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Wii games review - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed review
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The Scoop on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, you are a very
bad dude with an attitude to match.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed plays more like an interactive movie than an action-packed video game. A fair story with great cinematic cut scenes, the game is high on production value. Unfortunately, it is also high on monotonous missions.
However, it does have it's moments, and the Wii version features a duel mode that lets you square off against your friends. While it might be collecting dust a bit too soon if you run out and buy the game, it does make a good rental.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Pros and Cons
Pros
- The force really is unleashed in the form of more than a dozen force powers.
- With a few exceptions, the Wii controls were implemented very well and really give you the feeling of unleashing the force.
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed really puts you into the story.
Cons
- Extremely linear game play including level design.
- Not much of a challenge.
- Seems more interested in telling the story than being a game.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Gameplay
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed puts you into the role of Starkiller, Darth Vader's secret apprentice. It is your duty to help carry out Order 66 by hunting down the last remaining Jedi.
The downside of force lightning is it leaves a bad
smell in the air.
The game begins with the player in control of none other than Darth Vader himself. Behind the mask, you get to see the Force truly unleashed by a master of the dark side. With so much power at our hands, you will finally understand why Darth Vader never runs -- with that much power, who needs to hurry?
But you time with Darth Vader is short and you are quickly cast into the role of his apprentice. As Starkiller, it is your duty to finish your training by hunting down the remaining Jedi. As you complete mission after mission, your powers will grow.
Along with choosing what force powers to increase, you can also customize your lightsaber by adding custom combat crystals and different colors. But first you'll have to find the gems to unlock these features.
The Force Unleashed Review - More of a Movie Than a Game
The first missions are a blast as you get accustomed to using your force powers to blow away your enemies. From force pushes that send your opponents flying, to lighting crackling out of your fingertips, to sending a boulder into the enemy lines to simply picking an enemy up and choking the life out of him, it is all here.
If there's one area where the game excels, it is giving you the full powers of the force.
However, this fascination quickly fades as you realize that missions consist of hack-slash fests where you venture along a very linear path and watch the story unfold via cutscenes.
Puzzles? Challenge? Apparently, a Sith Lord needs not those things.
The game lacks any real challenge or brainpower and quickly dissolves into more of a movie than a game.
The Force Unleashed Review - Climatic Battles Are Disappointing
Periodically, you'll face a foe that can't be defeated by simply swinging your lightsaber around or shooting some lighting. These climatic battles can happen as you progress through a mission, and of course each mission ends with a climatic battle.
While the game does a great job of creating a cinematic feel to these battle scenes, they play out based on a prearranged script.
As you damage your opponent, you'll be taken into an action sequence where you will need to turn your Wii controllers and shake them or simply move the Wii controllers in a random direction. Each successful move will play out a scene in the battle.
You can often move the Wiimote in any direction during climatic battle sequences.
While the scenes can sometimes be pretty cool to watch, you really don't feel very connected to them based on the trivial level of challenge it took to pull them off. (The screen will tell you exactly what to do, you simply have to wait for your cue.) This creates a disconnected feel and further illustrates how the game is really just an interactive movie.
This is only reinforced when you fight the same creature a second time and go through the exact same sequence of events. When fighting your first rancor, it might be neat to see Starkiller picked up by his foot and dangled over the maw of the beast only to shoot lightning into its mouth.
The second time around, you realize that Starkiller's only real challenge is making sure the beast picks him up by his right foot rather than his left. After all, rancor's aren't really known for knowing their right from their left, and since it seems important to Starkiller to kill the beasts in exactly the same way each of the three times you must defeat one, then it is important to get it right.
The Force Unleashed Review - The Wii is the Way to Go
While I can't recommend purchasing the game, I do think it is a good rental, especially for Star Wars fans. It tells a new chapter in the tale, and it is entertaining to run around unleashing the force by picking up stormtroopers and throwing them into each other.
The story is too short, the challenge too low and the game too linear for it to make a great purchase, but definitely put it on your Gamefly rental list.
If you have multiple consoles, I'd go with the Nintendo Wii version. While the graphics don't compare, the game is simply more fun on the Wii. You'll slash out with your lightsaber by moving your Wiimote and then unleash a powerful force blast by pushing out with your nunchuck. And the end result is much more entertaining than sitting on your couch and hitting your A and your B button.
The Wii version also has a duel mode where you can face off as different characters from the Star Wars universe. Who would have won in a fight between Luke Skywalker and Darth Maul? After my wife and I performed extensive research, I can definitely say Darth Maul has the upper hand on that one. But maybe your research will come out differently.
Force Unleashed Score: 78
A solid B+ rental, there is simply not enough game to consider actually purchasing The Force Unleashed. Without any real challenge and playing more like a movie than a game, it is best to treat this one like a movie -- just rent it.
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