Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

This needs 2 separate reviews: As a Star Wars story, and as a video game.

As a Star Wars story it was pretty great. The relationship between Darth Vader and his Apprentice was nuanced and definitely developed over the course of the game. The apprentice's backstory was intriguing, as was his internal conflict growing with every kill.

As a game, while solid, was fairly hollow. The gameplay is a lot of fun until you get through the first level. You notice quickly it's a fairly shallow experience with a far too easy of a difficulty. Graphics and animation was amazing though, especially for a 2008 Xbox 360 game. Now the camera can become a nuicense and figuring out how to play nice with it can frustrate. It's also far too short and can be beaten in 1 playthrough.

If TFU was released as a film, I would give this story a 8.5 ranked just under RotS, ANH, and ESB. In retrospect elements of this story are ripped off in Rogue One.

As a game I'd give it a 6...maybe even a 5 for being too short.

General over view:

cons: the game is too short problems with the camera for some its too easy to beat

Pros: The game is beautiful - fantastic art. the music is awesome..and of course familiar. The acting is great. In particular the lead actors- The Apprentice, Juno, Proxy, Maris and Kota. The way their images were used in the animation was cool. The performances they all gave were great...also the voice actors for the smaller roles, I thought were good too.

The story is great too. There was a lot to fit in, and I didn't think they would make it work, but they did. I was happy with what they created and how it all tied together.

I think the main problem was over-hype. The game is great- it just was slightly less amazing than the initial hype lead everyone to believe. I don't know how they could have made everyone happy - but I think this worked for the majority of the masses. I know I enjoyed it and almost all of my friends felt the same way.

This game has one of the best Star Wars stories out there. With amazing RPG mechanics and beautiful art it really is unforgettable.

Shame it isn't canon anymore but to be fair it doesn't fit in with the timeline all that well. Still a fun game though.

This game is quite enjoyable because of its gameplay, campaign and how the story links so well to the rest of the saga, especially the last three episodes. There are many highlights to this game, and a few flaws...but mostly it's one that Star Wars fans should buy because of its freedom in the way you create your character and the way they introduce already-created planets which have not received much attention from those who've only watched the movies.

Gameplay - The gameplay is top-notch, the way you are able to move around like a Jedi, jump and fight like a Jedi, and use a variety of memorable Force powers like a Sith. You really do get the sense that you're this extremely gifted and powerful apprentice who goes around killing Jedi (it's nice to play an antagonist for once), and taking orders from this famous villain who is shown to be cruel and evil. The Force powers are nicely thought-of, as well as the ability to unlock new moves and upgrade yourself using the Levling system. There are some originals, like Force Push, Force Lightning and Saber-throw, but there are also a few new ones, like Force Repulse and Lightning Shield which both also have their roles to play.

Story - The plot is quite simple, and very much like Assassin's Creed. It somehow expalains many things that have happened in the later films, like the creation of the Rebel Alliance in the first place and how its symbolic crest came about. Very subtle things but they just project such realism into The Force Unleashed.

Total Mark: 8/10

BY HowlingRabbit334