Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360, PS3)
by Eddie Turner on October 6, 2008 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Use the Force
While most force powers are initialized by pressing a single button on the controller, the force grip is activated using a partnership between the right trigger (RT) button on the 360 controller (L2 on the Sixaxis) and both analog sticks. As you progress through each level of the game, active objects or enemies are marked in blue. Once you've got your sights on what you wish to pick up, you pull the right trigger causing that object or enemy to be immediately suspended above the ground. At this point, the right analog stick is used to raise and lower your grip's intensity, and the left analog stick can be used to move your grip forward and backward. Once players have this scheme down, the symphony of destruction begins by letting go of the trigger while the object is in motion to throw it in the direction it's moving.
Force powers may also be combined with one another during combat. For instance, while suspending an enemy with the force grip, sending a jolt of force lightening his way doubles the damage, and by extension, the player's pleasure. Force powers are also used as elements of lightsaber attack combos. For example, players may choose to deal a quick one-two with the saber, followed by a quick force push to finish them off.
In addition to dealing with your attackers, force powers allow you to manipulate the environment to solve the game's puzzles. In order to advance in certain areas, the force push might be used to open doors, while the force grip can be used to extend catwalks. The situation may also call for players to electrocute an object for throwing, which takes advantage of multiple powers at once. Players will also use power combos to defeat the game's bosses. However, strategic power usage quickly turns to strategic button mashing as no boss goes down without a tedious mini-game sequence.
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With all these objects flying about in the game, one would expect some impressive physics. Fortunately, the game meets and often exceeds those expectations with gusto. Trees fall, walls crumble, and objects bounce around as you would expect in "real" life. Even so, the physics are exaggerated to a great degree. For instance, enemies thrown using the force grip will often sail through the air with no hope of returning to solid ground. This, of course, adds to the pleasure principal rather than subtracts from it. Knowing this, the developers incorporated an action camera that, when activated, follows enemies along their aerial paths to doomsday. Overall, the physics work really well in the game and can make for some great fun indeed.
The environments in The Force Unleashed are beautiful and are reminiscent of those one would expect to see in the Star Wars movies. Outdoor settings are cleverly crafted, often with multiple tiers in which to engage the enemy. Indoor environments are also laid out nicely with plenty of signature Star Wars eye-candy in every area. Environments in the game are also destructible and take damage on a scale that matches the current battle. To escalate the experience even further, Lucas Arts adds an enticing musical score composed by Mark Griskey, whose video game accolades include music for Knights of the Old Republic 2. These tunes, along with the original themes from John Williams, make The Force Unleashed a truly authentic Star Wars experience.
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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.