Force being Unleashed on Wii next spring

After using the Wii Remote as a virtual sword in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, many gamers had one question on their minds: "When can I use this thing as a lightsaber?" Today, LucasArts had an answer: Spring 2008, when the publisher of all things Star Wars will release its first game for Nintendo's wildly popular console.

Contrary to some rumors, the game in question will not be an all-new title; rather, it will be a port of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, also due for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and Xbox 360. Unlike its siblings, the Wii edition will have an emphasis on lightsaber combat via an exclusive duel mode. The mode will allow two players to face off in head-to-head matches using Wii Remotes as if they were the energy blades favored by the Jedi Knights.

The Wii edition of The Force Unleashed is being developed by Australia-based Krome Studios (Viva Piñata: Party Animals; The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night). All versions of the game will put players in the shoes of an as-yet-unnamed Force-adept character toiling secretly under the auspices of none other than Darth Vader to seek out and destroy the Jedi stragglers who could threaten the Empire's power.

The Force Unleashed made an impression at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo with its cutting-edge graphics, physics, and artificial intelligence, which are powered by Pixelux's Digital Molecular Matter and NaturalMotion's Euphoria middleware. GameSpot's previous coverage has more details on the game and its groundbreaking technology.