destruction. Then you have the added in Ability enhancing always active force powers and your lightsaber skill power/combos. Quite a bit of customization in there. Now on the steaming pile of crap, I mean Wii version You have everything labled as a force power and none of which enhance your abilities. I personally find this a complete gyp as half of them are the exact same as others maybe just a touch more powerful.Then there is the customization/leveling up of these "force powers". COMPLETLY POINTLESS. I have yet to see any difference between the level one force lightning and the level 4 force lightning, maybe a bit more damage but nothing truly amazing.

Story/Charactes 10/10
Now this is where the game truly excelled. The game all though short is well played out with great charecters involved. The Aprentice is well made and can be humourus at times though at the start he is just a raving psychopath only focused on serving Lord Vader. PROXY is a charecter who from what I've seen is a lot more detailed in the other versions. The story as I sayed is great. It covers all that you need to know from between the end of episode 3 and the begining of Episode 4. Well maybe not everything but it sets it up quite nicely. Though as I have seen a bit of the PS3's version I am quite disappointed at the amount that was changed in it. For the majority of the Wii game there is the same lines and general areas. But in the PS3 version there is just that little bit that makes it so much better. Even so it is still a well done story on the Wii. I'm just one who hates spoilers so I say go find out for your selves how good the story is.

Overall 8/10
Well I've covered most of what needs to be covered here. The only thing I have not gone through is that which is boring and unimportant and the multiplayer. I didn't go through the multiplayer because I have not yet had the chance to try it myself though I imagine it to be much like the boss battles in the actual game. All in all it's a great game for any Wii owner to add to there library and I highly recommend at the very least renting it. Though that's pretty close to that line.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/25/08

Game Release: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (US, 09/16/08)