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

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