Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360, PS3)
by Eddie Turner on October 6, 2008 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
A Disturbance in the Force
With all The Force Unleashed has going for it, there are some notable inconsistencies that hinder the overall experience with the game. First, we'll address the enemy AI. While your foes can be challenging with their own ranged attacks, there's almost no variance in the ability to take them down. They aren't necessarily pushovers, but players can pretty much wipe any of them out using a single lightsaber combo throughout the entire game. This brings about to the question as to whether or not the force powers are necessary to defeat them. The answer is a resounding no, but without them the game would simply be boring.
Speaking of boring, there's nothing like being taken out of the action to participate in button mashing mini-games. No, this is not really an inconsistency; rather, it is a poor design choice that could really stand to disappear in video games altogether. While we're on the subject of disappearances, it should be noted that, for a game that's screaming for cooperative play, neither the PS3 nor the 360 versions contain a multiplayer component
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As for the level design, it works for the most part. Still, there is not a lot of variance in the game's missions. Players will travel from point A to point B then flip a switch or perform some similar action that will allow them to proceed to point C, all the while taking out wave after wave of enemy forces. If you're imagining this can get boring, you're correct. Even the use of your force powers becomes dull not long into the game, thus dissipating the desire to upgrade them.
As mentioned previously, the game incorporates an auto-targeting system that highlights objects that can be picked up. While this does help, objects along your path are so numerous that targeting the wrong object or enemy happens all too often. This auto-targeting also directs your lightsaber attacks and can be quite frustrating when trying to eliminate an attacker, only to swing at a nearby barrel. These issues, coupled with the frequent slow down periods and audio that cuts in and out at times points to an unpolished final product.
As far as the contrast between the two consoles is concerned, there were no dramatic differences worth pointing out. It all comes down to which one you own or prefer (if you own both). The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions both look great, yet suffer from the same issues mentioned above. However, the increased tightness of the analog sticks on the 360 controller did provide for better control over the auto-targeting issue, as well as the accuracy when throwing objects with the force grip. However, if you're not pondering over which console to buy the game for, or you're not an Xbox fanboy spamming the PlayStation forums, this is a trivial concern.
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EddieTurner - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
No! IT'S NOT TRUE!!!!!! . . . : )Visual - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
no force pull... it was so much fun to pull enemies directly onto your saber in the previous jedi knights games... impale them without even swinging! well ok, no, it didnt work too much as the damage was minimal. but this game could've fixed this, instead of breaking in completely :(no force deflect! now that's an incompetent lightsaber user if i ever saw one!
how about force speed, sense, speed, absorb, speed, drain, speed, heal, speed, defense, speed, mind trick and speed? i hope they have them... if not, at least force speed should be there.
the game really doesn't sound good to me now... maybe if the wii version does a good job with the wiimote lightsaber control... but even then, it better have multiplayer duels or it is just wasting its fun potential.
(oh and, anandtech, your post comment has a broken stylesheet and the formatting buttons don't work)
Aquila76 - Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - link
They replaced that 'pull onto Saber' move with Saber Impale (Grip and Saber Toss).The powers are Push, Grip/Throw, Choke, Lightning, Deflect (this is always on to a minimal extent, but you can also go into Deflect mode and block / return nearly all the blaster shots; it also increases in skill as you progress through the game), Saber Throw, Double Jump, Dash (a short-burst form of Speed), Repulse (knocks down people & objects around you), and Maelstrom (high power Force tornado that does huge damage; a bit hard to pull off if your in heavy combat, though). Most of these can be combined (Jump & Lightning or Push, Lightning & Push makes your foe slide away from you crackling and then and Detonate upon contact with object or other foes, Push & Lightning knocks enemies down and fires an electric ball to Scorch them, etc.). There are also Lightsaber chain moves (swing L, R, then Up, etc.) and Lightsaber & Force combos (2 or 3 swings and Push or Lightning, Jump and swing, Jump then Dash then swing, etc.).
Wii version has dueling mode for the multi-player. The Wii-remote is quite possibly the best Lightsaber controller, ever. I'm surprised they didn't review the Wii version. Maybe they're gonna do it separately?
I actually rented and played the whole game straight through on Saturday. The wife was out of town, so I didn't have the nagging 'empty the trash' or 'take out the dog' or 'pay me attention' and whatever other asinine things wives normally clamor on about when we're trying to have fun. So far, this was the best 11 hours of my year! I'm going to buy this with the next Best Buy 10% off coupon I get.
fepple - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
In some of the previous games force jumping over people then a force pull would dispatch whole groups :DEddieTurner - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
If it's any consolation, I did detect the force head scratch, the force lean, and the force blink in the game. And I swear I saw the force nod, but I can't be sure of that one. It was late.SlyNine - Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - link
Is the force tea bagg in there ? That would be sweet.KnIgHtCoM - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
No PC Version + No Multiplayer = FAIL9nails - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
I was at Target last night, saw the display on the end cap... The Xbox 360 section was nearly sold out. Wii was second. PS3 and DS were mostly full. My purchase would have been an impulse buy, but I wanted a PC version. I checked the PC shelves, but couldn't find it.So there's no PC version 'eh?
Epic Fail, indeed.
ComatoseDelirium - Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - link
Great looking game, no pc version makes it a fail in my opinion.ComatoseDelirium - Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - link
Great looking game, no pc version makes it a fail in my opinion.