Star Wars: The Force Unleashed roars… like a neutered Rancor

by Sebastian Stefanov

Fun factor: Average

Worth to: Rent

Blame the hype or lack of creativity, but the truth is we waited a long long time and the game is far far from great

The mother of all hype machines is finally out. After months of watching video clips, concept art and gameplay screenshots players can finally have a go at the long-awaiting Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The concept took root four years ago when various designers pitched ideas to George Lucas on how to bridge the unexplored period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The result is a game that morphed into a hyper version of the Star Wars universe, with characters able to bring down entire Star Destroyers through the use of the Force.

As was expected many are unhappy with the final product, even on the newer generation of consoles. LucasArts did a phenomenal job marketing the game as one of their biggest titles featuring the venerated Star Wars name. The years of waiting produced a rather good title story-wise but nowhere near the technical masterpiece many were expecting. The PS2 version is very different from its PS3 and Xbox 360 counterparts in terms of graphics and level design but it’s essentially the same game. The Force Unleashed will keep many interested through at least 10 hours of gameplay - more if you decide to have a second run at it for the extra content and alternate ending - but it fails to deliver what some thought would be an open-ended game with slick lightsaber action and depth rivaling Knights of the Old Republic. In any case, it’s a decent attempt for the PS2, even if it’s a bit on the short side, disappointingly linear and weak on gameplay.

Lucas was right to change Luke’s name… Starkiller sucks

The story takes place a few years after Chancellor Palpatine took control of the clone army and issued Order 66, virtually destroying the Jedi order. Whatever was left of the Knights has been scattered across the galaxy only to be hunted down by the emperor’s most trusted enforcer. The adventure begins many years before the game’s actual events. Vader is sent to the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk to find and kill a reclusive Jedi. After disposing of him he finds the Jedi’s son who is tremendously strong in the Force. Darth Vader kills all witnesses and makes the boy his secret apprentice.

After years of brutal training the secret apprentice, named Starkiller, is sent on various missions to earn his stripes as Vader’s right-hand man by killing a bunch of pesky Jedi. Together they plan on defeating Emperor Palpatine. Starkiller is teamed up with a female pilot named Juno Eclipse and a droid named PROXY, who mainly acts as means of communicating with Vader. The beginning and end of each level presents cutscenes that progress the story rather nicely.

The plot is what pushes the game forward. It is clearly the highlight of the PS2 version. Characters and settings remain faithful to the Star Wars universe. The secret apprentice is sent to familiar places fans are sure to recognize from the movies and books, like Felucia, homeworld of the dreaded Rancors and the Sarlacc (that plant thing Boba Fett fell in at the beginning of Return of the Jedi), an Imperial ore facility on Raxus Prime (a famous junkyard world), Cloud City, the Death Star and more. A slew of familiar faces also make cameo appearances: Mon Mothma (an important figure of the Rebel Alliance), Senator Bail Organa (adoptive father of Princess Lea) and Lobot (the bald guy with the funky earpieces in Cloud City). The PS2 version even adds a few extra levels in the old Jedi Temple that have Starkiller fighting shadows of past Sith Lords, Darth Desolous and Darth Phobos (Star Wars nerds know who they are).

The Crappy-Camera-View Strikes Back!

The game starts with an interactive prologue featuring a playable Darth Vader on Kashyyyk. The mission: kill a Jedi. Right there we get a full sense of the game’s limitations and strengths. Vader stomps onward pushing through hordes of monkey-men in somewhat mindless fashion. Sword attacks are limited to a single button with the rest allocated to various force powers: Force Lift, Choke, Repel, Force Push, Jump and Lightsaber Throw. Attack combinations are also possible. It’s here in the early stages that many realize the game is not what they expected. Enemies (in this case the lovable Wookies) are taken out with relative ease. None of them present any resistance and they come in droves. A few simple sword swings are usually enough to take them down.

By the end of the first stage we hope the game gets better. The tree-top Kashyyyk level looks decent on the PS2 but it is horribly linear. There are virtually no side routes. Enemies are absurdly easy to kill and the AI leaves a lot to be desired. Opponents are merely there to be thrown around like rag dolls. Taking out enemies is strangely gratifying, though. You can fling objects and pieces of structures at adversaries. You can even lift them with the Force and throw them off the ledge. Vader might be a bit sluggish but he can unload on his rivals like a fore-powered locomotive. Still, it’s a mixed first impression

After the Vader prologue players take control of Starkiller. Here things pickup a bit. Starkiller hops from planet to planet with his ragtime gang doing Vader’s bidding. A Force Powers menu becomes available. Killing enemies (more good guys) gives force points that can be exchanged for improving various force abilities. Starkiller has a rather impressive array of moves at his disposal, even from the start. He has all of Vader’s powers and more, like Arial Assault, Sith Strike, Saber Whirlwind, Ground Slam, Dark Rage, etc. Twenty powers in all.

Gameplay unfortunately remains straightforward throughout the entire game. Levels have no alternate paths. Each stage forces players to run through a gauntlet of enemies and inanimate settings. The PS2 version doesn’t include the same level complexities of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions that require careful jumping or the manipulation of surroundings. The only level interactivity comes in the form of junk lying around for Starkiller to chuck at his enemies and the occasional door waiting to be crashed with Force Push. Mix in lackluster gameplay and idiotic AI and you get rather mindless action.

Enemy AI is so stupid it be can exploited. Hiding behind the edge of a door will often make them try to run through the wall, which gives players time to recharge the Force bar (ya, there’s a Force bar… and a Health bar). Speaking of the Force bar, Force Lightning is the best attack option. After a few upgrades it’s all anybody will ever need to take down the swarms of enemies, with Force Choke taking care of the rest. The horrible AI and Force Lightning “exploit” will prompt players to stand in a room’s entrance, attack, hide behind the corner, recharge and attack anew. Needless to say, the PS2 version is quite easy to finish.

Boss fights, on the other hand, require a bit more strategy, though even here gameplay resorts to a couple of moves: Force Push and Force Dash. Starkiller faces a variety of giant enemy bosses whose single weakness is getting a bunch of boulders or containers flung at them. To defeat AT-ST Walkers, Rancors or giant robots players simply Force Dash to the nearest object, Force Push it at their target and dash to the next object. Only one or two bosses require some sort of “trick” to defeat, like a super AT-ST Walker on Kashyyyk protected by force fields.

Jedi fights have more depth. Players can still fling objects at them but other moves work just as well. Some are immune to specific force powers so experimenting is the key. Lightsaber fights against Jedi are rather disappointing. Starkiller only has one sword attack so lightsaber fights are nothing more than pressing the X button as fast as possible. Every so often both fighters lock swords (or lightning blasts), which requires more frantic button mashing to win the duel. Thankfully the game has a few saber combos that produce variations of Force Lightning or Force Push.

While fighting bosses some moves initiate button sequence scenes that prompt the player to quickly press buttons in the right order as they appear on screen, similar to sequences in God of War. Successfully completing such a sequence does a bit more damage than regular attacks. Once a boss has lost enough energy, a finishing button sequence appears. Boss fights usually end that way.

The camera can really get on your nerves during boss fights. Players have a lock-on feature that lets them focus on a single enemy, unfortunately this lock-on is automatically activated while fighting bosses. Fighting a large boss like a Rancor forces the player to dash away from the enemy, but with the camera locked on players usually get stuck running into objects out of view. Even with the lock-on turned off the camera can swing wildly between views confusing the crap out of the player. Arrggghh!!!

Starkiller’s initial name was Lazy-Sunday-Rental

As the game progresses special crystals are unlocked that improve various attacks, as well as new costumes. Players can also find various extras spread out in the levels, like Holocrons that unlock concept art, crystals that change the lightsaber’s color and hilts that change the saber’s itsy bitsy hilt you can’t see during gameplay.

Music and sound effect are nice but nowhere near as detailed as on the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, maybe because PS2 levels lack the same ambience. Music is also uninspired. Many levels repeat the same old Star Wars tunes. It is clear LucasArts didn’t put as much effort into the PS2 version as the other console versions. Cutscenes on the other hand are very well done. Voice acting is professional and well-cast, even though Starkiller tends to mumble incomprehensibly from time to time and Vader sounds too expressive in a few spots.

The game has two endings: a good one and a bad one. After fighting Darth Vader (come on, are we really spoiling anything here?), the Emperor tells Starkiller to finish him off. If you decide to strike the Emperor you get the “real” ending, if you decide to strike Darth Vader you get the alternate ending. Since the game only takes 10 hours to finish the first time around, playing through it again to see the alternate ending isn’t that much of a burden, especially since players get to keep all their Force upgrades. A second run can take three to five hours.

Summary

In all, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the PS2 is an average title gameplay-wise. Action is repetitive and levels lack the details found on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Players won’t ever have to jump through intricate settings… because there are none. Enemy AI can be exploited with Force Lightning and Force Choke, which makes this version somewhat easy. Levels are also disappointingly linear. The only redeeming quality is the story, which efficiently bridges both Star Wars generations. If you ever wanted to know how the Rebel Alliance was formed, this title does the trick. The game isn’t all bad. Action, though mindless and exploitable is gratifying. Starkiller can truly dish out some pain. It’s a shame he does it in such a linear way and in such a short amount of time. The game is too short despite the extras and alternate ending. So after all the hype and media frenzy this beast only manages to groan… like that Rancor Luke Skywalker crushed in Jabba’s Palace.

The Force is now Unleashed… in your local video rental store.