Daniel Nations

Games Examiner
Having played games since the days of the Atari 2600 and programmed his own games since the Vic 20, Daniel packs decades of experience into every noun, verb and adjective. Adverbs, however, are another matter completely. If you have any comments, you can Email Daniel Nations.

  

Holiday Gift Guides

Essential Reads

National Examiners

Gaby Cora
Workplace Health Examiner
Most Recent Post
Young Doctors Leading Under Pressure
Jay McDonough
Progressive Politics Examiner
Most Recent Post
The General Motors plan
Michele Lerner
Residential Real Estate Examiner
Most Recent Post
Foreclosure crisis worsened by fine print in contracts
Kristen Houghton
Relationship Examiner
Most Recent Post
Holidays, love, and food!
 
 

(i.e. Los Angeles hiking, Los Angeles parenting)

Star Wars Force Unleashed Demo Impressions -- Good Times, Good Times

August 23, 12:04 AM
by Daniel Nations, Games Examiner
 
 
The Star Wars Force Unleashed Demo is available on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Marketplace
If the Star Wars Force Unleashed demo is any sign of things to come, there are going to be a lot of late nights spent slicing and dicing with lightsaber in hand. The game has a nice mix of fast-action gameplay and strategic decisions and promises good role-playing value and puzzles to boot. And, with its open-ended storyline, it might be the type of game you can play through time and again making different choices and exploring different areas of the game.

Star Wars Force Unleashed Demo - Gameplay

The demo's mission is a relatively simple affair where you are sent to an installation and ordered to kill everyone inside. It guides you through using your force powers to blast through doors and unlock hangers while you practice picking up barrels and throwing them at groups of the enemy. All of this ends in a huge battle against an AT-ST that is finally defeated by doing a special move to split the thing in two.

While the Force Unleashed demo doesn't allow you to delve much into the character building aspects of the game, it does demonstrate one crucial point: Star Wars Force Unleashed is going to be well worth the wait. It is like a super-charged Knights of the Old Republic with all the theatrical feel of the old X-Wing and Tie Fighter games. In other words, it feels like you are really inside the Star Wars universe, and it's a blast.

Star Wars Force Unleashed Demo - Graphics, Sound and Controls

A game lives or dies based on solid gameplay, but its the graphics and sound that take it from good to great. And there's no doubt that the Force Unleashed is going to end up in the great column. Playing on the Xbox 360, the graphics are gorgeous. The game has a dark feel to it combined with the cinematic of the Star Wars universe. The sound is also dead on from the whirl of the lightsaber to the buzz of a Tie Fighter zipping past.

The controls are also very sweet. Getting the camera angle just right so that you can throw a barrel down a hallway and into a pack of the enemy can take a little getting used to, but for the most part, the controls come quick and easy. I really liked how I could jump into the air and hover a few moments by swinging the lightsaber. I was also able to slip around corners and zig zag to evade incoming fire on my way for a fantastic leap into their midst.

The free and easy feel of the controls makes taking on a pack of enemies a real blast. My favorite tactic was to start with a leap, knock them back with a force push, slice through them with my lightsaber and -- coming to the last of them -- cackling a little before unleashing a lightning attack. But, hey, that's just me.



Topics: Game News
   Subscribe   Feed
 
 

Comments

Name:  
Email Address:  
Comments:  

More from Games Examiner

Want to write your own RPG module?

December 2, 11:23 AM
Paizo Publishing is holding their second RPG design contest, RPG Superstar 2009. The contest consists of five rounds the winner of which will be commissioned to write their very own module for the Pathfinder RPG. The contest starts on December 5th,... Read More
Topics: Game News

GameFly's 2008 Holiday Gift List

December 2, 8:51 AM
GameFly, the leading video game rental service, is helping holiday shoppers out by providing some great titles to get the gamer on your christmas list. The list is based on the rankings, ratings and GameQ's of GameFly members, so it is not simply a... Read More
Topics: Game News

Can Stardock's Elemental become the Master of Magic?

December 1, 12:28 PM
Stardock has already conquered the world of space with their strategy hit Galactic Civilizations, and now it looks like they are setting their sights on the realm of magic. Elemental: War of Magic is a turn-based strategy game set within a magical... Read More
Topics: Game News , Strategy Games

Top 5 Gaming Memories

November 29, 2:00 PM
Thanksgiving is a holiday of giving thanks, but it is also a great holiday to look back over your life and remember all of the fun times. With that in mind, I thought it would be neat to look over some of our favorite memories from gaming. Many of... Read More

Fling a Turkey for Thanksgiving

November 26, 2:57 PM
Thanksgiving is many different things to many different people. For some, it is a time to give thanks and enjoy some good food with friends and family. For others, it is a time to gear up for some great football. And still others, it signals the... Read More

Eidos tries to delay less-than-great Tomb Raider reviews

November 26, 10:31 AM
The opening days of a game's release can be big selling days, so it's no surprise that Eidos (or any other gaming company) was hoping for some good initial reviews to help boost sales. So what can a game company do to give those reviews a nice shot... Read More
Topics: Game News

Funcom cuts US staff, Age of Conan in danger?

November 24, 6:28 PM
Funcom, whose recently released MMORPG Age of Conan has struggled after bursting out of the gate with 700k in sales, has confirmed staffing cuts in the US. While no official numbers have been given, the rumor is that up to 70% of the US jobs have been... Read More
Topics: Game News , MMO

Popular PC Cheat Codes

November 24, 6:09 PM
Whether you are looking to explore a level to find all the hidden nooks and crannies, or looking to get out of a tight spot, or just trying to overcome an in-game bug, sometimes a cheat code is the best solution. Cheat codes can be especially handy in... Read More
Topics: Game Tips

Left 4 Dead Cheat Codes (PC)

November 24, 5:47 PM
In order to use these Left 4 Dead cheat codes, bring up the console by pressing the tilde (~) and enter the cheat code.  Left 4 Dead Cheat Codes God Mode: god All Weapons and Ammo: impulse 10 No Clipping: noclip Infinite Ammo: sv_infinite_ammo... Read More
Topics: Game Tips