This is not the game you're looking for. Yes, it's a massive shame. We've been salivating over The Force Unleashed for two years, as have most of you, but the end product just doesn't live up the massive expectations it built up. Well, as a game anyway.
LucasArts has billed The Force Unleashed as the link between the rather bloated Episode III, Revenge of the Sith, and the excellent original film, Episode IV, A New Hope. As a story, this game hits the spot. In fact, we'd go as far as to say that this is one of the best pieces of storytelling you'll find on 360. No wonder George Lucas gave it his official thumbs up. It doesn't try to cram in anachronistic cameos, or shoehorn in clever little nods to the original films to try and make itself cool: it just weaves a magical story that'll keep driving you to the end, no matter how irritated you might get with some of the game's clumsy flaws.
The beautiful visuals certainly help The Force Unleashed to get its plot and emotions across with maximum impact. Pre-rendered cut-scenes are incredible - perhaps the best on 360 - as each of the characters looks genuinely alive, and the in-game business doesn't look too shabby either. Coupled with that, the beautiful Star Wars score echoes throughout every moment, giving the experience that stirring, authentic feel.
Jawa-nory, tell us a story The fact that the game is so perfectly pitched and presented towards Star Wars aficionados is its greatest asset, but for you, it'll be the biggest problem. You see, as a game The Force Unleashed is not £50 well spent. It's a fairly standard, fairly short action game with too few frills and too many problems. Oh, and no multiplayer whatsoever. Clocking in at around six to eight hours, depending on how talented you are with a lightsaber, or how willing you are to wander each level looking for every bonus item, this isn't great value for money. Once the story is finished, you're unlikely to go back for another play-through.
The problem is that games like Devil May Cry 4 and Ninja Gaiden 2 have come along in 2008 and rather embarrassed The Force Unleashed. While they offered slick combat that switched effortlessly between close and ranged combat, this game feels clunky and unrefined by comparison. The opening level of the game, where you play as Vader, is particularly slow and tedious. Picking up Wookiees and lobbing them into the abyss may seem like a laugh, but after around 50 or 60 times performing the same move, it can get a bit tedious.
It's a relief, then, to take control of the Secret Apprentice in the second stage. He feels quicker, more responsive and has a better range of moves and combos (which can be expanded and upgraded as you collect cubes or level up). However, the action still feels linear and repetitive. You'll quickly realise that each of the game's fancy-pants locations are nothing more than corridors with attractive furniture (you know, to make them seem less like boring, old corridors). Boss fights, too, have a certain air of predictability to them and most can be beaten using the same combo over and over.
Pick me up Breaking up the familiar, however, is the game's advanced physics engine. There are plenty of objects to pick up and fling around, and the game's subtle but effective auto-targeting system means you'll usually hit what you're aiming at. Things smash and break up in a realistic way, and yes, bodies flail about and distort when you lob them into walls. Sadly, the corpses disappear once they're dead, which sends you back down to earth with a bump from any kind of reverie you might have built up by lobbing things around.
However, the main problem with the physics is that there's just too much clutter on screen at once, and this makes selecting targets awkward. Allow us to explain. Say there's a Stormtrooper shooting you and you want to pick him up, electrocute him, and lob his corpse at another enemy (a lightning grenade!). Chances are that when you squeeze the Right Trigger to pick him up, you'll grab hold of a useless hunk of garbage and throw that instead. You'll try again. And again. Then by the time you've selected your foe, all your Force energy will be spent. Then you'll die. Then you'll be cross.
Tough guys Later in the game it becomes a real issue, as foes get tougher and tougher to kill. So, instead of trying to get creative with the world around you, you'll fall back on the trusty technique of slamming your enemy with a lightening bolt and wading in with a lightsaber combo just to survive the tougher battles. All of a sudden the dymanic, combo-based action game that The Force Unleashed was supposed to be, just ends up as a button-basher. The fact is that in the more hectic battles, where lasers are hitting you from all sides, you don't have time to get fancy and that saps the fun out of the game. Try a nifty move and you'll end up on the floor, losing half your energy bar as The Apprentice casually gets back to his feet.
The other major bugbear we have with The Force Unleashed is the dodgy camera. Yeah, it's a common complaint for third-person action games, and no, we're not just going to shut up and get used to it. Although not as bad as many other cameras, this one will obscure the odd character (especially during boss battles) and it makes all platforming sections thoroughly miserable.
In fact, there isn't much of anything to break up the repetitive flow of the game. The Force Unleashed even has the cheek to recycle most of its levels, so expect to visit locations more than once. Even the extras, which see you learning new moves and tinkering with your lightsaber, are blander than a bowl of branflakes with no milk. Levelling up is a bit of a non-event, and we wonder if it might have been better to give the player everything from the start so they can work out how to mix up their moves as they go along. Elsewhere, lightsaber colour crystals (which you have to scour each level for) are little more than gaming fluff, and power crystals are similarly uninspiring.
So, The Force Unleashed is more of a highly impressive tech demo with a great narrative tagged on, with any actual game present inserted only as an afterthought. Do you buy it? Well, that depends on how much you love Star Wars. The story is fantastic, and there's a certain satisfaction to be had from impaling hurling Tie-Fighters at Jawas... but the game still feels like a wasted opportunity.
Not sure about this review - it's full of contradictions. It says at first that the simple-but-effective targetting system lets you usually grab what you want, but then goes on to say how frustrating it is when you grab the wrong thing over and over again. So which one is it? I didn't have that problem in the demo but if it becomes a game-breaker later on, I'd like it to be made clear.
Also, the camera is controlled by the user so how it can be crap is beyond me. Seems camera programmers can't win. Too Human bombed totally by having set cameras, this suffers from having a more dynamic camera.
Guess I'm just miffed because I loved the demo so much I wanted this game to be the new TIE fighter or Dark Forces. Ah well. I'll just get it when it's cheap and see for myself...
Problem with the camera is that it can occasionally get stuck between a wall and yourself, meaning that the only thing you can see on screen is enemies beating the living hell out of you.
Try a nifty move and you'll end up on the floor, losing half your energy bar as The Apprentice casually gets back to his feet.
This was the biggest annoyance I found in the demo, and I am dissapointed to find that it has not been fixed for retail. For a supposed agile sith, the guy takes his damn time getting up after being knocked down. Not to mention the fact that Jump and dodge do not take priority over other attacks.
In other words, if you are in the middle of a combo and you see something about to hit you. If you try to dodge out of the way you'll have to wait for the guy to finish his current action before he'll move.
More often then not this will result in you ending up on the floor once again.
The phrase "Get Up!" was uttered many...many more times then the phrase "That is so cool!"
Visually, the game could have been designed by Davinci with a story written by God himself. If the controls are unresponsive resulting in you shouting agressively at the tv. Then it is not a winner, and never will be.
It's funny that the good Star Wars games are not even made by the official Star Wars company, I mean even Soul Calibur does more justice to the characters, Lucasarts need to up their game.
I found the gameplay in the demo to be fatally flawed, and while I nearly yellowed the room laughing at the force grip on several stormtroopers at once, the game quickly became a tedious and repetitive borefest that shows that the dev team focused way too much on making the Force seem scary powerful and overblown in the extreme and not enough on making the lightsaber combat stand on it's own.
Jedi Knight Jedi Academy had the force/saber balance down to a T, and I love that game for it- this game gives your character a clunky and oftentimes inadequate list of standard combos more reminiscant of the official Lord of the Rings games before 'The Third Age' came out than of Jedi Knight, or indeed it's own style.
This game was touted to redefine the Star Wars game, and what it's done is create a bells and whistles next gen physics fest that tests much but delivers very little by way of gameplay. I'm not impressed with the combat system at all, and found Jedi Knight Jedi Academy to be a much much better game. (KOTR of course was always going to be a better game than this.)
If the rest of the game is as poorly balanced as the Demo then we're in for a headache of a missed opportunity here.
Still think I might get it though, if only for the story. I've got some bonus bonds from work I can use so the game is pretty much free for me anyway. It's not like there's much else to get at the moment.
LucasArts has billed The Force Unleashed as the link between the rather bloated Episode III, Revenge of the Sith, and the excellent original film, Episode IV, A New Hope
I thoroughly enjoyed the demo, but then these kind of OTT action games have always been a guilty pleasure of mine. I'll no doubt pick this up as a rental, enjoy it a lot, then buy it when it comes really cheap.
im sorry but cvg are the most fickle fcking idiots that call them selves journalists. SORT IT OUT YOU f**king IDIOTS.
It wasnt that long ago that its was cool to be playing as vader, that he didnt run round like a snooker cue and he does what he does well. Now hes a boring bastard thats just slow.
LucasArts has billed The Force Unleashed as the link between the rather bloated Episode III, Revenge of the Sith, and the excellent original film, Episode IV, A New Hope
Stopped reading there. How tedious.
I'm not being funny but every single one of your posts is so frigging pretentious.
omg how is this possible? I played this demo more than any demo i've ever played before. This really doesn't make sense, i really didn't have any problems with the things mentioned in this review. The demo was just hugely fun to play.
im sorry but cvg are the most fickle fcking idiots that call them selves journalists. SORT IT OUT YOU f**king IDIOTS.
It wasnt that long ago that its was cool to be playing as vader, that he didnt run round like a snooker cue and he does what he does well. Now hes a boring bastard thats just slow.
I think it's more of a case that people don't really know what they want. Yes on paper it would be cool to play as Darth Vader, but he is by his very nature a slow and unwieldy character. He's not like other Jedi that dance around waving their glowsticks at each other. As such he's fine to watch and revere on the big screen, but to play as him the experience would be quite boringly slow. Fortunately he's only playable in the Prologue, but that doesn't appear to have made the rest of the game any more fun to play.
Sheesh, you people have got to stop putting your complete trust in reviewers. If you liked the demo, at least rent the game. If you didn't like it, or are unsure about it, either don't get it and don't complain about it or rent it. It's that easy.
Personally, I don't see how this is that repetitive. The only reason it was for them is because they didn't want to execute any of the combos and just ran through spamming the lightsaber, which gets repetitive indeed.
As for the length of the game, I can't argue with them here. We waited 3 years for nine (possibly 10) levels?
I'm not saying I don't like the score (in fact, I take a 7.6 to mean a good game), I just don't like the fact that they nitpick the game and are very contradictory when talking about certain things in their review.
Believe me, I don't care what any reviewer says, as I'll more than likely be ripped off from a good game if I listened to them all the time. People have different preferences; I like button-mashing because it actually creates visually appealing combos on screen, not like games with combat that's hardly button-mashing but has only a couple of scripted moves.
As for the Vader thing, everyone else likes how Vader is a badass, and I don't see why they just threw everyone off a cliff when they could of used Vader's many great powers, such as choke.
So, basically, I'll still get this because I like what I've played so far.
EDIT:
Also, why give a game a 7.6 out of 10 when you call it a major disappointment in the title?
omg how is this possible? I played this demo more than any demo i've ever played before. This really doesn't make sense, i really didn't have any problems with the things mentioned in this review. The demo was just hugely fun to play.
Ah, I wouldn't worry too much - OXM gave it 8/10, and Playr (on Bravo) 9/10. As stated many times previously, a review is just one persons opinion. If you liked the demo, chances are, you;ll like the full game, simple as that.
I have had a copy of force unleashed for the past 3 days. I have just finished the return to kashykk level as starkiller, and i can say it's a fun addictive game. The demo level is a shortened down to the finished one in the game - there is no at- at battle on the platform, it comes later on in and all the other worlds so far are quite lengthy. To say the begining as vader is boring is just silly, although i did feel guilty just flinging wookies over cliffs, brutal anihilation from the get go.
Why the reviews say its hard to target objects i have no idea once you get into the swing of it i had no problems at all. The bosses are good fun,and are quite challenging. Also the amount of combos and powers you gain really do light up the screen and keep things fresh, and you do have to approach enemies differently as the game goes on, especially the flame troops,jet pack stormies and snipers and junk yard robots.
I'm not the biggest gamer but if you want to talk tech demos, then for me assasins creed wins hands down - i got so bored of that game - crap fights, boring missions i never bothered to finish it, this on the other hand has kept me hooked, its fast paced and just plain crazy in parts. Whilst it isnt perfect it urinates on Assasins creed from a great hight IMO.
For those that liked the demo or you like star wars i say definatly buy. i only hope that in the future they combine the aspects of this with a kotor rpg element and ure talking masterpeice
Only thing i didnt think fitted the story is the sexy pilot. seemed out of place in a star wars universe haha.
I liked the demo, it delivered exactly what I was expecting from the previews. I don't really care for multiplayer, single player and story is what I want from my games most of all. Multiplayer is just a bonus for me that I very rarely play. And 3rd person games are on the very bottom of my list of games that I play online. I think the last 3rd person game I tried online was the Jedi Academy (??? or one of those Star Wars games) and that was only for like an hour. So I don't think I'd play this one online anyway. From what I played in the demo, the camera isn't so bad like in Kingdom Hearts (I love that game anyway).
That being said, the only minus of this game for me is it's length, but 6-8 hours is a standard nowadays (unfortunately). And as the story and narrative is great (judging by the review), I'm getting this one for sure. Will be waiting for my pre-ordered copy.
Actually, this review (especially the beginning) made me want this game even more now.
I hate these people that play the game on easy and say it's a short game. I'm playing it on he hardest setting and it's taken me a while. Yes the camara can be a little annoying in boss battles but other wise it's a lot better than most game. The selection thing can also be a little annoying but the game can't read your mind and it gets it right most of the time.
The main fault I have with this game is that the lightsaber seems a little weak. I want to be able to kill stormtroopers in one hit. I'm hoping once I've completed it gonna be able to go back on easy and wipe them out while hunting for the missing holo things.
I love Star Wars games, but this is just a Star Wars story, with a half-bottomd attempt of a game added onto it.
The demo was s**te, lacked any real great features. The camera angles were poor, the button mashing was repetitive and the selection of objects was frustrating. Heck, I even prefer Bounty Hunter to this!!
KoToR 1 & 2 still the benchmark for Star Wars games, this ones a miss.
personally im a big fan of star wars so im getting it as Im really interested in the story and i think its great that we are given proper force powers. But if its got no replay value, wil try finish it and trade for fifa 09 when its out
This reviewer is certainly entitled to his opinion. That said I don't agree with him, and I'm happy that I didn't let this review and the demo dissuade me from purchasing this. To be honest I was going to cancel my order after the demo, it just didn't feel complete, and the controls felt clunky and hard to use. I picked up the retail release tonight and played the first 2 levels. It feels completely different from the demo, and it almost sounds as though the reviewer just reviewed the demo release and called it bad. The camera is controlled by you, so if its s**te take a look in the mirror for your problem. Yes you can finish every boss encounter with the same combo, but that's like saying you can kill everyone in a fps with your starting weapon. If you can't get creative with the many force combos and powers, don't blame the game. The lock on system for the force powers is determined by distance and focus, and it clearly lets you know what you can target, and puts a reticule on your current target before you try to grab them. So if you keep picking up trash and furniture, maybe you should hit the training room in the game some more, if you don't take the time to learn a games quirks, you'll never master it. After only 2 levels, the apprentice looks amazing with the things he can do, and really lets you feel in control of his powers. Don't let professional (and maybe jaded) reviewers stop you from playing this, its worth the money and has a permanent home in my collection.
or gamers, stop doing game in easy/normal Mode ! its like looking a movie in forward mode !
Take Drake UNcharted, in normal mode, it's a boring game, you run shoot run shoot open something..
Really a crap boring game.
Do it in hard mode, and you discover a totaly other game, where each and every cover is WELL PLACED, as going against your opponent become challenging (like in.. heh.. real life?)
What I wish to explain you, is that most game are designed for something, then ruined so that papy and kid Keving can do it quickly (or looser reviewer?)
Gear of Wars, same thing! boring stupid game in normal mode, good in hard mode!! a different game..
SO, if only we could make us (real gamer) be heard by the dev. continue proposing easy (looser) mode, but please put normal (default) mode to hard (in fact, normal) !!! you would be able to make your game being 10-15 hours instead of 8-10...
But I know this won't change.. in this time where a Gamecube rebrand (wiichit) rules the market
As soon as i played the demo.. well within the first few minutes of playing the demo i knew this game wouldnt impress. Theres no diversity in skill.. it's linier.. just a real let down.
I was reading ur comments and decided I wasnt going to Post a comment but than I thought Id just let you know How Dissapointing it is to hear you guys act like a bunch of t**ts.
Had my reservations after the review, but I'm enjoying the game. The story is good and you can tell the team are honouring the original trilogy by the quality of the design. There are some great in-jokes and homages applied to the environments if you look for them.
Game-wise - yes, there are aspects that are repetitive, but don't pay any attention to the whole "shoddy camera" comment - like neogreyfox said - you always have the control of the camera angle by means of clicking your right stick to reset it, so no excuses.
Based on what I've played so far (about halfway through) I'll definitely continue playing it and will finish it - which is more than can be said for some of the s**te that purports to be "AAA" status games I've attempted to play recently and stopped out of sheer boredom or frustration.
Just goes to show - a review is one person's opinion - make up your own mind if you're intrigued enough by the content. I did and I'm glad I didn't trade it based on the C&VG review.
Let's say YOU were surrounded by 3000 wookies all trying to kill you, and all you have to do is flip your little hand and they go flying....hmmmm. Yeah let's sit down and find a more "exciting" way to kill them!
The game mechanics...yeah they need some work. The targeting for Force Grip sometimes gets a little goofy and tries to pick up StormTroopers when you really want to hurl something at them. However, you can't pick up and throw AT-ATs...which realistically you should be able to do...hell you pull a goddamn STAR DESTROYER out of the sky in the next to last level! AT-ATs are flies compared to that! Of course some of you would then complain again how it's too easy because you throw everything around.
Really I thought this game was a bit too hard considering you're a damn Sith. Watch the movies and see how "hard" the fights are for the Jedi/Sith against non-Force users. I seriously expected a fun enemy-tossing walkthrouh with only the Jedi fights to be tough. I know, too easy. Just add 10 more levels, 2000 more Troopers each level and some spare Tie fighters lying around...you get the picture!
Now the whole double-jump crap. I mean WTF! Luke Skywalker never double-jumped and he was less trained than Starkiller. And some of the surfaces you land on and then slide and plummet to certain death? Come on where's the Force Grip then? Hell if the game designers made the original movies, well let's just say Luke never would have found out Vader was his father. And really we should not have to jump across chasms to get holocrons...we should be able to "reach out with the force" and pull them to us. An old PC game (Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight) would let you do that within limits. Storm Troopers also lost body parts to lightsaber attacks in that game. And you could grab their weapons with the force and disarm them.
Having said all that, I'm currently playing through for the second time on a tougher difficulty level and I'm having a great time. Word to the Wise: when you pull the Star Destroyer down don't trust the game's on-screen instructions. I almost threw my controller at the TV until I got some help with that one. Just make sure the nose is pointed straight at you and the whole ship is level.
Just have fun and if you really don't like the game sell it on Ebay!
look sorry i have no idea what you guys are talking about this is like a mix of an old platformer with he ebon hawk ( similar anyways ) from KOTOR thrown in, not that you can do much on board, all the extras you collect are basicaaly useless crystals hilts etc do nothing from what i could tell, yes throwing things is very cool untily ou get bored which is just about after the darth vader level ( level 1 ) the lightsaber combat sucks theres maybe if your really lucky 8 moves you can make all the others are way to complicated when you get into a battle, the people you meet are dull, and the storylines between them are predictable and disapointing, and as for him being a secret apprentice it should take most of you at least two minutes to figure out the twist in the storyline as ofr the GREAt story its self anyone that has read EU will pull the story line apart in about thirty seconds flat, if they play around with this before they put it on the PC and adjust it to be more like KOTOR ( which you can see sooo many similarities, just not taken advantage of ) then this game will be great unfortunatley its badly written, way to short and exceptionaly simple, i got this xmas day along with a ps2 which i havenmt played for years, and i completed it within four hours i actually went online thinking hell i must have missed siomething.
IF yuou have to play it rent it fot the night you only need one night infact i would make sure you rent another game as well at the same time afterall you will want something to do after you finishs the force unleashed.
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