Game Review: The Force Unleashed
Gieson Cacho - Contra Costa Times
Sep 18, 2008
After the disappointing "Star Wars" prequels and a subpar "Clone Wars" film, you have to wonder: Is the Force still with George Lucas? Some could argue that his best days are behind him, but those critics probably haven't seen "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed."
The latest sci-fi project may be under the cinephile's radar because it won't be found in theaters. It's playing at home on video game consoles.
"The Force Unleashed" takes place between the two trilogies and follows the story of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, whose code name is Starkiller. As a young boy, he was taken by Vader after the Sith Lord saw the child's potential with the Force.
Years later and under the tutelage of his master, Starkiller is now given the task of finding the remaining Jedi in the galaxy and assassinating them. This leads players to exotic locales including Kashyyyk, the Wookiee homeworld, and Raxus Prime, a planet made of junk.
But though it's set in the universe, "The Force Unleashed" doesn't play or work like any "Star Wars" games before it. The team at LucasArts brings fans this familiar universe via "Dragon Ball Z" and "God of War."
Everyone's powers are cataclysmically exaggerated. In the initial level, players control Darth Vader and see how he can Force Choke Wookiees and toss them like rag dolls, or splinter wooden gates with the blast from a Force Push.
Meanwhile, Starkiller can stop TIE Fighters in midair
and smash them against the wall. The powers are over-the-top and nothing like the abilities we've seen in the trilogies, but that's the generational difference between films and video games.
The moves of Jedi would seem rather bland to the gamer set; it takes something as epic as crashing a massive ship on a rail gun to impress this audience. More than that, it shows that LucasArts knows making a video game is different from a film.
The focus has to be on the individual rather than the community experience, and using some high technologies like Euphoria, which gives enemies a simulated nervous system, and Digital Molecular Matter, which lends objects in the world a lifelike mass, the team creates a groundbreaking experience.
When combined, these two engines form a tailored experience for the user. Each level unfolds differently. For instance, playing as Starkiller, I could Force Push a sniper so that he hangs onto a ledge. The next time around, I can Force Grip a box and hurl it at the same enemy and watch him fall, taking another foe with him.
Elsewhere, players can play with the powers and find a way to freeze enemies using the same carbonite that froze Han Solo in "The Empire Strikes Back." All players have to do is rip open a pipeline of the freezing substance and direct it at Stormtroopers.
In another stage, I was able to fend off some of the AT-ST walkers and rancors and activate a "Resident Evil"-style minigame that shows off some acrobatic finishing moves.
All these sandbox-like experiences create a customized story that fans own. They can tell their friends about a unique happenstance playing through a level, and often, it's more compelling than the main plot point.
Although "The Force Unleashed" does have some shocking double and triple crosses, the game's counterweight to all this space buccaneering -- its love story -- doesn't really take off, despite the animators' amazing job of coaxing emotion from Juno and Starkiller's faces.
The other problem with the project dealt with the Force Grip. With it, Starkiller can manipulate the environment and solve puzzles as if he had giant invisible hand.
It's entertaining and provides some of the game's best moments, but at the same time, Force Grip is the most frustrating power in Starkiller's arsenal. He can guide a TIE fighter wing to create a ledge, but doing so requires a surgeon's patience and skill.
The difficulty is dealing with 3-D space and the fixed camera angles that LucasArts forces upon its players. It almost becomes impossible in some later boss stages, but if players can hold on to their controllers long enough and win, the title's end game is rewarding.
With "The Force Unleashed," fans get a possible glimpse of the future. The technology behind it provides a nice compromise between stories players create and a cinematic one told by its creators.
And though it may not get as much press as it predecessors, this "Star Wars" chapter deserves some acclaim. It is one of the best to come out of a George Lucas company in years.
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Copyright 2008 by Contra Costa Times
