After all other Star Wars spin-off video games it was time that a new unique game would be created.
The Plot:
Set between Star Wars Episodes III and IV The Force Unleashed starts with Darth Vader hunting down the last of the Jedi. After a confrontation on Kashyyyk, Vader discovers a small young boy that is strong with the Force. Pitying the boy, Vader raises him to become his apprentice… unknown to the Emperor.
Trained in the Dark side of the Force into his teens, the newly dubbed Starkiller must help Vader to hunt down not only the remaining Jedi but hunt down those who would potentially rebel against the Empire. To do this Starkiller must find these people and pretend to be forming an alliance in order to bring them all together and eliminate them in one big strike. Aided by Juno (his pilot that sends him to other planets) and Proxy (his most trusted droid) Starkiller does just that but finds himself conflicted by some turning events. Following his journey, Starkiller must decide where his allegiances lie.
Now I have only explained the story in its basics as I do not want to give away anything away to you. But this is a very well conceived story that fits perfectly into the Star Wars Saga. Some explanations are shown in the game that were never shown in the entire Star Wars Saga. In small and big ways. Filled with shocks, horror, love and many other emotions, this has to be one of the best inventive stories I have ever seen. If it was a movie I would certainly watch it over and over again.
The Game Play:
This game is also slightly unique in its game play. I say slightly as there are components where they relate to Star Wars Episode III The Official Video Game.
You can unlock and upgrade many Force powers by finding hidden items throughout all the maps in the game. Not only that, but these items can unlock body wear, heath upgrades and even let you customise your Lightsaber. There are unfortunately a couple of downsides. Firstly the Lightsaber looks more like a glow stick that an actual Lightsaber and secondly you do not have enough variety when it comes to using the Lightsaber. Unlike Episode III Video Game, you can not perform a lot of combos which every Star Wars fan wants to see. However, the variety of combos you can perform with overlapping Force powers slightly makes up for this.
The Graphics:
The graphics are astonishing. So much colour so little time. So much detail in every scene. Sometimes you feel as if you could just have a look around and see what is around. You become very intrigued especially when you travel to planets that you have not seen before.
The music:
As you would expect from the Star Wars composers, this game is no exception to the grand scale of music that is created. With a very catchy theme tune, The Force Unleashed delivers a dramatic sense of storytelling with the music pushing it with even more emotion.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – Main Theme
So all in all a very good game however this is where it gets a little complicated. The PS2 and PSP versions are much better. You have more to play with and there are extra missions in them. There are also more details when it comes to the story. But I am only reviewing the PS3 version.
I decided to give this game 8/10
This is a good version of the game but I much prefer the older and original versions. If you want to play this game for it’s full potential I would recommend those versions.
