Star Wars The Force Unleashed Review

BY Soheil Sadeghi | POSTED: 24 September 2008

The only chance to unleash your forces, if you have any.



Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a very special title. First because it's the only serious Star Wars game in the next-gen consoles (Serious means our beloved characters not appearing in a Lego form), second because it has made so much hype in the media for it's gorgeous graphics and spectacular new gaming technologies put into it by the developers, and third because it's simply Star Wars, one of the most acclaimed Sci/Fi movies turned into books, animations, video games, action figures and … Lego blocks.

Star Wars: TFU is a game worthy of a star wars title. Its story while not as great as the films but it fits into the whole picture perfectly. It fills the gap between episodes three (Revenge of the Sith) and four (A new hope). For those of you not so good with numbers it is between the last star wars and the first star wars movies screened (sounds more mysterious? I know!).  The story starts with the discovery of a strange boy strong in the force by Darth Vader himself while on a mission to fulfill the order 66 by hunting and killing the last of the Jedi in the Wookie planet of Kashyyyk. Witnessing  such a great power in so little a kid makes Darth Vader kills the child's Jedi father and rescue the kid from the imperial forces and train him to become his secret apprentice with the intention in mind to overthrown the Emperor in the future. Something you star wars fans already know which won't happen that way. This single truth about the story's outcome makes the game so interesting, because you eagerly want to play it to know what will happen to the character you become familiar with and find yourself attached to in the course of the game.

As the name implies, you rely on your force powers to overcome the hordes of different species of enemies coming at you. Using the force was never this satisfying in a game. You can pick up enemies and throw them off the cliff; you can even throw a big rock at a passing Tie-fighter to watch it explode in a very fashionable way. Because you are an apprentice of the dark lord himself, you are trained in the dark side force abilities, so picking up and electrifying the enemies is a joyful game for you. Your lightsaber is doing what it is meant to do in this game. You can learn various combos and correctly performing them makes you feel you are watching an episode of "So you think you can dance?" on TV. Our protagonist named Starkiller swiftly moves and takes out enemies like he is a very professional dancer on the stage.

Accompanying the Starkiller is a robot side-kick named Proxy, which acts as C3PO of the original films. His quotes and conversations with the main character provide the background pillars of the story. Also it reminds of a character named Cato in the classic Pink Panther movies. It seems the developers have burrowed the idea of that guy who was ordered by his master to attack him at any place and any time he is pleased to always put his master aware of the surroundings. Also you got a very beautiful pilot named Juno (not that teenage pregnant girl) who delivers you to the battle zone and acts as an escape plan when you are done with your mission.

The game has two new gaming techniques:  Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) and Euphoria. Lucas Arts showed these two technologies in the demo of the next Indiana Jones game (again not the Lego one) some years back but they made their way into the Star Wars: TFU game first. DMM acts as the source for giving each object the material of its own. When you shatter glass, it would act like real glass, the same applies for wood, iron, etc… DMM makes every object dynamically destructible like their real world counterparts. Euphoria provides the non-player character artificial intelligence; it is what Lucas Arts has proudly shown in any of the game's previous demonstrations. With Euphoria, for example when you pick up a storm trooper,  the guy desperately tries to hang himself to something in order to save his life, maybe this is a tree or the edge of a pit or simply his comrades. Although these two technologies are really outstanding but unfortunately you will not pay so much attention to them, but this does not mean they are worthless. Maybe when you are playing another game which does not support them, you just feel there is something missing there.

The graphics and Sound department have done a very great work. The game's character animations and the detailed environment are noteworthy. Also the sounds and music are top notch like all other star wars based games. The levels are huge. Sometime they make you tired and you just wish them to end. At the end of every level a boss awaits you and you have to find the best combination of techniques to defeat the boss. The first level starts with the invasion of Kashyyyk by the Darth Vader himself and you will have his entire force arsenal at your disposal, but Starkiller himself learns his new abilities throughout the game. By completing various objectives and picking up bonus force points cubes called Holocrons , you can learn new combos and also change your lightsaber color or giving it new abilities. You can also change your clothes or enhance some of your force powers.

Bear in mind that this game is not perfect. The biggest problem comes from the in-game camera. You have to manually rotate the camera to have a better view of your surroundings and this is a hard and cumbersome work at first but you will get used to it as the game progresses. The other minus points for the game are the large and never ending levels and repetitive enemies. In the course of the game you have to go back to some planets you've been before, although the levels are completely different but with the vast universe George Lucas has created, it would've been nice if there were more planets to visit with such a wonderful graphics and detailed environments the developers have put into the game.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a very good game. The story is engaging, the graphics are incredible and the mood fits with the classic three films. It is the best Star Wars game on the current gaming consoles and it is a very satisfying experience.