Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii, 2008)

The Force Unleashed for the Nintendo Wii is a fun little game. But you have to go into this game understanding that it is not the 360 or PS3 version! Considering that this game *WAS NOT* being produced for the Wii until Lucasarts bowed to pressure (and Wii sales!) it is a great little game.

This game is officially cannon and blessed by Lucas. The game takes place after the events of Episode 3 and before Episode 4. The story is fun, fast paced, and very interesting! I could not put down my Wii remotes until I was done the storyline! :)

Story:
You start off as Darth Vader on Kashyyk hunting rouge Jedi. You end up finding a powerful youngling and taking him on as your secret apprentice. As the game goes on you take over the role of the apprentice and go on assassination missions for Vader. You take on a number of Jedi (from rouge knights to master's). Eventually you end up being part of the formation of the rebel alliance and fighting Vader & the Emperor at the end!

Graphics & gameplay:
You can tell that this game was not originally made for the Wii. The graphics & cut screen movies can be cartoonish at times. Voice & lip movements do not match, etc. However, the gameplay does not suffer that much. It is fun, entertaining, and captivating.

You also have a neat duel mode where you can play multiple characters in 2 person battles.

The ability to use the Wii mote & nunchuk is awesome. Throwing people around and swinging your arms in lightsabre mode is bloody fun! :) Well worth the "lack of graphics".

Playability:
Hardcore fans will play this game over and over. However, the casual fan will start to get bored of it eventually.

I loved the game and I'm going to add it to my Wii game library after Christmas.

5/5
Latsyrhc
Tamarack Collectibles

This game was over-hyped, no doubt. But the Wii controls make this one a keeper. I do have some complaints but I'll list them shortly. Overall the game is fun and the controls are very responsive and quick to learn, and when you master them, you feel like a Jedi/Sith; no one can stop you. I was never a huge follower of the Star Wars saga, but loved the thought of the Force and moving things with my mind/hand. The Wii gives you that power. I actually played through this game before twice, then sold it. Shortly afterwards, I began to miss it and bought it again. This time to stay.

Now the Cons;
- It's a short game. Won't take you long to beat it.
- Other than the awesomeness and feel of the controls, no replay value since it upgrades your character to Max powers once you beat it. Though there are a couple multiple endings (two I think).
- You can't level select. You have to play the game straight though, then start over. Can't replay a certain level, which was disappointing.
- Duel mode is AWESOME, but you can't play online and can't play against a computer-controlled opponent. HUGE missed opportunity there. Duel mode might be the most fun there is but you need a friend in the room with you (that likes Star Wars). Unfortunately, I can never use this feature : (

Hopefully they'll make a sequel that'll correct this problems. Until then, I plan on enjoying this game thoroughly and you should too. Can't say much about the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions since I haven't played them, but the Wii controls are awesome and I recommend the Wii version. Also, there are Wii levels that have to be downloaded for the other systems. Graphically the Wii can't compete but the gameplay is a whole new dimension that graphics can't replace.

The Force Unleashed is a game that came with a lot of hype. Playing as an overly powered Jedi, Learning the secret of Vader's apprentice, and the tying knot between episodes 3 and 4. However, there have been mixed reviews about the game, and I feel the same.

The Good:
Incredible Graphics. The graphics are absolutely stunning, and give you a unique feel of the "used star wars world" that we were use to from the original movies.

Rather fun. The game is a hack and slash, adventure where you go around beating the heck out of Stormtroopers and other things that get in your way. It almost combines a certain "Ninja" feel of PS2's "Shinobi" or "Ninja Gaiden" into the Star Wars universe.

The Bad:

The game is too short. Indeed it is. An average player can probably beat the game from 6-8 hours.

Character Customization. Not a lot to customize other than lightsaber colors, switching through pre-made sets of character outfits, and all of the upgrades in the game can be acquired through playing it over and over.

No Multiplayer. No online play or co-op.

Repetitive. There's not much new things you can do, other than throwing people, zapping lightning at them or slicing people with your lightsaber.


Overall:

Overall, the game is fair. Many were expecting a new version of "Star Wars Jedi Knight", but it didn't come anywhere close, perhaps other than the "character growth". The game can be more related to "Star Wars: Jedi Power battles" without the multiplayer.

The game is perhaps best used if you rented it from a video game store. A fun experience, for the first run you play through it. But there's not a lot more other than 2 game endings you choose only at the very end of the game (which you can simply save the game at the end, and load it after you have played through one ending). I've noticed the game had a feel to "Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith" for PS2. Simply going through each level from start to finish, hacking and slashing away while growing points.

Although the game has some incredible graphics, a stunning physics engine, and some good moments, the game overall just doesn't give you a finished feel. It's perhaps recommended for star wars fans who want to know the story or have a deep liking for the Star Wars universe, or Hack and slash or Ninja/Samurai Slasher gamers who'd like to get into the Star Wars universe. And sadly for the Jedi Knight/Jedi Academy fans, this is no modernized version of the game, and some may agree that Jedi Knight and Jedi academy were more fun than this.

I personally give the game a 3 out of 5.

Fantastic HD Graphics - you will be stunned if you are playing the same game on a non-HD TV. Finally, a Star Wars game where the force comes alive as it should. Playing the opening scene as Darth Vader alone almost makes this game worth playing. Guided by a fairly compelling story-line in which you play the role of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, both adults and older children will have loads of fun bashing their way through the rebel alliance and empire troops alike. The surprising variety of combat visa-vi force powers and lightsaber action makes this game stand out from other first person shooters. Further the game gives you an impressive level of interaction with objects and even terrain. You can take out wookiees by toppling a nearby tree on them. You can cast aside objects the enemy is hiding behind or simply force blast it right through them. With all the options available to you the controls are surprisingly easy to learn and for those that struggle a training center is provided on board your ship for some extra practice.

While many, like myself, will find the idea of playing an apprentice Jedi that Vader finds as a child and trains without the Emperor's approval interesting there are some aspects that may concern some parents. Not only is the game necessarily violent (though not bloody or gory), the need to protect your anonymity as Vader's protege requires taking out not only your opponents but any of your own troops who become aware of your existence. This raises certain ethical issues that go far beyond pretend violence and strike at the root of justice and goodness to say the very least. You are after all working on the Dark side. Parents should be aware of this issue and the wrestling with such ethical decisions that take place in the game.

The greatest game play limitation is that it is strictly a single-player game, which is unfortunate. Any number of scenarios might have been invented for cooperative play, but they don't exist in this version.

Nonetheless, for a game that you can pick up in Like-New or Very Good shape for around $15 on ebay, this game is a bargain.

This game was a well made game.

The linear story was fine. It used the George Lucas method of writing, that starts with an existing outline, that the writers have to fill. So we have the comedy relief robot. The just met love interest. We have all of the talking points that are the same in every one of the movies. It disappoints me that creative freedom is so controlled. It is also a disappointment that the developers only explored a small amount of locations in the Star Wars universe.

The controls are pretty good. There are some issues with trying to lock onto a particular object, but it doesn't detract from the game play much.

The visuals are outstanding. The creators really did a good job of recreating some new Star Wars locations.

One of my biggest problems that I had with the game, was the poor use of technology. Pixelux Entertainment created a program called; DMM (Digital Molecular Matter). Basically, it helps objects and materials react as they would in real life. It is an amazing technology, but is rarely used well in the game.

Overall I think the game is good. It is fun to play. I just think that with a little more development, it could have been an awesome game.