Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

PS3/Xbox 360/ LucasArts/Havok

Nov 01, 2008 Year End 2008 - Best of 2008 By Nick Hyman

Star Wars fandom is strong with geeks. So strong that after several subpar prequels and the shitty The Clone Wars animated movie, fans were still feverishly anticipating the release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Sorry fans, you’ve been fooled again! Make no mistake, The Force Unleashed is not the worst game ever made, but it’s far from great. The big appeal from the outset was that you get to be a Sith lord (Darth Vader’s apprentice, in fact) with unlimited force power. Unfortunately, you never really feel that powerful, as you have to constantly upgrade and button mash to just get through levels. The sound and graphics are largely fantastic, but the character control is erratic and camera is all over the place, especially during boss battles. Plus, boss battles follow the God of War button pattern finishes where you play Simon with the onscreen prompts and you watch an animation you don’t control. You’d probably be better off going online to watch the cinematic sequences—which depict the events between Episodes III and IV— than you would be actually playing the game. Definitely a rental. (www.lucasarts.com/games/theforceunleashed)

Author rating: 5/10

Rate this video game
Average reader rating: 8/10