The Force still waiting to be unleashed...

User Rating: 7.5 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed PS3
Although I've been waiting for this game for a while, after playing the demo, I started to realize that this game would not be the game Star Wars fans were dreaming about. Bad level design, poor planning, and shoddy lightsaber action ruin this otherwise fun game of amazing potential.

The object of the game, besides tell a story (a good one at that), is to feel like a powerful Jedi. Jedi can throw people and stuff around. Jedi can read minds, Jedi can use their lightsabers to cut through almost anything. It's a tall task, and although LucasArts tried, in the end they could not fulfill their destinies.

First of all, there are only two Force powers that actually come from the movie and are fun to use. The rest of them are pretty useless. Instead of inventing useless Force powers, LucasArts should have really, REALLY developed the powers that Jedi are known to use. The mind-changing thing from the movies could have been fun to use in some stealthy kinds of missions. Unfortunately, every mission is very similar: kill, kill, and kill.

The lightsaber is a weapon of great power that can cut through almost anything. Thus it is a sad, sad disappointment when it feels like i'm hitting stormtroopers with a baseball bat. Also, it takes several hits to kill anyone. And I know that this is a kid's game as well, but it would have been nice if the lightsaber actually sliced enemies into pieces instead of just knocking them back. One more thing... i wish the bodies stayed instead of fading out. More realistic.

Finally... the one thing that really chapped my hide. I didn't like the double jump and dash options. It just felt too much like a sonic or mario platformer. Sonic jumps. Mario jumps. Jedi walk calmly and defeat enemies with finesse and skill (except for that one scene in Ep. 1 when Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon zoom across the room and into a duct five stories above. George Lucas at his chessy best).

Anyway, enough with the negative. I gave it an 8 because it is still pretty fun (just doesn't feel like a Jedi game) and the graphics and sound are really nice. There is a lot of clipping but i'm not too picky about that.

All in all, an enjoyable game. Just a few quirks to work out.