For almost as long as
there have been video games, there have been video games about Star Wars—the two
entered the public consciousness around the same time, and there’s always been a
significant overlap between the two fanbases. But “Star Wars” and “video game”
haven’t always added up to success, and for every Knights of the Old Republic,
there’s been a Masters of Teras Kasi. The Force Unleashed is LucasArts’ new
action game, which promised to deliver the most impressive and destructive
representation of the force ever seen in interactive form. In reality, The
Force Unleashed is a fun action game, but a flawed one nonetheless.
Force Unleashed puts you
in the role of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, codenamed Starkiller, during the
time between the two film trilogies. After killing your Jedi father, Vader
raises you from childhood to be his personal assassin, unbeknownst to anyone,
even the Emperor himself. As the game begins, Vader sends you on a series of
quests, which he considers training for your real purpose—to help Vader
overthrow the Emperor so that you and he can rule the galaxy together. As the
game goes on, though, you discover that things aren’t quite as cut-and-dried as
they initially appear. Without spoiling too much, suffice it to say that the
actions and choices Starkiller makes have serious ramifications for the entire
galaxy, and are an integral part of the overall Star Wars mythology.
LucasArts has put a
significant effort into the storyline, and it shows—the tale is well-written,
and the acting (especially by Sam Witwer, the actor who plays Starkiller) is
better than most of what was seen in Episodes I, II, or III. Still, the game is
more focused on action than storytelling, so some important scenes get passed by
quickly, and there’s not a whole lot of characterization going on—Starkiller and
his crew (pilot Juno Eclipse and droid PROXY) seem like an interesting set of
characters, but you never really get to know any of them. Fans who are looking
for a more in-depth handling of the plot will be happy to know that the game is
only one part of the overall “Force Unleashed” multimedia project, which also
includes a tie-in novel and a comic series. Sound familiar? If you’ve been
gaming since the mid-nineties, it should—this isn’t the first time LucasArts has
released a new canon Star Wars story by way of a game-comic-novel combo. In
1996, they released Shadows of the Empire, a similar multimedia project, and the
game version was released for the then-new Nintendo 64. While the game did some
things well and is fondly remembered for a few sequences, many considered it a
disappointment with sloppy, problematic gameplay. Now, twelve years later, the
Force Unleashed finds itself in a similar situation—and while it isn’t quite the
disappointment that Shadows of the Empire was, it isn’t everything the hype said
it would be, either.
Force Unleashed is a
straight-up action title, and takes many elements from the top games in the
genre: action fans will see influences from God of War and Ninja Gaiden all over
the place, from the quick time event-heavy boss fights to the fast, destructive
fighting. But the game also takes heavy influence from a more obscure source:
Midway’s Psi-Ops—like that game, a heavy focus of the action in Force Unleashed
is the hero’s ability to lift, throw, and manipulate objects with his mind. The
action in Force Unleashed is a lot of fun, and if there’s one thing the game
does really well, it’s making the player feel like a powerful Sith—when you’re
ripping a chunk of machinery off the wall and hurling it at a group of soldiers,
then rushing them with a combination of lightsaber attacks and force lightning,
the game gives you a sense of power that’s exhilarating and exciting.
But for everything the
game gets right, it gets just as many things wrong, and while they’ve developed
a fun combat system, some very basic gameplay elements got overlooked. The
camera, for instance, is troublesome; it gets stuck on the environment far too
often, and never seems to be pointing it where you need it when the action gets
frantic. The targeting system is awkward, too—the lock-on feature is
constricting and only works sporadically, but auto-targeting leaves you all too
often attacking a nearby wall while stormtroopers shoot you in the back. It’s
frustrating to play sometimes, because you can tell that with just a little more
time and polish, the action could be truly great, instead of fun but flawed.
The game’s presentation is
a similar mixed bag. The graphics are good for a late-generation PS2 title, and
the game features some flashy visual effects—force lightning looks great, and
the colorful lightshow that accompanies every lightsaber attack is always
impressive. On the other hand, the environments are often visually repetitive,
which can actually get in the way of navigating each stage—there were a couple
of times when I thought I was progressing through a level, only to realize I’d
been going backwards toward the level start. Also, the cinematics’ use of
in-game graphics really highlight the relative lack of detail these characters
have when viewed up close. The game’s sound, on the other hand, is remarkably
good; as I mentioned, the voice acting is top-notch (the Vader sound-alike is
especially impressive). The music (a combination of John Williams’ classic
score and original compositions) is just as epic and sweeping as any you’d find
in the Star Wars films, and the sound effects are spot-on, from the screech of a
TIE fighter’s engines to the instantly-recognizable whoosh of a lightsaber in
action.
Force Unleashed is a fun
action game, no doubt about it. But after months of anticipation and hype, it
simply can’t live up to the extraordinary expectations. With more polish, it
could have been the be-all-end-all Star Wars action title many were expecting it
to be. As it stands, though, it’s an enjoyable romp through that galaxy far,
far away, but not quite the classic it could have been.
Gameplay: 7.2
The action is fast and frantic,
and when the game is firing on all cylinders, it’s a lot of fun. Unfortunately,
all too often the game gets bogged down in technical flaws. Targeting issues
and camera problems get in the way more than they should, but in areas where
these flaws are less apparent (like wide-open stages with enemies scattered, not
bunched all together), the game shows glimpses of the greatness that could have
been.
Graphics: 7.5
The game’s design can be
inspiring at times, and the animations and effects are usually impressive.
Character models look great in-game, but show their relative crudity during the
cinematics, and the environmental graphics are far too repetitive. For a PS2
game, it looks pretty good, but still doesn’t measure up to the visual
powerhouses on the system.
Sound: 8.7
The audio succeeds in pretty
much every way. The original music is great, the voice acting is uniformly
excellent, and the sound effects are straight out of the films.
Difficulty: Medium
There are a few sequences that
can get frustrating, like when the game throws legions of enemies at you who
just happen to be immune to most of your powers. On the whole, though, any
reasonably skilled gamer should be able to finish the game without too much
trouble.
Concept: 8.5
The story is a great addition
to the Star Wars canon, and really bridges the recent trilogy to the original.
The idea of an action game starring an incredibly powerful Sith is a great one,
and shines through despite the game’s execution flaws.
Overall: 7.4
Force Unleashed can be
frustrating, and its flaws get in the way of having a good time far more than
they should. But while it might not live up to the hype and expectations, it is
one of the better Star Wars games out there, and a decent action game in its own
right.
