This game has a story and characters that truly shine - could've been a fantastic game, if not for problematic gameplay.
The first element of this game that shines is the story and its characters. Fans of the Star Wars saga will be happy to know that everything stays true to both the original and prequel movie trilogies. There were no inconsistencies in lore or anything of that kind that I could find (apart from one of two available endings, but that is deliberate rather than a mistake). Then again, I wasn't actually looking for any flaws because I was hooked into the plot and was interested to see how the story would unfold as I progressed further through its layers, each backed up with the same strong narrative as the last. The game takes place between the Star Wars movies of "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" and "Episode IV: A New Hope". The Old Republic has been disbanded and the first Galactic Empire is born. Success is gained by the two evil rulers of the Imperium (the master Darth Sidious with his apprentice, Darth Vader) through means of betrayal, anger, terror and murder.
Though there is one thing that Lord Vader has kept secret from the sovereign Emperor… his own apprentice, dubbed Starkiller. Trained in the ancient ways of the Sith warriors, he is tasked with destroying the remaining Jedi Knights - once the keepers of peace in the Galaxy, but branded traitors as soon as Darth Sidious' plan came into motion. However a larger plot is formed behind Starkiller's back which soon causes him to question the morals and motives of his actions. If I go any further into this tale, I will spoil it for you. To find out the rest of the story, you will simply have to play the game for yourself to find out how it ends. Of course as you'd have most probably heard or expected, you will play as Starkiller in this game. Once you reach the very end of the story, you will be given a choice to make which will affect the overall outcome of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
As has been mentioned earlier, the story will surely satisfy the hunger of a Star Wars fan, but it is so good that it should appear as great to even those who are not so familiar with the saga, even if a little harder to understand. The whole plot and everything that surrounds it is good, but what this story is really fuelled by are fantastic characters. The protagonist himself is unusual. You would probably expect a badass, keeps-his-mouth-shut, ready to sacrifice everything for his goal type of guy. Sure, Starkiller comes close to that sometimes, though most of the time he is more unique than most stereotype heroes. Juno Eclipse - the secret apprentice's female pilot - is another great character that (not unlike Starkiller) is voiced by someone who knows how to express feelings and change words written on paper, into something special which creates interesting spoken conversations between various characters.
This game is called Force Unleashed for a reason. I must say that playing it and using various force powers to attack enemies is a blast. You really do feel like you have unleashed the force and Starkiller's true power by stunning and hurting hostiles with Force Lightning, pushing them away for large distances using Force Push, picking up objects and enemies from a distance (using the force) and throwing them all around as well as many other powers which are very fun to use. For each mission in the game there are main objectives, a bonus objective and a number of Jedi Holocrons to find as well as a specific amount of Force Points to gain. You gain Force Points by defeating enemies using various combos, each made up of mixed lightsaber slashes and force powers. The more moves you put into one combo - the more points you will gain. Larger enemies or boss fights can also give you much more points. If you gain enough points, Starkiller will "level up", thus getting one each of the following: force combo sphere, force sphere and talent sphere.
Force combo spheres allow you to unlock new lightsaber combat moves. You start off with already a few, but the more combo spheres you gain, the more powerful variations you will be able to use. Force spheres can be used for force power upgrades. Upgrades such as being able to deal more damage against your enemies when using Force Push, one Force Lightning upgrade even allows you to charge up the shock for more power or make the electricity spread from one enemy to another, making it a more of an area-of-effect attack. And last but not least, talent spheres allow you to: increase your health & available force energy; decrease the amount of damage you take from incoming attacks, speed up the process of force energy regeneration etc.
However these spheres can be gained through other means rather than just levelling-up. The Jedi Holocrons that were mentioned before are large, cube-shaped, objects, teeming with a yellow glow. They are used to store data from the Jedi Archives (in the lore of the Star Wars universe). In "The Force Unleashed", these Holocrons are hidden in various areas of each mission. They contain force spheres, combo spheres and talent spheres, as well as other additional objects like free force points, lightsaber power crystals (these can upgrade Starkiller's lightsaber to deal more damage, drain health from enemies with each attack etc.) or lightsaber colour crystals (which can change colour of the lightsaber's laser blade). One feature that unlocks as you progress further through the game is new costumes for Starkiller to use. Each mission gives you a new outfit that is the most suitable for the environmental hazards of the particular planet you visit or can help in fulfilling your objective. These costumes can be changed at any time through the pause menu.
Unfortunately all of this comes at a price. Although the combat and gameplay in general, including the occasional platforming sequence required to get from one place to another, works well and blends almost seamlessly to create something that flows smoothly right from the beginning to the end of the game - there is one major flaw… targeting. When using force powers, you need to face the target you want to attack so that it is selected. However this system doesn't target the enemies that the camera is facing, but those that Starkiller is facing. So when there is an enemy right in front of you but Starkiller is facing right and not the hostile, the Force power will not be applied to the enemy but in the direction that the apprentice is currently facing. This weird design choice can sometimes actually come in quite handy because you might end up hitting enemies that you didn't even know of. On the other hand, it is a pain in the butt for pretty much most of the whole game because you simply won't be able to attack specific enemies using powers unless you make sure that Starkiller is always facing them. Thankfully lightsaber combat doesn't have this problem as it is mostly melee and doesn't require any targeting, but still, this targeting issue is serious enough to bring Force Unleashed down from my top ratings quite a lot.
Looking at its visuals, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is great. The game was originally released in 2008 and it still manages to look good when compared even to newer games released two years later. It certainly isn't perfect as there is plenty of graphical hiccups to be found, however minor, they are still here even after patching. Nevertheless, the artistic direction Lucas Arts went for when designing each planet is good. Though the level design isn't as impressive and can sometimes be slightly repetitive as it does not serve many other purposes other than to get the player from the beginning to the end of each mission, all planets still manage to look unique and inviting. Whether it is the varying colour scheme, architecture, plant life or the species that inhabit them; they almost never cease to surprise. There's nothing here as amazing as you'd expect from a game like BioShock, but it is very good nonetheless and deserves merit.
The best visual element of the graphics in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has got to be the character design, especially the facial expressions of the human characters. Look closely at Starkiller's face and you will see such detail and closeness to reality. Each move of the muscles on his face only improves the way the character's emotions and speech are expressed. Juno Eclipse is closely behind, however sometimes her face does look a bit weird - though nonetheless very realistic. Or perhaps Darth Sidious' striking resemblance to his movie counterpart in the prequel trilogy? Though all characters look great, Starkiller steals the show as also one of the most interesting new characters of 2008, not just visually of course.
If I didn't acknowledge the fantastic physics engine and enemy behaviour that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed utilises, this review wouldn't be complete. Examples of these elements having an effect on the game's environments and characters can be: destroying a glass wall & watching as it brakes realistically; then striking another glass structure, realising that each time it will never look the same as the event occurs in real-time, rather than being a scripted animation; lifting a Stormtrooper up into the air using the Force while watching him trying to grab onto other objects to stay near the ground; pushing an enemy off a surface, then realising that he is still clinging onto the ledge but is slowly slipping etc. These events (as mentioned before) are NOT scripted and will look different each time. However, some of these effects can end up being a little buggy and rarely work exactly as the developers intended them to, so they could've been implemented with a bit more effort.
The Good:
+ Starkiller's sad tale of training, betrayal, revenge and love is a striking one
+ Each character's face looks surprisingly realistic and expresses their emotions well
+ Performances made by voice actors are professional & astonishing to say the least
+ Music from both film trilogies manages to capture the atmosphere of Star Wars
+ No noticeable accidental inconsistencies with the lore of the Star Wars Universe
+ Gameplay should appeal to most gamers… apart from the problematic targeting
+ The story will satisfy dedicated fans and other gamers alike
+ Overly original idea of Starkiller owning a droid who is programmed to kill him
+ Various upgradable force powers to use and lightsaber combos to unleash
+ Unlockable costumes that make Starkiller look awesome
+ Jedi Holocrons, lightsaber crystals, bonus objectives, force points etc.
+ Timed button pressing sequences for finishing boss fights are a joy to watch
+ You will feel incredibly powerful by the end of the game, ready to take on anything
+ Boss fights are cleverly designed, requiring you to keep moving and try different tactics
The Bad:
- Some small, barely noticeable glitches, plus one quite major one
- Targets are selected from the direction that Starkiller is facing, not the camera
- Various graphical hiccups, especially during the second visit to the planet Felucia
- Even though the story is great, it may be a little harder to understand for non-fans
- The Euphoria and Havok technology can at times be quite buggy
- Each mission structure is similar to the last, offering little variation in objectives
- The second, non-canon ending is much weaker than the first one
- There is not enough replay-value or multiplayer option to keep the player coming back
- Due to targeting problems, some boss fights are more challenging than they should be
- Not as many things are destructible, as I came to expect after the prologue level
- The console versions of the game slow down during fights with many enemies
- Annoying loading times between force upgrade and pause menus
- Force Unleashed is a very short game, around 10 hours for the first playthrough
- This isn't a must, but piloting a starship would've been a great gameplay sequence
It may not have received such praise from other critics (as it did from me) but simply judging by how much fun I've had playing this game, I am happy to say that the rating/score it has received from me is well-deserved. No doubt you will enjoy this game if you are a fan of Star Wars; what is also great about it is that it should appeal to fans of the original Star Wars trilogy, the prequel movie trilogy and both as there is something here for any fan. If you are not that much interested in Star Wars or are looking to extend your knowledge about it, this game should satisfy your needs as well as its gameplay offers plenty of fun and occasional frustration. No matter who you are, you most probably will love the story because there isn't much you could hate here (unless you hate Star Wars that is, then I doubt that this game will be able to change your mind). However if you feel like you are ready to finally unleash the force (with some flaws along the way) then I assure you that this game is a must.