'Star Wars' game wields great story
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As Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, recruited as a child to help him overthrow the emperor, you travel between places in the Star Wars universe both familiar and new. Your only weapons are your lightsaber and your ability to manipulate the Force in a number of ways. An RPG-lite points system lets you customize your character’s abilities to a small degree, and artifacts scattered throughout each level encourage exploration by rewarding you with more skill points and other unlockables.
Given the game’s title, it isn’t surprising that the main character’s Force powers are a major component of the gameplay. Fortunately, they are a lot of fun to play around with. Picking up Stormtroopers and flinging them down hallways, over railings and against force fields does not get old fast. Once you get used to the basic controls, you can string together different attacks easily. Using the Force to shove a giant engine into the air then electrically charge it as it descends toward a bunch of Jawas feels a lot cooler when it happens fluidly.
A flawed targeting system somewhat detracts from the fun. The game will decide at the last second to switch from the crazed Jedi bearing down on you to the pile of garbage behind him, which does get old.
A bigger flaw in the use of the Force has to do with what’s missing. While there are a few puzzles that use your powers, the steps you have to take are usually obvious and always restrictively linear. Situations that encourage creative use of your abilities are noticeably absent. Some such moments do appear in combat (like when you realize you can blow out the windows on Imperial space ships, sucking nearby Stormtroopers into space before an emergency seal slams down) but even that is usually a straightforward affair.
The story is really what makes the game worth playing, for any past or present Star Wars fan. Some of the cut scenes are little more than “I am the boss of this level, let us fight,” but most of them are great. The story features characters about whom you come to care, who do interesting things, which is more than can be said for a lot of the recent movies in the franchise.
“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” is a good game with a great story. It’s definitely worth checking out for any Star Wars fan or anyone else who isn’t completely put off by the franchise. Replayability is a bit limited, so renting first is recommended.
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