Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360, PS3)
by Eddie Turner on October 6, 2008 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Storyline
As the game begins, players take control of Vader on the planet Kashyyk, a.k.a. the Wookie planet, as he attempts to seek out and destroy a Jedi Separatist given refuge by the Wookie population. Before going further, it should be stressed that the game's focus is on evil verses good instead of the other way around. While the events that take place in this first sequence of the game may seem foreign and even cruel to some players, those whose secret desires include killing Chewbacca will feel right at home as the Wookie slaughter commences in full force.
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After making short work of the big fuzz balls, Vader's Jedi mark emerges from his hideout and a battle sequence begins, allowing players to test out the various force-inspired attacks offered in the game. When the skirmish comes to a close, Vader encounters the young son of the defeated Jedi who displays an impressive presence of the force. Bewildered at this child's abilities, Darth recruits the young boy who will later serve as his secret apprentice, dubbed Starkiller.
Once the story advances to the game's "present day" setting, Starkiller becomes the playable character. While in possession of a number of different force powers, the apprentice's abilities are far outmatched by those displayed by Vader in the opening sequence. However, this serves as a starting point for the apprentice as he enhances his force power and gains new abilities while embarking on missions given to him by Lord Vader, each of which will aid in ridding the empire of the remaining members of the Jedi order. While acting in secret, Starkiller is seen as a foreign aggressor, hence the rebel resistance throughout each mission. The story in The Force Unleashed is engaging to say the least. Coupled with the terrific voice acing Lucas Arts' games are renowned for, this new branch of the Star Wars saga is indeed one fans should check out.
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EddieTurner - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
No! IT'S NOT TRUE!!!!!! . . . : )Visual - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
no force pull... it was so much fun to pull enemies directly onto your saber in the previous jedi knights games... impale them without even swinging! well ok, no, it didnt work too much as the damage was minimal. but this game could've fixed this, instead of breaking in completely :(no force deflect! now that's an incompetent lightsaber user if i ever saw one!
how about force speed, sense, speed, absorb, speed, drain, speed, heal, speed, defense, speed, mind trick and speed? i hope they have them... if not, at least force speed should be there.
the game really doesn't sound good to me now... maybe if the wii version does a good job with the wiimote lightsaber control... but even then, it better have multiplayer duels or it is just wasting its fun potential.
(oh and, anandtech, your post comment has a broken stylesheet and the formatting buttons don't work)
Aquila76 - Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - link
They replaced that 'pull onto Saber' move with Saber Impale (Grip and Saber Toss).The powers are Push, Grip/Throw, Choke, Lightning, Deflect (this is always on to a minimal extent, but you can also go into Deflect mode and block / return nearly all the blaster shots; it also increases in skill as you progress through the game), Saber Throw, Double Jump, Dash (a short-burst form of Speed), Repulse (knocks down people & objects around you), and Maelstrom (high power Force tornado that does huge damage; a bit hard to pull off if your in heavy combat, though). Most of these can be combined (Jump & Lightning or Push, Lightning & Push makes your foe slide away from you crackling and then and Detonate upon contact with object or other foes, Push & Lightning knocks enemies down and fires an electric ball to Scorch them, etc.). There are also Lightsaber chain moves (swing L, R, then Up, etc.) and Lightsaber & Force combos (2 or 3 swings and Push or Lightning, Jump and swing, Jump then Dash then swing, etc.).
Wii version has dueling mode for the multi-player. The Wii-remote is quite possibly the best Lightsaber controller, ever. I'm surprised they didn't review the Wii version. Maybe they're gonna do it separately?
I actually rented and played the whole game straight through on Saturday. The wife was out of town, so I didn't have the nagging 'empty the trash' or 'take out the dog' or 'pay me attention' and whatever other asinine things wives normally clamor on about when we're trying to have fun. So far, this was the best 11 hours of my year! I'm going to buy this with the next Best Buy 10% off coupon I get.
fepple - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
In some of the previous games force jumping over people then a force pull would dispatch whole groups :DEddieTurner - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
If it's any consolation, I did detect the force head scratch, the force lean, and the force blink in the game. And I swear I saw the force nod, but I can't be sure of that one. It was late.SlyNine - Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - link
Is the force tea bagg in there ? That would be sweet.KnIgHtCoM - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
No PC Version + No Multiplayer = FAIL9nails - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
I was at Target last night, saw the display on the end cap... The Xbox 360 section was nearly sold out. Wii was second. PS3 and DS were mostly full. My purchase would have been an impulse buy, but I wanted a PC version. I checked the PC shelves, but couldn't find it.So there's no PC version 'eh?
Epic Fail, indeed.
ComatoseDelirium - Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - link
Great looking game, no pc version makes it a fail in my opinion.ComatoseDelirium - Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - link
Great looking game, no pc version makes it a fail in my opinion.