Release Date: 16/09/2008
Played On: Win
Available On: DS / iOS / Mac / NG / PS2 / PS3 / PSP / Wii / Win / XB360
Time Played: 7h 15m
Progress: Completed
Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts
Up until now, my involvement with the Star Wars universe has been limited to the major movie releases. I've always been aware of the extended universe and how intricate and detailed it can be, but I never delved into the depths. However, I've bought a Star Wars game collection or two, and have all these old games waiting for me to dip my toe in and have a look.
I figured I'd start with The Force Unleashed, as it seems to be the one I've heard the most about (not counting multiplayer focused games like Battlefront). This is one of those games that always comes up in Star Wars conversations, as it takes the movie series into some unexplored territory with interesting implications.
Like I said though, I'm not familiar with most of the extended universe. I haven't read any books, I haven't even watched the animated series. So if I get things wrong in this post, forgive me kind reader for I know not what I do.
With that in mind, there's no denying that the plot of any Star Wars game is arguably going to be as important as the gameplay. Star Wars has always had a rich and expansive lore to reference and build on, which I found early on by way of a screensaver that showed biographies of characters in the original trilogy. It surprised me at the time that insignificant characters like rogue-squadron member "Wedge", had an entire back story written out for them. To think that every character had a history and a life that was ultimately inconsequential to the main plot, seemed ridiculous and fascinating all at once.
This is where I have to accept that I can't really decide whether The Force Unleashed told a good story or not. It certainly found a place within the Star Wars timeline, but by the end of the game, I wasn't really sure about some of the finer points. In fact, I'm still a bit fuzzy on certain parts of the plot, but I think I understood the broad strokes.
You start as Darth Vader, hunting down a Jedi on the Wookie planet. After killing your foe, you find their child who is strong with the force, so you decide to train him in secret. You then start playing as the grown up version of this child, who has become a powerful apprentice to Vader. Except the Emperor doesn’t know about you, as Vader's been keeping it a secret.
Oh, spoiler warning by the way. This is an old game, but if you're worried about hearing the plot, I'm going to run through it really quick.
So old Vader tells you to head out and kill a few key Jedi masters in an attempt to mess up the rebellion or something like that. I'm not really sure about why most of it happens, other than the obvious scenario where the dark side dudes hate the light side dudes, and vice versa.
Hence, the first part of the game tasks you with travelling to a few different planets and fighting a range of interesting aliens and Jedis. After taking them all out, something happens where The Emperor gets the shits on and tells Vader to kill you. Only, he doesn't actually kill you and sends you off to infiltrate the rebels.
This is where I began losing track of the plot, as half the time it felt like I was playing a double agent, while the rest made me think I'd switched sides. Perhaps it's because the game employs a dark/light side system that lets you choose some actions and how to approach things. Basically if you act like a jerk, all the bad guys will love you. Although, for some time there it seemed like the good guys loved me no matter what I did, so again I'm not too sure about what was going on.
I mentioned at the top that the plot is an important part of any Star Wars property, as it's hard to see it as an isolated story. We know that the events in the extended universe will have impact on the mainline series, even if they've tried to debate what is and isn't so-called "canon". The Force Unleashed has you dealing directly with Vader and The Emperor, not to mention Organa and some other recognisable rebels, so it seems to matter more than it probably does.
Like I said, I lost track somewhere along the way, as I found it hard to keep up with all the new names and places. I eventually just focused on whatever my next objective said, and didn't try to grasp the deeper concepts on offer. Maybe this makes me a bad player, but I also think it's the biggest flaw in the game.
After the initial Vader romp through Wookie-ville, you spend the whole game playing as 'Starkiller', who has powers, but is kind of a reject. Thanks to Vader being all secretive about your existence, you end up losing any identity you might have otherwise been able to develop. Instead it feels as though your entire role is to be little more than a mechanism to move through levels and kill just about anything in your way.
What furthered my confusion was the fact that just about everyone becomes an enemy at some point. At one point I'm slaughtering natives on an alien jungle planet, then later I'm cutting storm troopers to bits on an Imperial base. By the time everything was over, I'd lost any notion of who the hell Starkiller was, and why he was doing the things he was doing. It became all about the fact that it's a video game, and nothing about an interesting story.
However, let me say again that I'm not all that familiar with extended universe Star Wars, so maybe I just didn't pay enough attention. The thing is though, I don't think this will be the best game to get invested in if you're all about plot. Maybe go read it on Wikipedia first, because the game didn't do the best job of placing the story front and centre.
Fortunately though, The Force Unleashed does a pretty good job of focusing on how fun it is to play as a bad-ass Star Wars dude with force powers. The overall gameplay loop is super enjoyable and continued to delight throughout the campaign. If you want to fulfil that Star Wars power fantasy, this might just do it for you.
There are obvious limitations that come from this being a ten year old game more than anything else. The controls take a little getting used to, as some of the buttons seem counter intuitive against modern mapping. Not to mention some odd pacing and clunky level design, but it's never anything bad enough to be a deal breaker.
As an aside, it always amazes me how much we focus on graphical improvements in games, instead of other elements. For me, I'd rather have modern controls and out-of-date graphics, as I can get used to looking at anything, but bad controls are always bad. If you're ever working on a remaster or remake of an old game, spend your budget on updating the control scheme instead of dumping it all into pretty textures.
Anyway, despite the limitations of being an old game, The Force Unleashed actually looks okay and controls well enough. It's clear that improvements could be made, but it holds up well enough to be enjoyable and functional to the end.
There are the typical RPG systems in place, as you can upgrade your force powers and weapons as you progress through the game. Unlocking new force powers is actually rewarding and opens up a bunch of moves that look and feel great when you pull them off.
A lot of the focus seems to have been on the combat system, which actually offers some depth and variety. In addition to unlocking force powers, you can unlock new combos that can be used to suit different encounters. Ultimately the different combos really just mean a different finisher, but it's still nice to have the choice between batting an enemy away with your light sabre, or force pushing them off a ledge.
What's more, you can upgrade your light sabre with different crystals you find throughout the campaign. Selecting a different crystal will change the colour and look of your sabre, which is actually a lot of fun. There are status effects that change how often you can use force powers, or raise your strength, but none of it compares with firing up a Kylo-Ren style red sabre that looks like it's about to explode.
The force powers themselves are a bit of a mixed bag, largely due to the old control scheme. I played using a gamepad, so I can't speak for the keyboard controls, but I found myself getting annoyed at time when I tried to pull off a force move. For example, to force throw you need to hold in a trigger to grab an enemy or object, then flick an analogue stick in the direction you want to throw. Sounds simple enough, but it ended up feeling like more of a button-mash than any sense of skill or precision. Even though they look cool as can be, it was only about every tenth attempt or so that I was able to pull off a force move exactly how I wanted.
It might sound like I'm having a go at The Force Unleashed for its confusing story and somewhat imprecise controls, but I actually had a great time playing the game. I suppose it's a huge compliment that an old game with annoyingly dated features, is still a lot of fun to play.
The main loop of the game is entering an area, fighting a bunch of enemies, and moving to the next for more of the same. On one hand it doesn't sound like much, but on the other, this is the staple loop of any third-person action game for a reason. When everything is working well and you're mixing up combos with force powers and taking out fools left, right, and centre, it feels really good.
I didn't keep up with the plot, but thankfully I've watched the movies and still got a kick out of seeing recognisable aliens and characters. Seeing an entire planet of Wookies is a lot of fun, because it gives Chewbacca a bit of context. Fighting multiple Rancors in their natural habitat, extends the idea that the one in Return Of The Jedi had to have been caught and shipped off to Jabba at some point. I guess this is where the extended universe really comes into its own. Not through obscure characters that played a minor role in the overall saga, but through natural elements that provide depth and context.
Your experience will certainly differ if you're the kind of Star Wars fan that's read all the books and have an intimate relationship with every piece of the puzzle. Although, I think it would no doubt still be enjoyable to roam around the universe with some awesome powers and a light sabre. It doesn't matter whose side your own, or how deep you go, there's something ridiculously cool about being a space wizard.
To round us off then, I have to say that The Force Unleashed was worthy of playing, even ten years late. Of course there are signs of age, and a whole lot of room for improvement, but I'm now looking forward to trying the sequel. I've only played a few Star Wars games so far, but this one was a lot of fun, so I’m eager to play more.
Plus, as I've mentioned in the past, one of the best arguments about playing old games is that they're super cheap when its sales time. It would be nice to see a modern take that's not a cynical cash-grab movie tie in (*cough*Battlefront*cough*), but for now there are loads of inexpensive old games to try. Here's hoping this isn't the only enjoyable one.