The curtain has been drawn on the Star Wars films, yet the saga continues in a galaxy far, far away. Moving the series from the silver screen to the home theater, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed makes a daring move into interactive form. Instead of remixing plot lines or revisiting the films, the game introduces a brand new chapter to George Lucas' space opera. You don the role of Darth Vader's secret apprentice in the years following Episode III. As Imperial forces spread throughout the galaxy under the rule of Darth Sidious, you embark on a clandestine mission to obliterate the last members of the Jedi order.
The game opens in an Imperial TIE fighter construction facility hijacked by a powerful Jedi. Under explicit orders from Darth Vader to preserve your anonymity, your task is to kill the Jedi master and eliminate any witnesses along the way. Living up to its subtitle, The Force Unleashed grants you an array of impressive powers. Force Push, for instance, easily knocks back stormtroopers at low levels and can send them flying through walls when powered up.
New abilities become available as you progress through the game, such as Force Grip which enables you to grab hold of objects and Force Lightning that zaps enemies with electricity. Additionally, points earned from combat can be applied to Force power enhancements. Increasing the potency of Force Lightning, for example, raises its destructive capacity and range. Project Lead Haden Blackman proclaims, "This is the Force amped up, out of control." Seeing the sheer power of these abilities is enough to buy into his assertion, but it's when you see how they're applied to the levels that the game begins to distinguish itself from other action games.
Utilizing the Force in the context of the surrounding environment opens up a whole new level of interactivity. The potential for destruction is practically limitless thanks to sophisticated physics software that accurately simulates virtual matter; simply put, objects in the game behave exactly as you'd expect in reality. Force Push a metal door and it buckles realistically. Zap a window with Force Lightning and it shatters into thousands of pieces. This essentially renders the surrounding environment a weapon. TIE fighters moving through the assembly line can be pulled down onto a stormtrooper or better yet, fling him into the path of the speeding ship.
Combat isn't limited to Force powers. As a Sith apprentice, you wield a red light saber that effortlessly slices through foes. A single button is all you need to execute light saber attacks, although the tempo at which you press it determines the type of attack. Deliberate presses yield fanciful strikes that deal a good deal of damage; on the other hand, quick successive jams result in a flurry of low-powered slashes. Interestingly enough, you can combine light saber attacks with Force powers for unbelievable combos. It's entirely possible to suspend a stormtrooper in midair using Force grip, for example, and then thrust your light saber through his body.
Defeating stronger enemies requires increasingly powerful combinations, particularly when confronting Force-sensitive creatures and elusive Jedi. Rancors--the huge two-legged beasts first depicted in Episode VI in Jabba's palace dungeon--demand quick thinking and skillful use of the Force. Native to the fungi world of Felucia, these monstrous creatures can be weakened by either Force gripping boulders he throws at you or charging up bipedal Felucian warriors with Force Lightning and then chucking them at the animal. Once the rancor has been worn out, you can trigger a God of War-inspired finishing move that has you tapping buttons as they appear on the screen. Apparently, this new gameplay gimmick just never gets old.
Jedi duels promise to be demanding. On the junkyard world of Raxis Prime, you'll confront a psychotic Jedi named Kasdan who has crafted a replica of the Jedi Temple out of the surrounding detritus. The desperate Jedi conjures junk golems from the debris, which can be taken down with judicious use of Force Lightning. With the golems out of the way, battling the haggard alien amid his scrap recreation involves tense Force locks similar to the one featured in the final battle between Darth Vader and the Emperor in Episode VI. Like a deadly game of tug-of-war, button-mashing enhances your attack in order to overpower Kazdan. By the time the battle is over, the mock Jedi Temple has been destroyed along with its creator.
