Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360, PS3)
by Eddie Turner on October 6, 2008 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Gameplay
The gameplay in The Force Unleashed is best described as glorified hack-n-slash with a focus on combat using on a variety of Star Wars' signature force powers in addition to wielding the classic lightsaber. The game can be played be played on three difficulty settings initially, with an additional level of difficulty that can be unlocked by completing the campaign. Whichever setting you choose, the level of intensity in your force powers remains the same when the game begins. This suggests an immediate need to upgrade your powers. Thankfully, the game incorporates a screen in the options menu that allows you to upgrade your powers to new levels of intensity. During the game, players will gain force points and collect glowing spheres that allow the purchase of these enhancements. Using this same system, players can unlock new lightsaber combos as well as attributes to make your saber increasingly lethal.
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Force powers in the game are what separate The Force Unleashed from other similar action games. They include force push, force lightning, force repulse, and force grip. The force push attack causes a burst of energy to thrust forward, knocking your attackers backward, allowing you to get the jump on them with your lightsaber. This is equally effective when used to knock enemies off raised platforms, sealing their fate as they plummet into the abyss below. Force lightning stuns enemies with a powerful jolt of electricity while force repulse acts as a smart bomb, killing all enemies within a certain radius of your lightsaber. Lastly, the force grip allows players to levitate objects as well as enemies, which can then function as projectile weapons.
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Of all the force powers you have at your disposal, the force grip attack is largely the most enjoyable as it allows for a degree of creativity during battle. For instance, players can pick up a nearby machine part and toss it into a horde of advancing rebel forces, causing an explosion that will send them flying into the air. On the other hand, one might choose to pick up a Stormtrooper, bang his head on the ceiling a couple of times, and then toss him into the next galaxy. Enemies grabbed with the force grip do not go quietly. In fact, many will latch onto a nearby object in an attempt to keep from being lifted. Enemies will also grab onto their nearby allies, allowing you to have some fun with both of them. And this is indeed fun... for a while.
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AnnonymousCoward - Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - link
From http://tinyurl.com/49z2kg">http://tinyurl.com/49z2kg "so processor intensive and powerful that the kind of machine you'd need to run them is not the kind of machine most people are going to have...Every platform is getting a great game and they should all be able to stand-alone; we didn't want to deliver a sub-par experience for PC gamers."PC's have FAR greater single-thread performance than the Cell. That was the case even before the C2D, and now I'd bet that a dual-core C2D could compete with 6 fully utilized Cell processors. Not even mentioning quad core. Or GPU physics!!
Aside from all that, how could they deliver par performances on PS2, Wii, DS, and PSP? Does the physics there just suck, and that level of physics suckiness would be sub-par on PC?
Note to LucasArts: use the GPU for physics!
Jawadali - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
I have only played the demo of the Xbox 360 version of this game, but If you are looking for a game where you can use force-like powers, I'd recommend playing Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy. In addition to being a decent third-person shooter, there are a decent number of powers that you can use not only to fight (or avoid fighting) enemies, but also to solve puzzles to progress through the various missions. For a PS2/Xbox game, I think the application of these powers was pretty novel and well executed in Psi-Ops.jasonmellow - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
Star Wars Battlefront I was the reason I started building my own PC. Star Wars Battlefront II is the reason I keep upgrading my hardware and is still my favorite game due to the intense and competitive multi-player action. As a Star Wars fan who loves his PC, I bum that this new title is useless to me.EddieTurner - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
If you make your next upgrade an Xbox 360, you'll be set. I do know that another Battlefront is at least being pondered over right now. Probably already in the works. No mention of platform though.Unleashed is still fun to play despite its repetition. If you're a Sta Wars fan, that'll make the experience even better.
TheFace - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
It's a rental. Why buy it with no multiplayer, no co-op. Basically little replayability.Spivonious - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
What about the Wii version? It seems strange to ignore it.EddieTurner - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
Lucas Arts didn't send me the Wii version. I did ask for it though.strikeback03 - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
Didn't Yoda say "Always two there are, a master and an apprentice." How does a third fit that already established line?mmntech - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
Vader takes on Starkiller as an apprentice in secret in order to overthrow the Palpatine. This is explained pretty early in the game, as well as in the demo. That's why he's charged with the task of leaving no witnesses, including Imperials.I liked this game but I think it was definitely overhyped. It was short for a console title and I felt DMM and Euphoria weren't used to their full potential except on the first level (as Vader). The highlight of Force Unleashed was finding out the fate of Jar Jar Binks. He can be found frozen in carbonite in the museum on Imperial Kashyyyk. I guess that's not him at the end of Episode VI (DVD) unless someone was foolish enough to defrost him.
slashbinslashbash - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
Wookiee (2 e's) and Kashyyyk (3 y's)