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The Force Unleashed

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The Force Unleashed
 
By David Hollingworth
Sep 30, 2008 | 2 Comments
Tags: star | wars | force | unleashed

After the preview, comes the real thing – is it worth the hype?

Last issue we had some hands-on time with a preview build of The Force Unleashed, and we were damn excited. Since then we’ve spent a lot more time with the retail version of the game, and that excitement was not unfounded.

If you read last month’s preview then you know the story, but to recap, you play a secret apprentice of Darth Vader’s – your existence is hidden even from the Emperor. Vader is still hunting down the last few surviving Jedi, and that’s where your first few missions come in.

Each level takes you to a different planet, all geographically unique in true Star Wars style. There’s the trash planet, the gas giant planet, and so on. Combined with the advanced phsyics of the games, each locale offers some truly unique situations. From Force-throwing badguys through the lush undergrowth of Fellucia, to smashing flying TIE Fighters with crates in a fighter production facility, this is a game where the advanced physics adds not only to the gameplay, but to your sense of character.

The Force Unleashed is not just about throwing stuff around with the Force; it’s also one of the better Star Wars stories to be told in recent times – better, certainly, than anything George Lucas has been responsible for in recent years. There’s some solid voice work in the game, too, and a lot of the character designs have been taken from the actors playing them, like Starkiller himself, who is voiced by Sam Witwer. If the Sith Apprentice looks familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen him in Dexter and the new Battlestar.

The entire package of Force-based gameplay, advanced physics, and excellent storytelling comes together to deliver a compelling experience, and not just to the player. Every time we sat down for a session, colleagues from our office downed tools to come watch the game unfold. On a hi-def TV and with a good sound system, The Force Unleashed a better Star Wars experience than most of the movies.

Take that George!

 
Product Info
Specs:
Xbox 360
Supplier:
Price when reviewed:
AUD$99.95
price check*
$62.85 Star Wars The Force Unleashed for Nintendo DS (PG)
iiBuy (NSW)
$79.99 Star Wars The Force Unleashed, Wii, Activision (0023272005849)
Mwave Australia (NSW)
$85.30 Star Wars The Force Unleashed, Xbox360, Activision
Mwave Australia (NSW)
$89.00 Star Wars The Force Unleashed
Ezy Electronics (VIC)
$89.80 Star Wars The Force Unleashed for Xbox 360 (M)
iiBuy (NSW)
$89.80 Star Wars The Force Unleashed for Wii (M)
iiBuy (NSW)
*Products and prices sourced from staticICE and are in no way associated with Atomic MPC Powered by
 
This article appeared in the September, 2008 issue of Atomic.

Want to check out the first Australian review of Final Fantasy XIII? We got in this month's Atomic!

Plus HD projectors, Napoleon: Total War, Intel's new six-core processor, PC upgrading guide, and a whole lot more.

ON SALE NOW!
2 Comments
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
emccat
Oct 1, 2008 1:15 PM
don't like it played it for about an hour on a 360 in the shops and got so bored of it i didn't wnat to play it again ....... EVER. this is just another cash cow to get george lucas (not the reall one but his clone who acctually made spider man 3 super long 5 hour extended edition) more money to buy more gold bricks and tiles for his house. also i watched the clone wars or whatever its called. onl.. i mean in the cinema and it was CRAP. the animations and effects weren't even special and were to UNrealistic making the movie to childish (oops drifting of topic). anyway don't like it the only way i would buy it is if i find it at the markets for $5
Freelancer 2401
Oct 14, 2008 9:45 AM
o_0
yes was crap but it was not the giant turd you are making it out to be. some reason , i had pre ordered this title looking as i was looking forward to this for over a year. when i finaly got it, it looked great and is was manipulating the for in was other starwars games only hoped to do. thegame play only seemed to be repetive on my second round of playing through. i found that chosing a difficulty level that pushed me to do better every time i died, combined with the storyline nad and insainly force manipulation kept this game alive for its first to play throughs. but even the force use became boring and when i versed the emporer i gave up on my first few times.(the continus death in the one spot kills a game for me)i strived and defeted that a hole after a day away from it. i have lent it to my friends and they now enjoy it more than i do, they play it together for some hilerious entertainment, and i come out of my hole to see what they are doing, they are all emersed in the game and are watching as some one toyes with an a.i. yes the physis were was awsome but the game was crap, but now i realise that that was to be expected, but they now have a chance to improve for future titles as they are now more experienced at there tools used in creating a game.(ps both endings were craps and had plot holes all over)(pss light side ending was the entended ending i know that what happend was suppost to happen.)
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