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Posted on: Sep 16, 2008
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
WORDS BY: Corey Cohen
Annoyingly, though, the boss battles are a very different experience. Most levels end with you fighting a Jedi or other “big bad”; you essentially have to whale away at him until you figure out what Force powers or combos work best and you see his health bar start to drop. Lower his bar enough, and you’ll trigger a quicktime event (QTE) where pressing the right face buttons defeats him. Now, we’re not against QTEs per se, but this whole boss-battle setup feels disempowering and anticlimactic — suddenly, you’re weak and ineffectual, and when you do win, the QTE steals the tactile feeling of victory. You finish off AT-STs, Rancors, and other mini-bosses with QTEs, too, and again, you feel oddly detached from combat.
Though it’s our main complaint, it’s one we kept coming back to — especially in the late-game, where, having milked our unlocked combo moves for much of their fun factor, we were eager to vanquish new bosses and mini-bosses using our leveled-up Force powers…not a few well-timed button-presses. On a smaller note, we had a nagging feeling that the game could’ve used a little more dev time to eliminate irritables like invisible walls and a lack of contextual clues in a few spots (so it was, say, clearer what machinery you needed to move so you could continue through a level).
Balancing that aggravation is the game’s story — a definite strong suit. Force Unleashed’s plot bridges Episodes III and IV, and the game wholeheartedly embraces its role in official Star Wars canon. To their credit, the exciting cutscenes and dramatic finale do the Original Trilogy justice, and while we didn’t buy the hokey love angle with pilot Juno Eclipse (even if we are talking about hokey religions and ancient weapons), we remained hooked by the overall tale.
The vehicle for that story — the game itself — proved less engaging. With its non-branching storyline and no multiplayer, Force Unleashed is certainly less ambitious than the classic Jedi Knight games — and ultimately, its design makes it feel more videogame-y and less of an all-engrossing Star Wars experience than Xbox entries like Jedi Knight II or Jedi Academy. But when the game’s on, it’s on, and Star Wars nuts will revel in those moments where you can be an unbridled, Force-fueled bully.
PREVOn Xbox 360
- Demolishing enemies like a Jedi badass.
- Entertaining Star Wars story.
- Boss battles and QTEs; less inspired and less polished than LucasArts' classic Jedi Knight games.
- Why is Force Push-ing enemies off cliffs so addictive?
Sun, 10/18/2009 - 12:46
Posted by wickland
This Star Wars game was not as satisfying as I was originally expecting.
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 19:14
Posted by AK89
A fairly entertaining game, though by the time I had gotten all of the mind-numbing achievements I was thoroughly sick of it. As a true Star Wars geek, parts of the story annoyed me. Rahm Kota is a pathetic excuse for a Jedi. All Shaak Ti's apprentice (can't remember her name) has to do to escape a well-deserved death is say "I'm sorry, I'll never do it again!" (seriously, Starkiller? I thought you were supposed to be a merciless killer). And this annoyed me more than anything: the Emperor and Vader know by the end of the game who their enemies are, who created the Rebellion. Yet none of these three people go into hiding over the next several years; on the contrary, one is the leader of a planet and the other two are Senators! So why aren't they killed?
A lot of minor story-related things irked me enough to really bring down the game for me, although gameplay was quite captivating...for a time.
Tue, 10/14/2008 - 15:41
Posted by EarlessDiablo
i shouldn't have bought this game
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 18:43
Posted by ubetter
i played this game and beat in 4 days. and i must say im glad i rented this game first because i wasnt pleased at all with the games outcome. the story was good enough to keep me playing, but the gameplay wasnt polished and some parts of the game were just annoying. all hail to star wars fans everywhere, we deserve better then this.
Sat, 09/27/2008 - 09:47
Posted by ncasolobp
I will say this about the boss battles. They aren't hack n slash. You don't get to just run in there and let loose on a boss like you own the place and move on to the next level. The actual lightsaber portion of the boss fights... makes the Jedi Knight games seem trivial at best. In many of the boss fights don't bother getting in close for lightsaber combat because you'll die unless you're playing on an insanely easy difficulty.
My gripe against the QTE's is that the actual cutscenes are entertaining. I'd like to enjoy watching them rather than figuring out what buttons I'm going to need to push and when.
Thu, 09/25/2008 - 08:15
Posted by n00bIEwaN
I am going to have to agree with insomniak. A bunch of hype with little to no return. Yeah, the graphics were great but what big game recently hasn't been??? Luckily, my brother borrowed this game and surprised me with it. Kicked it around for a couple of hours and we both came to the same conclusion. This is a rent. Play it, 'ooh' and 'ahhh' it and drop it in the box when you're done. Hopefully, it will be at least the once through.
Agree with the score.
-n00bIEwaN
Sat, 09/20/2008 - 22:57
Posted by FalloutN1ck
This is a great game i love to force blast people 300 yards away and the graphics are crazy but it could have had more of a story made it a lil longer or even put in jedi battles or trails like in the wii and psp versions
Sat, 09/20/2008 - 05:14
Posted by Rev_bob_w
I was expecting a game more like the old Jedi Knight games. Not even close. How are game made 6 or 7 years ago still better than the turds they put out now.
Thu, 09/18/2008 - 10:33
Posted by insomniak
I gotta tell ya I was really looking forward to this game. Its been so hyped that I was sure this would be THE Star Wars game and, dare I say, grand enough to compete with KOTOR. However after playing the demo I was dissapointed to see another great game concept dashed by shitty controls. Unfortunately thats a deal breaker for me. There are so many great games out for the 360 right now that you really have to exceptional for me to invest in your game and this was simply not exceptional. If you are a Star Wars nerd you'll probably like it cause, well, your a Star Wars nerd. However if your like most of us who enjoy the movies alot but are not obsessive or nerdy about it then you might be very dissapointed. Luckily there is a demo over Xbox live so you can try for free and decide for yourself.
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 14:25
Posted by LocoGray
I love the game, but it is not quite what I expected, I must admit. I was hoping for a little more KOTOR in here, but the game is good enough, I won't complain about it and have enjoyed playing it. The score is perfect...great review. I am still crossing my fingers that someday, someone will mesh "Mass Effect" with a great Star Wars story...
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 14:05
Posted by blindside80
Well deserved score. This is a geat game for star wars fans.