Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (and Unrealized)

The game’s narrative and cinematics may be strong enough for serious Star Wars fans to justify the habitually frustrating ten to twelve hour experience. The game’s bridging of the events between Episodes III and IV is far better than the titles glitch-filled gameplay. As story begins, Darth Vader stalks a Jedi on the Wookie planet of Kashyyyk. Upon elimination of the Jedi, Vader discovers a young boy, whom he trains as his apprentice. Years pass, as the young man, now nicknamed ‘Starkiller’ is sent on a series of mission to eliminate any threats to the Empire.  Unleashed arguably has the strongest plot of any Star Wars game to date, along with a wonderful graphical representation of the Lucas’ universe.

                                       “Don’t give me that ‘these aren’t the droids you’re looking for’, BS”
 
Graphically, Force Unleashed dazzles, with an awesome display of texture work and color. Each of the games environments feels unique, from the dense fields of waste on Raxus Prime to the cold, industrial halls of the TIE fighter construction yard. Both Darth Vader and the Apprentice match the level of detail found in their Soul Caliber 4 models. However, some of the visual aspects of the game are a mixed bag. When combustible containers are exploding in a chain reaction, the framerate remains relatively constant, although the title seemed to inexplicably sputter when attacking enemies with the light saber.

Unleashed ultimately disappoints in its gameplay mechanics. Although throwing around objects can be perpetually satisfying if executed properly, locking on to the right object is frequently an exercise in frustration. The game superimposes glowing brackets to indicate the entity affected by your force powers. When targets are isolated, there is no problem, but when a grouping of items appears, the game rarely selects the intended object.  Instead of tossing a machine gunner who is plinking away at the player’s health bar, the player will likely pick up a defenseless rock. As the game grows progressively harder, the lack of precise controls grows increasingly maddening.

                                            How come Force Lightening doesn’t make Force Thunder?

The game’s developers made a curious decision to forgo the emerging standard of a regenerating health bar. Instead, the player absorbs green orbs released by fallen enemies. In order to balance player health with the tide of incoming attacks, the game was forced to create areas of endlessly respawning enemies. Still, enemies are more pesky then they are lethal. The greatest threat to the player may be the environment- we witnessed more than a few unintended falls resulting in death.

While Unleashed guides the player down a very linear path, to fully maximize the power of the apprentice, the player must deviate off the beaten path into the occasional alcove. Sadly, this is where the game seems unfinished, as sections will frequently send the player sliding to their death. The game’s camera is functional on horizontal surfaces, like those seen in the demo. However, once the game introduces changes in elevation, the camera becomes ineffective and spastic.

For a game that seems built around open-ended gameplay, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed offers little actual variety. Sure, there all multiple ways to kill your enemies, but some are only semi-functional. As it stands, this apprentice showed promise, but lacks the ability to perform the essentials.