Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3)

“I wish there was a bit more to the storyline or a better grinding option. The ability to level and master every power would be great. ”

“I wish there was a bit more to the storyline or a better grinding option. The ability to level and master every power would be great. ”

“Not being a first shooter player - I've had the game since it came out and still have not completed the first level. The challenge is there but I don't play 1st shooter much and if not for the cheat guides I'd still be way back.”

“Not being a first shooter player - I've had the game since it came out and still have not completed the first level. The challenge is there but I don't play 1st shooter much and if not for the cheat guides I'd still be way back.”

“Fast Paced, takes you away from the old types of star wars games and puts a new look into future star wars games.”

“Fast Paced, takes you away from the old types of star wars games and puts a new look into future star wars games.”

“Great game so far, haven't played it very much, so I'm not very far into it.”

“Great game so far, haven't played it very much, so I'm not very far into it.”

“great gameplay and story line”

“great gameplay and story line”

“TL;DR? Lots of polish, not enough substance. Disclaimer: I hate quick-time events. They're stupid, lazy, and thanks to undeserved popularity, trite. The way The Force Unleashed (TFU) fits into cannon is great, though how they'll milk a sequel...”

“TL;DR? Lots of polish, not enough substance. Disclaimer: I hate quick-time events. They're stupid, lazy, and thanks to undeserved popularity, trite.

The way The Force Unleashed (TFU) fits into cannon is great, though how they'll milk a sequel out of it is anybody's guess. The actual gameplay, however, does not measure up. While most of the Force powers are fun, you will end up using Lightning and Push, and maybe Repulse and Grip if you feel like switching it up. If you want to have fun, play on easy, blow through the game, and enjoy yourself. If you want a thorough and invigorating challenge, play a different game. TFU is frustration and counter-intuity masquerading as challenge. The lock-on gives no priority to enemies, so often you accidentally grab or push a box when you want to hit an enemy. The camera goes cinematic and fixed during boss battles, and the already loose controls drop even more in usefulness.

The icing on the cake is the trophies. Similar to the Uncharted games, a majority of them are killing enemies, and add to the tedium of the game, forcing you to repeat the first level grinding storm troopers with the vestigial powers. Lastly, the secret collectibles (called Holocrons) are not tests of intelligence, but rather an impetus to wander into every nook and cranny and repeatedly through yourself (headfirst) against the frustrating bulwarks of platforming challenges. There are no brain teasers or clever puzzles solved with interesting application of Force powers (no, stacking objects to get higher is not a puzzle). Also, sometimes the Holocrons are scattered around rooms to help you with difficult battles (they fully heal you if you grab one). This is a crutch, a hint that the game needs to rely on something outside of normal gameplay to get by.

Back to the story. While the narrative is interesting (though contrivances are made for gameplay), some things, like the romantic sub-plot, could have used more development (some emotional dialogue during her rescue would have been nice).

All in all, a quick easy game that fills a nice niche in Star Wars cannon. Not worth a purchase unless you find it dirt cheap. The Game of the Year edition only contains extra downloadable content, and since these are mere extensions of the games flawed mechanics, and not improvements on them, I can't say that affects this review at all.”

“Fantastic visuals and physics, over-the-top force powers and varied settings and combatants make this one Star Wars game you need to play.”

“Fantastic visuals and physics, over-the-top force powers and varied settings and combatants make this one Star Wars game you need to play.”

“It was really good. Good game play good story. just like watching star wars always good.”

“It was really good. Good game play good story. just like watching star wars always good.”

“It's one of the best Star Wars games out there!”

“It's one of the best Star Wars games out there!”

“good for star wars fans”

“good for star wars fans”

“Loved the powers and the gameplay, enviroment could be better. Solid story, need to finish it :) 85 ”

“Loved the powers and the gameplay, enviroment could be better. Solid story, need to finish it :)

85

”