The Force is Weak in this One: Star Wars The Force Unleashed for the DS

Recently, Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise defied our expectations, and proved that a next-gen console experience could be duplicated on the Nintendo DS.  While we didn’t expect the handheld version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed to replicate the three different physics engines of its 360/PS3 brethren, we did assume that developer n-Space would create a compelling gameplay mechanic incorporating the DS’s touchscreen. After all, n-Space crafted a moderately successful port of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the unit, silencing the doubts of some skeptics.

Set in the period between Episodes III and IV of the Star Wars canon, Darth Vader adopts a young boy from the outskirts of space, like some sort of intergalactic Angelina Jolie. Vader trains the boy in the dark ways of the force, before giving him the codename of ‘Starkiller’. As the boy matures, he is sent on various missions to assassinate Jedis threatening the Empire.

Players can move Starkiller with either the D-pad, or the face buttons. Attacks are issued by tapping one of six designated areas on the DS’s touch screen. Later, combos require the player slide the stylus from one area into another.  Minigames are a brief reprieve from the agony of the core gameplay and require the player to perpendicularly cross light sabers, or absorb energy into a vortex.


              After hours of head scratching, the only caption we have for the screenshot on the right is, “WTF?”

All the typical trappings of a decent hack n’ slash are on display here. Dispatched foes dropping experience orbs that let you power up your abilities, and unlock new combos? Check. How about different costumes or customizable light sabers? Two checks. While devoid of originality, Force Unleashed probably hits all the key points of the designer’s design document. Sadly, in its execution of these items, the game fails miserably.
The gameplay itself is fundamentally unbalanced- players can use the force push repeatedly to slay most of the game’s enemies. By using this technique along with the saber slash, we were nearly able to complete the game.

Players looking for any semblance of challenge will have to look elsewhere; Unleashed’s greatest contest is trying to stay awake until the final credits. While enemy laser blasts take a minimal amount of health from the player, and are nearly never lethal, although the game has its share of one hit deaths.  Staying on an elevator too long in the TIE Fighter construction yard felt like an inept homage to Frogger, as we were carried off the screen to our death. Gameplay is unforgiving linear- players must kill all antagonists, before a door is mysteriously weakened enough to force push.

Graphically, the game is an unattractive mess, as character are drawn with a minimum of polygons. We would have been oblivious to the notion that we fighting Wookies, if it wasn’t for the signature growl emitted when they were eliminated. When the player is tapping the attack icons, they are forced to monitor life bars for signs of successful strikes; it is nearly impossible to gauge hit detection by looking at character models.  At least John Williams’ legendary melodies and the iconic Star Wars sound effects are recognizable and faithfully duplicated.

We can easily sum up Star Wars: The Force Unleashed by the quote given by the Dark Lord early in the game, “Whatever you want, you won’t find here. Turn back”. Heed the Lord’s advice, and steer clear of this product, which seems destined to fill the Death Star’s trash compactor one day.

Final Grade: D