Old Review: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3)

My Review- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3)

The Star Wars franchise has undergone an unfortunate shift over the last decade or so. The once great film series was sullied with three subpar prequel installments, and ever since then (some could argue even before that), Star Wars has never seemed to find it’s footing, alternating between great sci-fi and complete crap with seemingly every new entry. The Force Unleashed gained much attention upon it’s release, not only because of the promise of great action, but also because George Lucas stated that the game would bridge the gap between the two trilogies. Does Force Unleashed stand as a worthy addition to the series, or is it just another highly polished turd, like the prequels?

STORY (SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW)

The Force Unleashed begins with Darth Vader hunting a Jedi during the Battle of Kashyyk. Upon finding his target, he discovers that the Jedi has a son who is very strong in the Force. Killing the witnessing Stormtroopers, Vader takes the child under his wing, raising him as an apprentice. Fast forward a decade or so, and the apprentice, codenamed Starkiller, is hunting down the remaining Jedi Knights at Darth Vaders bidding, understanding that, should he grow strong enough, he and Vader will kill the Emperor and rule the galaxy.

The Force Unleashed’s basic story concept is interesting, but the execution is very flawed (a recurring flaw in modern Star Wars). While the idea of a Sith Apprentice hunting Jedi sounds like an interesting and unusual concept, the game never really takes advantage of the implications. The story is supposed to be a tale of redemption, but Starkiller never seems to need redeeming. From the start, he seems guilty of his actions and shocked at the horrors of the dark side, rarely seeming like a true Sith. His character is further flawed by a lack of exploration- there’s some cursory character development, but it’s very brief- we never even learn his real name. His actions are supposed to be extremely important- he’s supposed to have founded the Rebel Alliance- but since he’s never been mentioned elsewhere, the game takes some serious stretching of canon events in order to ‘fit’ him into Star Wars history, and the oddness of some of these situations is noticeable. The other characters are equally weak- Juno Eclipse is a completely worthless love interest (even more useless than Padme was), and PROXY seems to just be there to serve as fanservice during a filler boss (won’t spoil this, but PROXY is a droid who can use holograms to turn him into other Star Wars characters- when you see who the boss is, you’ll facepalm your brain out). The voice acting is good, and the dialogue is usually alright, but when the dialogue gets bad, IT GETS BAD.

Starkiller honestly reminds me a lot of Anakin Skywalker from the prequels. Both characters have a lot of potential, ruined by horrible execution. They are supposed to be great warriors who find themselves at odds with the ideals of their masters, but George Lucas seems unable to perform this properly. Anakin’s fall to darkness was summed up in half a movie, and Starkillers turn to the light is equally trite and semi-ridiculous. The Force Unleashed, in short, is very much like the Star Wars prequels- pretty looking, epic sounding, with a lot of good ideas, but ruined in the end. (as a side note, the story is The Force Unleashed makes a lot more sense as official Star Wars canon than it’s craptastic sequel, of which we will speak no more of.)

GAMEPLAY

The Force Unleashed may fail as a narrative, but as a gameplay experience, it’s excellent. If you’ve ever wanted to be a Jedi, this is your game.

Force Unleashed has a pretty standard action game style. In addition to basic attacks (lightsaber swings and standard force powers), you can perform combos with different button combinations. Killing enemies restores a bit of health and provides experience, which can be used to upgrade your powers. Powerful enemies and bosses are killed by quicktime events. Starkiller has access to a great variety of death dealing powers- force lightning, shockwaves, lightsaber tossing, and more. Especially cool is that almost anything can be grabbed with the Force and moved freely. The game strives to be an authentic Star Wars experience, and it is. Starkiller may be a wimp in the cutscenes, but in game you truly feel like a badass Sith warrior. As far as level design goes, the game’s maps are straightforward and linear, but expansive enough to allow a sense of exploration. The game also autosaves frequently, making your infrequent deaths minor annoyances.

The majority of the gameplay is fun, but there are a few minor snags here and there. First of all, quite a few enemies are immune to certain Force Powers. While this encourages you to mix it up, it’s annoying that some random Stormtroopers can survive six lightsaber strikes and not be killed. A few ridiculously powerful enemies show up in groups sometime (Imperial Purge Troopers are the biggest offender here). The game also occasionally glitches out, getting you stuck in walls or floating outside of the level. A HUGE problem with the game is the sequence in which Starkiller uses the Force to pull a Star destroyer out of the sky. It’s a Quicktime Event (sadly), but even worse, the onscreen instructions for the first section tell you the OPPOSITE of what to do. It’s annoying, and tedious, and a stupid oversight on the developers part. Still, The Force Unleashed is a fun game. You’ll only get about ten hours of gameplay, but that’s a perfect length for this sort of thing.

PRESENTATION

Right away, the Force Unleashed looks like a genuine Star Wars game, with the classic opening crawl and theme music. Throughout the game, the presentation is excellent, carrying the unique look and feel of the films. In game cutscenes are inconsistent, although they look fine, and CG scenes consistently look great. The levels are worth mentioning, showcasing the grandeur of Star Wars with every expansive area. The voicework is excellent, even if the writing is hit or miss. Of course, the classic Star Wars music sounds great, although a lack of original tunes is disappointing. The only great flaw with the presentation is the glitches. In a current generation game, this is especially frustrating.

CONCLUSION

No, Star Wars fans, this game won’t salvage the series with it’s story. But if you can stomach some inane plot threads and just enjoy the game, The Force Unleashed is probably the best experience you’ll have playing as a Jedi. And honestly, if you can put up with the prequels, the iffy story won’t be a problem for you.

SCORE- B-