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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3)
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Description:
The Star Wars saga will continue in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a videogame developed by LucasArts, which casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The expansive story, created under direction from George Lucas, is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In it, players will assist the iconic villain in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi - and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.
Join the Dark Side |
You are Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice
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Use The Force to disable your enemies
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Artwork of the Jedi "Maris"
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As its name implies, The Force Unleashed completely re-imagines the scope and scale of the Force by taking full advantage of newly developed technologies that will be seen and experienced for the first time: Digital Molecular Matter (DMM), by Pixelux Entertainment, and euphoria by NaturalMotion Ltd. Paired with the powerful Havok Physics™ system, these new technologies create gameplay only possible on the new generation of consoles. DMM incorporates the physical properties of anything in the environment so that everything reacts exactly like it should - wood breaks like wood, glass shatters like glass, plants on the planet Felucia bend like plants on the planet Felucia would, and more. Meanwhile, as a revolutionary behavioural-simulation engine, euphoria enables interactive characters to move, act and even think like actual human beings, adapting their behaviour on the fly and resulting in a different payoff every single time.
Game Features:- During the period between Episodes III and IV, players hunt Jedi in the role of Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice.
- Unleash and upgrade the Secret Apprentice's four core Force powers - Force push, grip, repulse and lightning - throughout the course of the game, and combine them for ultra-destructive, never-before-seen combos.
- Examples of unleashing the Force in ways never thought possible:
- The Secret Apprentice won't just Force push enemies into walls - he'll Force push enemies through walls.
- The Secret Apprentice won't just Force grip foes to throw them aside - he'll Force grip them in midair, zap them with lightning, then drop them to the ground to explode like a bomb.
- In addition to new adversaries created just for the game, such as fugitive Jedi and Force-sensitive Felucians, players will also confront and associate with familiar faces from the Star Wars films, including Darth Vader.
- Visit locations such as Episode III's Wookiee home world Kashyyyk and the floral Felucia, the junk planet Raxus Prime, plus an Imperial TIE fighter construction facility.
- The Force Unleashed is LucasArts' first internally developed title for next-generation consoles, and it represents the first in-game collaboration of talents and technology between LucasArts and Industrial Light & Magic, two companies now finally under one roof at the new Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco's Presidio district.
- The Force Unleashed debuts Digital Molecular Matter from Pixelux and euphoria behavioural simulation from NaturalMotion Ltd.
- LucasArts is preparing an unprecedented promotional effort around the launch of The Force Unleashed, encompassing a full line of toys and game-based action figures from Hasbro, as well as a full publishing program from Dark Horse, Del Rey and Palace Press.
Meet the Cast
The Star Wars Saga will continue in 2008 with LucasArts' biggest-ever video game event. Set during the "dark times" between Episodes III and IV, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed portrays the previously untold story of Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice -- and now you can put a face to that mysterious character as well as the major supporting cast members as LucasArts unveils the actors set to star in The Force Unleashed. The New Technology of The Force Unleashed
With The Force Unleashed, LucasArts not only introduces a new chapter in the Star Wars saga, but also two completely new and innovative technologies -- Digital Molecular Matter by Pixelux Entertainment and euphoria by NaturalMotion Ltd. These groundbreaking technologies combine with Havoc physics to create true next-gen gameplay and the Force like it's never been seen or experienced before.
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2/5 |
Another disapointment from Lucasarts!!!
(October 04, 2008) |
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As a real starwars fan, I was expecting a great game but what a disappointment!
The game is linear and gets very boring after an hour at the max.
The story is not plausible at all. The apprentice is so strong that he can kill a rancor easy...
The game play is awful. Everytime you combat a boss, the view becomes rubbish.
The scene when you crash the destroyer is in 2D (Lucasarts lost interest in a good 3D HD game???)
I personally would not recommend buying it new. Wait a bit and when the game is worth £10 it will be good value for money.
Honestly, I have played most of the starwars games and this one has to be one of the worst one ever.
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3/5 |
Unleashed? maybe, Overated? Definately
(October 04, 2008) |
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What a dissapointment this really was. pre-ordered it a month before the release date after reading all the trailers and articles advertising it.
The main positive of the whole game, was the main story line, which as advertised, links episodes III and IV together. But my main floor with the game was the repetativeness of the mobs. There was no variety in the lightsaber fighting, the "normal" mobs were too easy, and one thing that makes no sence, is this "jedi/sith" is powerful enough to pull a star destroyer out of the sky, but, cant reflect blaster shots with his lightsaber.
This game is not worth £40, I would rent it yes, for a nights fun, but as i completed it in less than a day (on hard), I would deem it a total waste of money to buy. |
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3/5 |
Average
(October 02, 2008) |
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Despite some good graphics and a decent storyline this is without doubt the most frustrating title I have played on PS3 so far.
I really can't understand what the writers of the game were trying to achieve by putting so much repetition in to so many sequences, it is almost like it is for young kids not next-gen gamers.
So many times, what was shaping up as a good level is spoiled by the having to repeat the same task time and again.
Bringing down the Star Destroyer with the force is one of most excruciating experiences you will hopefully have to come across, and it doesnt even show you the right controls. So without checking a walkthrough you could waste hours of your life on that level.
However, despite those major gripes there are some good points, and the force skills are effective and good fun to use.
But, overall, this could have been so much better if it wasnt for the poor gameplay.
I feel there has been little thought put into it, they have just found a formula and continously repeated it, which is disgraceful on a title such as this and in todays age! |
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4/5 |
Not bad
(September 28, 2008) |
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Just finished the game and i realy enjoyed. I'm a star wars fan anyway and the story line is really, realy good. There are parts that could have been better but dont let that put you off. All in all I thought the game was great, well worth the wait. A must have for any Star wars fan! |
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1/5 |
Some nice ideas but pitifully executed
(September 28, 2008) |
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I'll start with the good points. The graphics, while not the best I've seen on the PS3, are still very good. Not exceptional but they certainly do the job and look nicely atmsopheric at times. The storyline is excellent, and fills a gap between the two film trilogies. The predictable ending isn't really the game's fault as it has to lead into Episode 4, but up to the end it kept me interested through the game and could have been the game's best feature ... if not for the awesome soundtrack. The music is outstanding, and really draws you in to the whole Star Wars experience.
The Force powers are as spectacular as the game's hype suggested, with some interesting tweaks to the basic standard powers. Every stormtrooper is an opportunity to try something new, and you can't help but laugh when you find you can pick up a Jawa, zap it with lightning and drop kick it across the room. (It can't just be me who's always wanted to do that to a Jawa ...)
Unfortunately these good points are offset against some serious shortcomings. Having played the game through twice, I've found the camera controls to be by far the most used controls of all. It just never seems to point the right way, frequently leaving your path (or even your boss-level opponent) off-screen behind the camera. The camera controls are intuitive and easy to use alongside the actual character controls, but you just shouldn't need to use them so frequently.
The level design is lasklustre too. Every level is extremely linear in progression - you follow a preset route from A to B, with preset enemies appearing at preset points along the way. Not a problem the first time you play, but even on my second run through it was predictable enough to be boring. Then there's the bosses. How these sections made it into a release version I'll never understand. The boss characters (and some of the rarer in-game enemies) require you to use a certain ability to defeat them. As far as I can make out, they are often completely invulnerable to other forms of attack, meaning boss battles basically consist of repeatedly dying until you figure out which particular method of attack they're not immune to, then using it over and over again until you beat them. These are the in-game moments when you should come up against a real challenge and be able to unleash the full power of the Force in memorable, epic battles but the reality is that I found myself just wanting to get each boss battle over so I could get back to fighting the grunts in the next level. This kind of gameplay might have been fine ten or fifteen years ago, but it's too one-dimensional to be acceptable today. It spoiled any sense of immersion in the game as you're not required to make any kind of decision, just follow a path that's already laid out in full before you.
I had problems with the AI as well. On both runs through the game, I don't think I played a single level that didn't involve at least one enemy falling through terrain or becoming frozen. Once or twice is understandable but it happens too frequently to inspire much confidence in the programmers.
So to sum up, fantastic story, first class soundtrack, reasonable graphics, and very cool Force powers, but it's constantly hammered home how little effort went in to the game design. Unacceptably one-dimensional gameplay, AI defects and the worst camera orientation I've ever seen in a video game.
It could and should have been an awesome game, but its good points are lost behind abysmal design, a useless camera, and dodgy AI. My copy's going back to the shop already. Buy the book and Star Wars soundtrack CD and you'll have all the game's good points for about half the cost. |
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