Beautiful graphics; Fantastic story; Agonizing game play.
1: I love Star Wars
2: I am not great at platforming games
OVERVIEW:
An awesome premise with breath-taking graphics and ambitious design, all combine to create Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Unfortunately, technical issues and frustrating game play elements mire the experience.
GRAPHICS:
Some of the best I've seen on the system; the Apprentice looks fantastic and the environments are simply breathtaking. Enemies are relatively varied throughout the game and they all look great. A few very minor glitches (occasionally my lightsaber would retain it's 'glowing attack trail' after defeating enemies, and I would once and a while be hit by an invisible projectile).
While the game play graphics were great, the cinematic cut-scenes were absolutely jaw-dropping (as they should be, seeing as how they were done by ILM).
-Score- 9/10
SOUND:
All the great Star Wars sounds you've come to love and expect were present here and at the top of their game. The voice-acting was great, sometimes over the top, but you almost expect that from Star Wars. The music was phenomenal, with many of Williams' original tracks present throughout, and a fair mix of new tracks that were easy on the ears (if slightly less than stellar).
-Score- 8/10
STORY:
I refuse to give anything away, but suffice to say; if you like Star Wars, you will probably L-O-V-E this story. Fantastic characters that are well (for an action game) fleshed out combine with plenty of twists and turns to enthrall you from beginning to end.
-Score- 8/10
CONTROLS:
The button layout was pretty easy to grasp, and they eased you into many of the later powers by introducing them slowly. Movement was decent, even though it felt a little loose. Overall on par with a standard action-platformer.
The targeting reticule was, unfortunately, very sensitive and rarely centered on what you actually wanted it to.
-Score- 5/10
GAME PLAY:
This is were the game starts to lose it's appeal. While the action is generally exciting and relatively fast paced, everything else is tedious and grating.
The puzzles, while novel during the first stage, quickly become tired and monotonous.
The platforming is the biggest offender, here. Jumping is not exactly accurate, and the camera is achingly bad. You will frequently have no idea where you're trying to land your jump, because the camera can't look directly at where you're attempting to go.
Glitches popped up quite a bit. Whether the camera was getting stuck in the character while looking around; The character was sliding off of ledges, causing him to fall to his death; or defeating a boss without doing the quick-time event, causing you to become stuck in the stage and unable to progress (this happened to me twice, sadly).
The glitches combined with the 'not-so-great' camera and awkward platforming elements, caused the game to feel more like a chore than an enjoyable experience when you aren't killing things.
-Score- 3/10
FINAL SCORE:
Despite a deep affection for Star Wars, the often times infuriating game play keeps The Force Unleashed from reaching the level it could have. Excellent in many regards, but below par in a few key elements cause this title to be just above average.
-Score- 6.6/10