Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition (PC) review

Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition is a sloppy console port that just manages to be fun enough to overcome its Sins of the Console.

The Dark Side of Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition

Few things irritate a PC gamer more than having to navigate menus in a game with the keyboard. (Conversely, a console gamer wouldn't like it if they had to drop their game controller and go type something on a keyboard every time they wanted to access game settings or upgrade their character.) Unfortunately, Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition immediately slaps you in the face with an interface that doesn't support mouse control. Although I've been anxious to play this game since it was first announced for consoles, I could have waited longer if it meant getting a full and proper PC conversion and not a half-assed port.

In addition, another issue I encountered is a direct result of this sloppy implementation. Trying to adjust the game volume via the scroll-wheel on my Logitech G19 keyboard during a cut-scene immediately ended the cut-scene and started the level. I missed the cut-scene and couldn't find a way to replay it, which is disappointing because generally Star Wars games always have great cut- scenes.

In addition, the game offers only the most basic options for adjusting the video, audio, or customizing your keyboard/mouse controls. Other than changing resolution, adjusting volume levels, or switching the X/Y axis of the mouse, you're out of luck. I would have been happy to just to be able to set the right mouse button to Block, for example -- but no such options exist. The best you can do is assign a few keyboard commands to mouse buttons if you happen to own a good gaming mouse.

Unfortunately, another issue comes in the form of the camera control. It's serviceable, but still manages to occasionally and inexplicably shift to wonky (fixed) angles that nearly got me killed more than once. To its credit, at least the game allows you to save your games at any time, in addition to using a typical checkpoint-based save game system.

The Darker Side of Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition

With such a sloppy implementation of so many elements, you might write-off Force Unleashed for the PC. But the action, graphics, sound, and general gameplay are pretty satisfying overall. You may occasionally shake your fist in frustration, but carving up droves of enemies with lightsabers and Force powers -- and many combinations thereof -- is just so darn fun. Bad is good, baby.

Dashing around a battlefield cutting down enemies with a lightsaber just never seems to get old. Force Push and Force Grip are powerful weapons in your arsenal of whoopass, allowing you to pick up and toss characters around the battlefield like rag dolls -- tossing them off platforms, crushing them with boulders, or even gripping them and then impaling them on your lightsaber.

As you advance through the game you unlock additional powers like Force Lightning, Saber throwing, and a whole array of combos, powers, and upgrades to add to the immense number of ways you can cleave, toss, choke, blast, and destroy your enemies. The game even awards bonus points for particularly stylish kills and creative combos.

A little light puzzle solving -- which usually just involves using the Force to move things -- breaks up the action a little. And if you like to explore you can occasionally dig up hidden upgrades.

Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition includes two DLC missions previously released for consoles -- Tattooine and The Jedi Temple -- as well as an all-new level specific to the PC version: Hoth. All of these are pretty entertaining and generally gorgeous to look at -- particularly the Jedi Temple, which will definitely test your saber and Force skills to their limits.

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Overall

Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition is basically a table scrap from console gaming. This port treats PC gamers like dogs, but like a dog you still might enjoy the snack. In addition, Amazon presently sells Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition for around $35, which isn't half-bad. (If you aren't in a hurry and still want to pick it up, wait a little while and this game should hit the $19-$29 price range pretty quickly.)

Force Unleashed PC Minimum System Requirements

Operating System: Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP2. Windows 7
CPU Processor: 2.4 GHz Dual Core Processor (Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2)
Memory: 2GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 23.8GB+ 1GB Swap File
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
Video Card: 3D Hardware Accelerator Card Required – 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible 256MB Video Memory with Shader 3.0 support
Video Card (ATI): Radeon HD 2900
Video Card (Nvidia): Geforce 8800
Media Required: 8X DVD-ROM drive
Windows XP/Vista compatible mouse and keyboard or Microsoft Xbox 360 Wired Controller

Force Unleashed Recommended System Requirements