Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

"The Force Unleashed doesn't deserve all the bad reviews it's getting."

‘Sup fellas. Due to the awesomeness of the small time shops, I managed to get a copy of The Force Unleashed before street date. After about two or three days, I managed to beat the game and saw the canonical ending. All in all, it was a good and fun romp. Now looking out on the internet, I see a few reviews being a bit too harsh on this game. Rather than just join the others in complaining about how those reviews are unfair, I've decided to write my own review and give my own opinion.

Graphics: The graphics in this game is nothing to complain about. I've played the 360 for a while and admittedly, I've seen games with better graphics. But just because you don't have graphics that push the system to it's very limits doesn't mean it sucks! The character models, the animations, the locations, they all look great. Honestly, I can't find anything to complain about when it comes to this.

Audio: The audio is decent. I don't know how to describe it, but listening to it, it sounds very.. Star Warsy. It just has that feel to it. If you seen the movies, you'll know what I'm talking about, it's hard to explain. On another note, the music isn't anything to write home about, but it fits the mood and gets the job done. Far as the voice acting, it's really good. A few times I've played games and listening to the voices, I felt embarrassed just for listening. With this, it's obvious that the voice actors took their roles seriously and did a really great job.

Gameplay: Ok, let's get down to business. The gameplay in this game while not perfect, is awesome and fun to play. Basically you start off pretty weak with limited powers, but you do get the staples early on. Force Grip and Force Push. These two are what make the game fun. You're surrounded by the enemies? Force Push them all down! Someone shooting at you? Pick that guy up with Force Grip! See that enemy over there? Throw your hostage at that enemy! And as you progress in the game, you get more powers at your disposal. Pick an enemy up, throw your light saber through his chest, shock a group of enemies with your Force Lighting, practically teleport across the room at your enemy with Force Dash, etc. By now means it's not perfect, but hey, there's an entire section for cons at the bottom.

Control: The control is enough to get the job done, but it leaves a little to be desired. For instance, I pick up someone with Force Grip and I wanna throw him at the enemy trooper. But I can't target someone when I have someone in Force Grip. So basically I throw him at the enemy and hope it hits. If I'm close enough it'll auto-aim at him, but when in a big group of enemies, if I want to hit Generic Soldier A and I hit Generic Solider B, that's not cool. That's pretty much the only thing that comes to mind at the moment, but honestly when the Grip is the selling point of the game, that does get annoying after a while.

Story: If you're a Star Wars fan, you're in for a treat. If you're not, you can still enjoy this as a stand alone story. You play Starkiller, Darth Vader's secret apprentice. In an attempt to overthrow The Emperor, Vader needs a strong ally. In order to prepare his apprentice for the challenge, he sends him to hunt three Jedis who've escaped The Great Purge. However, when this task is complete, things take a turn for the unexpected. What happened? You don't me to ruin it for you, do it? It's a great story and I enjoyed it. It also gives some insight on Vader's character, something Star Wars fans have got to see.

Pros: There is no game out like this one. The feeling of power you get when you control Starkiller is just pure fun. Fighting a guy with a ton of HP? Just push him off the cliff! That guy with ranged weapons getting on your nerves? Throw a box at him! A group charging at you? Force Lighting them all! The powers in this game is just fun. And in addition, if you're a Star Wars fan, you get a good story to enjoy along the way that bridges the gap between Episode III and Episode IV.

Cons: The Grip con from earlier and the glitches. Some have reported falling through the world but I personally have ran into a freezing problem. Froze the entire 360, not even dashboard would come up. It always happened when I killed this one particular enemy. I eventually had to go by without killing him and I only learned this after 4 times. Seems easy but I shouldn't have to do that. And that's not the only occurance, there's been other reports of freezing but luckly I didn't run into those. There's no excuse for game breaking glitches like this.

All in All: It's a fun game. At the very least, worth a solid rental. I give this game a 8/10. The Force Grip dispite my critique is still usable and for the most part very fun. And the glitches? Well, if you're lucky to ignore it, then you're all set. If not, trial and error my friend. Trial and error. For the most part, this game is pretty linear and short, but it's a fun ride from beginning to end and you got to experience it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/16/08

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