Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Review - Xbox 360

7

Gameplay: 6
Graphics: 8
Audio: 8
Innovation: 7

Introduction

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has been on many gamers’ radars for a long time now. From the moment the tech demo leaked showing off the full powers of the Euphoria, Havok and DMM engines, interest in the title has been high. This has been somewhat tempered in recent weeks with the release of the demo, which demonstrated clunky control mechanics, generic visuals, a shoddy camera and uninspiring gameplay. At a time when the Star Wars brand is been going downhill, has LucasArts got the balance between cool force powers and engaging gameplay right, or is this another Star Wars bore?

Gameplay

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, set between Episode III and IV, kicks off with Darth Vader arriving on the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk. After letting an Imperial General know in his own subtle way that he doesn’t care much for the Empire’s assault on the planet, he sets about completing his own mission. Upon dispatching a fugitive Jedi, he senses a stronger presence in the area, only to discover a small child. After destroying a platoon of Imperial troops who were about to gun down the child, we fast-forward twenty years to discover Vader has trained the boy and is grooming him as his apprentice in an attempt to overthrow the Emperor.

Assuming the role of Starkiller, Vader’s secret apprentice, you are sent out to track down and kill all the remaining Jedi. Force Unleashed has one of the strongest Star Wars stories in a long time, with multiple twists, double crosses and a tale that doesn’t reveal its full hand until the very end. There are a few familiar faces that pop up through the game, and some interesting new ones, from the hidden Jedi who refused to have Clone Troopers in his unit and escaped the Order 66 directive, to your pilot Juno and communications droid PROXY. The banter and relationship between your team adds further weight to the drama that unfolds. Overall, the story to Force Unleashed is extremely strong, engaging and a welcome addition to the Star Wars saga.

The game is a third person action-adventure, with Starkiller working his way through various locations solving minor puzzles and dispatching anything and everything that gets in his way. The ‘destroy everything’ order comes from Vader – and is given to maintain anonymity – and a great deal of fun is had dispatching any stormtrooper, imperial, droid or jawa that crosses your path. The puzzles aren’t as headache-inducing as they should be, and only really serve as a minor roadblock while you work out which Force power is needed to manipulate the environment in the right way.

At the end of every level you’ll tackle a boss, but again it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The camera changes to a cinematic one, offering you little control, though for most bosses it works fine. You will almost constantly be locked onto your foe, making for greater control over the environment targets around you. The procedure for taking down a boss is (continued next page)