This game had so much potential.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is the game that is going to fill in the 20 year gap between Episode 3 and 4. Ultimately the game's story does just that. Everything else the game does, it fails. It fails more than Obi Wan failed Anakin as a master.
The high point of the game is the presentation. Environments are highly detailed. Character models are great. Vehicles are beautiful. Cut scenes look awesome. The only part of the visuals that fail are the lip syncing efforts, which are marginally noticeable mainly because the story is just so captivating.
The games sound design is impressive. It sounds like Star Wars should sound. Saber swishing and swooping, blasters spewing, and big booms are all present. The games musical score is the traditional John Williams mix from the original trilogy, with some of the newer stuff from the new trilogy thrown in. Duel of the Fates is present for one sequence of the game, and fits in well.
The voice acting here is impressive. The person playing Darth Vader does a decent job, and the man playing Star killer should replace Hayden Christensen from the films. Every character is ripe with emotion, and makes the story more intimate. It is easy to appreciate these actors as they bring their characters to life with their voices.
Now the game does have many short comings. This is a Star Wars game about Darth Vader and his secret apprentice. It is obvious that you are going to use a light saber. However, it is clear that the Devs saber skills were lacking. Saber combat feels stiff and not as fluid as it should. Overall, wielding a light saber feels more like wielding a baseball bat here, as Star killer's moves are not gracious. Instead they are stiff and uninspired.
Another part of combat is using the force. You have many force abilities at your disposal here. You string some together with your light saber to form combos, and it can be satisfying when you force punt Jawas or other undersized beings. When using the force, it really does feel unleashed once it has been leveled up. Enemies will fly with force push, they will beg for mercy with force grip, and they will get extra crispy with force lightning. You also have force repulse, saber throw, and a few other powers at your disposal.
Overall, the combat is lacking. Enemies are not too bright, and once the force becomes a slave at Star killer's disposal, the game just becomes repetitive. Since each level has a certain amount of enemy types, it is easy to figure out how to defeat each one. Some levels involve factions fighting each other, so you can wait for them to tear each other up before you jump in. In the later portion of the game you are just swamped with mini bosses, such as AT-STs, and purge troopers, so you will have to devise some strategy in order to take them out.
While the force is unleashed, the game can be difficult due to a variety of bugs. The camera is very problematic. Sometimes objects just occupy the entire screen and the player cannot see what exactly is going on. The targeting system does not make things easier, since it targets what Star killer is focused on, rather than what is hostile, or just closer. This is a problem because while the player spends time targeting the item they want to use, that player might just end up dead. Also, throwing objects in the right direction can be difficult. If Star Killer cannot see the target, he will not throw it at the target. That does not make bringing down a battle ship easy when squads of tie fighters are trying to kill you.
Another place the game falls short on is boss battles. Some great characters are introduced, and re-introduce in this game. It had the overall potential to have some of the most memorable fights ever. However, since light saber combat is moot, they are lame. Bosses are impervious to most normal attacks, and take major damage only after they have completed patterned behavior. They are behavior is completely predictable, making boss fights rather easy and just a matter of trial and error. What makes them less fun is the sheer fact that you are restricted in how you can finish them. You have all these powers at your disposal, and rather than letting you be creative and string your own force combos together, you get button tap sequences at the end of each one. These are cool to look at it, but are not much fun, and take that whole sith power lord feeling away.
The Force Unleashed had one of the best concepts for a Star Wars game in a long time. However, too many good ideas were not implemented well. Where the game shines, it does not shine enough, and where it fails, it fails too much. The only reason to play this game is for the story and nothing else. Replay value is moderately low, because there will not be any DLC, and the alternate ending is not much different from either one the player may choose. One those endings do not make any sense and just pulls the story apart.