The force is strong with this one.
The story in this game is one of the best from the past year in gaming (admittingly there wasn't much competition… Fallout was alright I guess) it certainly keeps you hooked and has a very Star Wars feel to it, probably because it wasn't written by George Lucas who seems to have forgot how to make a good film. You play as Darth Vader's secret apprentice and yes it is as awesome as it sounds, there are twists and turns with character development and emotion plus actual moral dilemmas! It was brilliant and then they tell me to be good or bad at the end, I hate it when game developers do this and do you who I blame… Bioware ever since they kept promoting this make your own decisions crap everyone's doing it and in this game in particular it feels tacked on with one ending making sense, following the well written story and the other screwing everything up completely. Ultimately though that's a minor flaw and there is no doubt that the story will keep you captivated until the good or retardedly stupid end.
Onto the gameplay and it's pretty satisfying with the force powers working especially well. You can do a force push, force repulse, force lightning etc. and they all work really well and can be built into satisfying combos between them with some lightsaber attacks thrown in. This has certainly captured the Star Wars feel better then any other action orientated Star Wars game and as you level up your character the moves get more powerful and you increase the ones which suit your style (although just levelling up force lightning would let you beat the game easily it's pretty overpowered). What I like about the level up system is that it is not forced down your throat like an RPG's tend to be, it occurs naturally throughout the game and means that you don't need to grind to get a level up. There is a good selection of enemies all from within the Star Wars universe and although the lesser ones can be defeated easily the larger ones can be awkward and require some thought. Nowadays boss fights tend to be a disappointment but the Force Unleashed bucks that trend admirably with some truly great boss fights that require all of your force powers to know which ones work best against others, now all of these boss fights end with a QTE which usually means I begin to hate the game but somehow the Force Unleashed developers have managed to pull of the perfect way of dealing with them. The problem I have with QTE usually is that they happen at random times when you don't expect them (meaning you have to start again because you don't have a form of spidey sense for the bloody things) or they make the time limits really cruel or the button presses convoluted (Sonic Unleashed been a good example of harsh time limits but then again I think Sonic Team hates everyone because the world won't let the hedgehog die) but amazingly enough The Force Unleashed does neither of these things and to top it off give you a really awesome finisher video too.
Ok there are flaws with the game, the main one been the truly terrible clipping issues and believe me when I tell you there is nothing more annoying then getting through a difficult section only to get stuck in a rock. It feels like this game needed another month of testing to get rid of some of the bugs and glitches but alas the lure of money proved to much for Lucas Arts. Also as other reviews have mentioned the lock-on ability can be awkward in many places as there is so much to lock onto (Pretty much everything can be used to force grip) and it can take a while to lock-on to the one you want which can be frustrating in huge battles but the sheer ambition of been able to lock-on to pretty much everything has to be applauded. The game itself is very short and can be completed in about 8-10 hours depending on difficulty but the replay value is there and the action never lets up so there is no wasted time.
The graphics are good but it is the environments that really stunned me as they are really detailed and make you feel completely immersed in the Star Wars universe with some recognizable landmarks for fans of the films. Coupled with the great locales is the physics engine so people fall correctly, things crumble realistically and you can pick almost anything up. It is impressive and adds up to a great package. The sound is great kicking in with that all so familiar Star Wars theme and others from the film, frankly the whole thing has the nostalgia feeling the prequels should have had. Voice acting is competent and never offends the ears with a particular stellar performance from the Apprentice himself.
Other minor disappointments include no multiplayer and the should have been epic was instead a clunky mess star destroyer set piece that really should have defined the game but instead turned out to be a clunky minigame. Overall though this is the surprise hit from 2008 after all I expected to hate this game with a passion but I thoroughly enjoyed it to the point where I think this is one of the best games from 2008 and the reason why is that it does what all videogames should do have a compelling story and above all else just be fun.
Pros
+ Fantastic storyline that keeps you hooked
+ Intuitive and responsive gameplay
+ Kick ass force powers and boss battles
+ Great Level design and Environments. Plus brilliant physics engine
+ Awesome sound track
Cons
- Clipping issues needed resolving
- Some set pieces were disappointing
- A tad too short
Overall
8.5/10