Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Posted by dailypop on September 19, 2008
I’ll admit to the fact that I was getting pretty jaded with my PSP. Even with incredible games such as God of War and Syphon Filter, I was finding myself more than a little unimpressed with the lil’ device that had so gripped my attention as to make my evenings full of button mashing. This may be due to my purchases of Ghost Rider, Ghost Recon Advaned Warfighter and Splinter Cell Essentials. I had started to lose interest in gaming, sad as that may sound.
This week that changed.
With the release of Star Wars: Force Unleashed my love affair with the PSP and Star Wars was renewed. A tale fitting in between Episodes III and IV (Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars to you non-fans), this game develops the missing story of Darth Vader’s secret plot against the Emperor. As you may recall there can be only a master and an apprentice in the Sith hierarchy, due to the devious and wrathful nature of their order. Force Unleashed sees Vader slowly sculpt the perfect protege out of the surviving son of a Jedi… in complete secrecy. Trained exclusively by Vader, the young agent code-named Starkiller (the original last name of Luke Skywalker for you non-fans… aren’t you glad that you read this?) is a weapon of pure rage. Pitted against the few remaining Jedi, Starkiller is piloted about the galaxy by sexy pilot Juno Eclipse and the quirky droid Proxy in the Rogue Shadow.
The game features a revolutionary physics engine allowing for a more immerse gameplay experience. Since I purchased the PSP version, this robust feature was not quite as impressive as it would be for PS3 and X-Box 360 gamers. Nevertheless, the game is astounding. In addition to the story mode there are several ‘historic’ missions to play through such as the Death Star Battle, Order 66 and the Carbonite Chamber to name just a few. My joy with this game grew after playing Luke Skywalker in the Dune Sea mission dukeing it out with an airborne Boba Fett.
The ability to hurl, crush and smash your opponents as a dark agent of the Sith really makes this game addictive. I had read that the best parts of the game involved basically mutilating Stormtroopers and while I disagree… it’s a hell of a lot of fun to do. The combat moves are so dynamic that you will find yourself wishing that they had made their way into the actual movies… the only awkward point of this game being that it is a far more enjoyable experience than actually watching the films themselves (well, the prequels anyway).
The game is split up in missions leading up (no doubt) to the inevitable confrontation with Lord Vader. You can visit your ship the Rogue Shadow at any time and tune up your lightsaber or change your outfit. This is a slight nod to the excellent Knight of the Old Republic game that makes me yearn for a PSP port of that excellent game… PLEASE!
The game proper is full of numerous opportunities to smash stormtroopers around, assault towering AT-STs and even battle the dreaded Rancor Pit Monster. While I have read some reviews complaining of the short gameplay time, I find that a return visit to this epic game is very easy to imagine. After several ho-hum releases, this game is an astounding mark on the reputation of both Sony and Lucasarts.
Recommended:
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed X-Box 360
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed PS3
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed PSP
The Star Wars Vault: Thirty Years of Treasures from the Lucasfilm Archives, With Removable Memorabilia and Two Audio CDs
