[Review] Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Justananomaly · 09-18-2008, 08:29 AM

Title: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Developer: Lucas Arts
Publisher: Lucas Arts
Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Released: September 16th, 2008
Genre: Action, Fighting

Every so often Lucas Arts releases another Star Wars game, usually consisting of useless piles of crap with the latest in graphics to please the fan boys. Now while the best Star Wars games have always been developed by others (KOTOR1/2 by BioWare, Rogue Squad/Leader by Factor 5) Lucas Arts has developed their own titles, all of which have been failures. I decided to sit down with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed to see if they could turn things around.

Graphics (10/10):
The force is strong with this one. The visuals are absolutely stunning, if this game does ANYTHING well, it's a sense of the realism of the Star Wars universe. From the junk planet, to jungle environments, to fighters, and of course your typical Imperial Class Star Destroyer, The Force Unleashed delivers very well. The character models are very well done and the fluid character animations of "The Apprentice" and his unique fighting stances were very well done, and the enemies have that sense of liveliness hardly found in games today.

Sound/Music (8/10):
Now while there is no Katina Band, the music, as per usual in Star Wars, is outstanding. I can say no more about it. However, the sounds of the game do get a bit repetitive but are not annoyingly so. That's the only real gripe I have as far as the audio goes. It does the game pretty well and matches the environments and scenarios pretty well. It could have done better, but its still pretty good.

Game Play: (4/10): Use the force Luke! The game takes place between Episode 3 and Episode 4 and you play the role of a force sensitive boy called "The Apprentice." As you play you get to develop aspects of your character and increase his abilities and so on. The story line aside, and yes, my gripes here are not about the story line, the rest of the game absolutely disappoints me. Now before you find my lack of faith disturbing, hear me out. First off the camera works against you, while I never complain about cameras this one is needed for most of the force effects and it leaves you utterly defenseless at certain key points of the game. Also, the force physics nearly made me cry. You get stuck in doors, often enemies dont even respond or even know you're a foot in front of them unless you blast them across the room, and the rag doll physics seems like it was ripped right out of Half-Life 2 which was made YEARS ago. Also the infamous scene where you were suppose to use The Force to crash a Star Destroyer down to the planet consists of fighting off enemies, then turning the Star Destroyer, then fighting more enemies, rinse and repeat. On one level the menu system has "Default Text" as if the developers just forgot they were even making a game. The entire game, with the exception of the graphics and sound, could have been done a whole lot better. The boss fights seam mediocre and they all seem like normal enemies except they are somehow invulnerable to half your attacks, and throughout the game no matter how you design your characters statistics, you never truly feel one step above the enemies. This is a rental title for sure unless they revamp it.

Replay Ability (6/10): The multiplayer saves this game, I only got a brief example of it but from what I played it was actually pretty decent. The main story however at this point is not even worth playing through one time, let alone twice, unless you just want to see the developing story line.

Fun Factor (5/20): Ok farm boy, the physics, when they are not bugging out on you, are actually pretty fun. It's always fun to throw a storm trooper head on into a wall or crush him into a ball and bounce him off a few of his comrades. However this gets boring and there are only a couple times in the game where you can actually do something epic at which point its pretty much the standard timed-button-press scenarios we've seen a dozen times in Spiderman 3 and God of War.

Overall: Rent this, if you're a fan boy you will like it, if you're not then you probably wont after the first couple of levels. If they would have just pushed back the release date and hired some better bug testers, this could have possibly been my favorite game of 2008. Now let's blow this thing and go home!

stkr · 09-18-2008, 08:35 AM

Nice job

. "On one level the menu system has "Default Text" as if the developers just forgot they were even making a game. "--

Justananomaly · 09-18-2008, 09:06 AM

Thanks stkr!

Gow616 · 09-18-2008, 11:28 AM

After I read the IGN review and now this one...I will save my ducats for Fallout 3 only, hoping it turns the tide of let down.

Felix50 · 09-20-2008, 02:44 PM

thnx man i will probably rent it like u said but ill just do that for achievements

Matt · 09-23-2008, 02:26 PM

what kind of multiplayer does this have because i bought it yesturday or the xbox 360 and it says it is only 1 player

vansow · 10-02-2008, 07:12 PM

This is an awesome game.

Demonick · 10-03-2008, 08:26 AM

I love this game.. Rented it from Blockbuster on wii and the controls are great.. I'll end up buying it after I take it back.

09-18-2008, 08:29 AM	#1 (permalink)
Justananomaly zB Nightshift Support Team Premium Member Section Staff Super Zuner Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: 127.0.0.1 Posts: 1,709 Reputation: 370	[Review] Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Title: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Developer: Lucas Arts Publisher: Lucas Arts Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3 Released: September 16th, 2008 Genre: Action, Fighting Every so often Lucas Arts releases another Star Wars game, usually consisting of useless piles of crap with the latest in graphics to please the fan boys. Now while the best Star Wars games have always been developed by others (KOTOR1/2 by BioWare, Rogue Squad/Leader by Factor 5) Lucas Arts has developed their own titles, all of which have been failures. I decided to sit down with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed to see if they could turn things around. Graphics (10/10): The force is strong with this one. The visuals are absolutely stunning, if this game does ANYTHING well, it's a sense of the realism of the Star Wars universe. From the junk planet, to jungle environments, to fighters, and of course your typical Imperial Class Star Destroyer, The Force Unleashed delivers very well. The character models are very well done and the fluid character animations of "The Apprentice" and his unique fighting stances were very well done, and the enemies have that sense of liveliness hardly found in games today. Sound/Music (8/10): Now while there is no Katina Band, the music, as per usual in Star Wars, is outstanding. I can say no more about it. However, the sounds of the game do get a bit repetitive but are not annoyingly so. That's the only real gripe I have as far as the audio goes. It does the game pretty well and matches the environments and scenarios pretty well. It could have done better, but its still pretty good. Game Play: (4/10): Use the force Luke! The game takes place between Episode 3 and Episode 4 and you play the role of a force sensitive boy called "The Apprentice." As you play you get to develop aspects of your character and increase his abilities and so on. The story line aside, and yes, my gripes here are not about the story line, the rest of the game absolutely disappoints me. Now before you find my lack of faith disturbing, hear me out. First off the camera works against you, while I never complain about cameras this one is needed for most of the force effects and it leaves you utterly defenseless at certain key points of the game. Also, the force physics nearly made me cry. You get stuck in doors, often enemies dont even respond or even know you're a foot in front of them unless you blast them across the room, and the rag doll physics seems like it was ripped right out of Half-Life 2 which was made YEARS ago. Also the infamous scene where you were suppose to use The Force to crash a Star Destroyer down to the planet consists of fighting off enemies, then turning the Star Destroyer, then fighting more enemies, rinse and repeat. On one level the menu system has "Default Text" as if the developers just forgot they were even making a game. The entire game, with the exception of the graphics and sound, could have been done a whole lot better. The boss fights seam mediocre and they all seem like normal enemies except they are somehow invulnerable to half your attacks, and throughout the game no matter how you design your characters statistics, you never truly feel one step above the enemies. This is a rental title for sure unless they revamp it. Replay Ability (6/10): The multiplayer saves this game, I only got a brief example of it but from what I played it was actually pretty decent. The main story however at this point is not even worth playing through one time, let alone twice, unless you just want to see the developing story line. Fun Factor (5/20): Ok farm boy, the physics, when they are not bugging out on you, are actually pretty fun. It's always fun to throw a storm trooper head on into a wall or crush him into a ball and bounce him off a few of his comrades. However this gets boring and there are only a couple times in the game where you can actually do something epic at which point its pretty much the standard timed-button-press scenarios we've seen a dozen times in Spiderman 3 and God of War. Overall: Rent this, if you're a fan boy you will like it, if you're not then you probably wont after the first couple of levels. If they would have just pushed back the release date and hired some better bug testers, this could have possibly been my favorite game of 2008. Now let's blow this thing and go home! __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. "Anomalys exist, for without struggle there is no progress." This post may or may not contain accurate information. This post is that of my own opinion, knowledge, and reasoning, and does not nessessarily reflect that of CroudGather or Zuneboards and their affiliates, period. Last edited by Justananomaly : 09-18-2008 at 08:46 AM.

09-18-2008, 08:35 AM	#2 (permalink)
stkr 'Keep Moving Forward...' GFX Crew Section Staff Expert Zuner Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: United States Posts: 2,889 Reputation: 489 Awards Showcase Total Awards: 1	Nice job . "On one level the menu system has "Default Text" as if the developers just forgot they were even making a game. "-- __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

09-18-2008, 09:06 AM	#3 (permalink)
Justananomaly zB Nightshift Support Team Premium Member Section Staff Super Zuner Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: 127.0.0.1 Posts: 1,709 Reputation: 370	Thanks stkr! __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. "Anomalys exist, for without struggle there is no progress." This post may or may not contain accurate information. This post is that of my own opinion, knowledge, and reasoning, and does not nessessarily reflect that of CroudGather or Zuneboards and their affiliates, period.

09-18-2008, 11:28 AM	#4 (permalink)
Gow616 <Genre Unbound> Support Team Premium Member Section Staff Elite Zuner Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Fort Wayne, IN, USA Posts: 2,098 Reputation: 527 Awards Showcase Total Awards: 1	After I read the IGN review and now this one...I will save my ducats for Fallout 3 only, hoping it turns the tide of let down. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Gow now ships with Trogdor created profile picture and Munke, STKR, Volpe sig. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

09-20-2008, 02:44 PM	#5 (permalink)
Felix50 Zuner Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: At Home Posting Posts: 73 Reputation: 9	thnx man i will probably rent it like u said but ill just do that for achievements

10-02-2008, 07:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
vansow Jr. Zuner Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 42 Reputation: 8	This is an awesome game.

10-03-2008, 08:26 AM	#8 (permalink)
Demonick Jr. Zuner Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 32 Reputation: 18	I love this game.. Rented it from Blockbuster on wii and the controls are great.. I'll end up buying it after I take it back.

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