Review: Star Wars the Force Unleashed
Duh duh… du du du daaaa duhhhh du du du daaaa duhhhhh du du du daaaa. Ahem, sorry about that. It was just my excitement for all things Star Wars trying to build up this game at least a little bit. The Force Unleashed (360) can now be picked up for about $30 used which wouldn’t be a bad buy if it wasn’t so damn mind numbing. Oh, snap, maybe I just blew the rest of the review! Well, I think not since this game actually starts off well then collapses nearly as much as the Clone Wars movie.
I will open this up by saying I have not yet finished this game. I don’t have 8+ hours a day to play games, though I’ll take the job if anyone is hiring, so there will be times that a game just isn’t worth it. There is not a plan to make this a habit and I will, rightfully, update the review if I finish the game and have a sudden change of heart but I am about 2/3 of the way done and can’t really take much more.
We’ve all heard that song on the radio that has an absolutely awesome first 30 to 60 seconds and then just implodes. That is pretty much The Force Unleashed. Something that has always bothered me about the Star Wars movies is the lack of emphasis on how powerful the Force really is. Vader was always feared without question but I thought he kind of looked like a guy that just wanted a hug. Sure, Vader needed to choke a bitch once in awhile but I could never really picture him taking out entire armies. Not anymore!
Lord Vader is the first controllable character in the game and he could be the most powerful video game character I’ve ever used. I mean, Mario with a Star would even shit himself. You can basically walk around and kill everything just by deflecting shots, throwing everything/one, choking many bitches, or just do anything you damn well please. Using the Force to destroy barriers, throw things, and win fights began really great with Vader and this game was suddenly showing me how powerful the Force was as I just obliterated absolutely anything at will. I’m not sure there could have been a better setup.
*Hyper Thought* - How in the Hell could Vader not just destroy the Emperor by himself? I think Vader could get orange juice from apples.
I’m not going to get into too much of the story because that has been the most interesting part of the game but here is a quick run down. You are playing as Starkiller who is Vader’s new secret apprentice. Starkiller is trying to become stronger so that him and Vader can rule the universe. Most of the missions that Lord Vader has lined up simply involve killing various Jedi that are still alive.
One with The Force (the good stuff)
The game does get a lot of things right. First, the Force powers are crazy good. It’s easy to see when you first start the game that the Force is really what the game is about. There is an argument that just throwing Stormtroopers around could be a whole game. Powers are executed very well with lightning stunning people while also being able to kill, light saber throws are excellent, and the Force push/grip is a certain highlight.
Experience points are earned through killing enemies and finding Holocron cubes. Players have a fairly large selection of upgrades to choose from so it’s possible to really “build” your character to however you want to play the game. Force combos, Force powers, and then general fighting abilities are available. Also, as players progress they will find different crystals (colors) for their light sabers and have the option to wear various clothing. Very action/RPGish and I dig that.
Graphics and cinematics are both very well executed. Environments can be a little limited in depth but most objects can be thrown, blown up, or otherwise interactive. I never experienced any sort of slowdown while playing and didn’t run into any major glitches.
The DarkSide (run run run!)
Now for the unfortunate but very deserving blows to this game. While the Force powers are really excellent they are also hard to control due to the crappy fighting mechanics. Targeting in this game is rough to say the least and the combo system is fairly awkward. Yeah, it’s easy to hit X,Y,X or whatever combo you’re trying to do but as you progressevery key combination seems to become a combo! At that point, Force Unleashed can become a button masher instead of a well thought out combat game.
Enemies in this game suck. The designers apparently knew that the combat system wasn’t that great AND the enemies sucked because the game really doesn’t force the player to become more skilled but rather just lumps on MORE of the enemies and makes them take more shots. Prince of Persia was the last game I played where I really was challeneged to adapt my fighting style and improve it to kill my enemies instead of just jamming ‘X’ a few more times. There will also be a number of situations where killing a certain enemy will probably resort to a gimmick. AT-ST in front of you? Stand behind a wall that it could walk over but doesn’t and throw your lightsaber at it until boom!
Even the fights with Jedi just are not fun. For some reason I expected fights with Jedi to be more about fighting the damn Jedi instead of unlimited hordes of whatever goons are in the level, other random monsters, or any other bullshit that is not fighting a Jedi. Is it really so much to ask for that I just simply have to use my skills and powers to win?
The “finishing moves” are just stupid. Instead of having to beat the pee out of an AT-ST it’s mostly just hitting a few buttons. When an enemy gets at a critical point it sets off a series of button pushes to finish it. Yes, that’s right, 20 minutes might be spent repeatedely whacking the shit out of a rogue Jedi and it’s over with a series of buttons. Basically, the game will take control of your player and flash a button on the screen that needs to be pushed followed by another until the sequence is done and the game wipes out the enemy. This sucks because it’s not fun, and instead of watching the badassness unfold you’re busy pushing and watching for button flashes. It didn’t add anything to the game so I don’t understand why they did it.
Pete and RePete were on a boat and you’ll get bored with this game before you get bored saying “RePete.” Seriously, the levels take forever to complete and it’s mostly just fighting the same enemies over and over for way too long. I almost felt like I was “grinding” in WoW. Again, nothing really added to the game here so why make it this way. The worst part is that this is only about a 10 hour game!
Summary
The Force Unleashed is one heck of an initial experience with one of the best opening stages and characters I’ve even seen. I can’t justify giving this game a recommendation to go out and buy because it’s just not worth the money. Find a friend with a copy, get a rental, or wait till it’s in the $10 bin because spending $50 or $60 on this game is just insane (don’t feel too bad if you already did or at least don’t make me feel worse for doing so). I’m going to mark this game as a Third Hander for the borrow/rental category.
Production: 8.5/10
By far the strongest point of the game are the levels, characters, Force powers, and environments.
Graphics: 8/10
Well done, especially with the Force powers
Sound: 7.5/10
The Star Wars soundtrack is great but I thought some of the explosions and other things could have been enhanced some
Gameplay: 5.5/10
5 of that 5.5 is simply for being able to start with Vader. Boring, lacking in control, and mostly just not fun.
Replay: 1/10
I haven’t even finished it and it’s only about a 10 hour game. Replaying it? Maybe just to use Vader!
Overall: 61% - Borrow/Rental
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4 Responses to “Review: Star Wars the Force Unleashed”
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February 5th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
This suffered from the hype. I had planned to get until I played the demo. The demo was so astoundingly unspectacular I know it was a game I would never be motivated to finish.
February 6th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I usually don’t try to hold a demo to the highest regard and really liked the ideas behind the game so I bought it. Defintely wish I had that one back haha.
February 8th, 2009 at 9:31 am
But, Hyper, you forgot some of my favorite parts of the game. The cheap, off-screen hits. The juggle combos (get knocked down, wait through the stand-up animation, get knocked down again the instant you regain your feet with no chance to dodge or block). And the fact that, just when you start to get the hang of being a badass Sith, they give you enemies immune to your Force powers, negating half your arsenal. And you don’t think that’s fun?
February 8th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Ah, how could I forget one of my biggest gripes of the whole freaking game the knock down! I’ve timed it at about 8 seconds to get to your feet. Super Jedi/Sith power right der!