Tofu Hero Gaming

Title: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Platform: PSP (Also on 360, PS3, PS2, Wii and DS)
Genre: Action
Release Date: 19 September 2008
Developer: Krome Studios (PSP, PS2 and Wii versions only)
Publisher: LucasArts
Rating: PEGI 16+

WHAT IS… Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

The Force Unleashed is a new game in the Star Wars saga that fit in between Episode III and IV in the series. It is part of a wider multimedia project which includes games, novels and comics among other forms of media. Star wars games in general have been a mixed bag, some have been especially good such as Knights of the Old Republic (PC, Xbox) or Super Star Wars (SNES) whereas others haven’t been so great, such as Episode I (PS, PC) or Battle for Naboo (PC, N64). With such a prestigious name and a lot of hype to live up to can The Force Unleashed deliver an experience fitting of the Star Wars name?

GRAPHICS 6/10

The graphics are varied and for the most part very nice. There are many different areas with their own unique art style which whilst new and interesting, feels very familiar within the Star Wars universe. A lot of time has obviously gone into creating the environments and models and it shows. It has graphics on par with the PS2 and Wii version, of course with lower texture sizes, which make it one of the best looking games on PSP, on par with God of War: Chains of Olympus. With all these nice looking environments and good models there are some graphical glitches and quite a lot of load times, sometimes even during the middle of a fight, there have been quite a few times where I have been in the middle of a fight where the PSP has slowed down to a halt and displayed the ‘loading’ logo in the corner. This does really break the flow of the game and can detract away from the fun. Also as with many PSP games there are serious camera issues and no way to take manual control of the camera so you will find yourself having to blindly mash buttons until you can move somewhere the camera shifts to a good position, especially in smaller areas.

+ Lots of nice and varied environments
+ Alot of time and care has been taken on the visuals
- Graphical glitches are prevalent
- Long load times, sometimes in the middle of a fight
- Terrible camera, no way of manually changing it

STORY 8/10

The story is both well written and well performed, much better than the story and acting seen in the latest trilogy of films (Episodes I – III) but seems as that is like beating a one legged man in an arse kicking contest so saying that doesn’t really do it justice. You play as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice ‘Starkiller’ who is given the task on hunting down the last remaining Jedi, this story does lead to some very interesting scenes which engage you in a deep emotional way we haven’t experienced in Star Wars since 1983. This story is worth both in writing and performance of the star wars legacy. However, as it seems to have movie style writing the game is not very long and as it is meant to sit between two movies it feels unfinished and too short and so does not make as long lasting an impact as it could have done.

+ One of the best Star Wars stories in years
+ Good writing and acting
- Too short to make a big enough impact

LONGEVITY 6/10

The actual story mode itself is quite short overall a skilled player could probably get through it in around 5 – 10 hours. It is lengthened by the use of unlockable extras, there are 200 collectible holocrons spread throughout the game which unlock artwork as well as new add-ons for your lightsaber and plenty of force powers to unlock. Also once you have finished the relatively short story mode you can replay the game with all your powerups and everything you have unlocked in tact. In the PSP version there is exclusive extra content in the form of historic battle mode, which allows you to play through battles from within the star wars saga using the characters and powers you have unlocked in the story mode. This can add some more play time to a relatively short game.

+ Plenty of unlockables
+ PSP exclusive extra modes
- Short story mode

GAMEPLAY 7/10

The Force Unleashed suffers from the same issues that many other 3D action games on the PSP suffer from. The biggest problem is with the controls, the game is trying to do far too many things and such the PSP quickly runs out of buttons so the shoulder buttons are used as a ’shift’ button so pressing square will do one thing, and holding L and pressing square will do something completely different. This means that the control system is very inaccurate and in the heat of battle you will probably just end up relying on the couple of basic moves learned at the beginning of the game. There is a good physics engine in the game, possibly the best found in a PSP game, you can happily throw boxes and enemies around using your force powers and if you can work the control system then you can get some really good and interesting moves using your various force powers.

+ Excellent physics engine
+ Lots of different moves and plenty of opportunity for combos
- Clunky control system

FUN 7/10

There are quite a lot of things you have to forgive the game for in order to really enjoy the game. The camera and controls are not so great and cause you to die at places you wouldn’t normally, this is very frustrating, however the difficulty is a brilliant mix of challenge and simplicity. For example, there are several fights which may get you killed, but when you do you will come back to life with all the damage you have done to the enemy in tact but at the loss of points which would have gone towards more force powers. So this not only punishes you for dying but does so in such a way that doesn’t frustrate you by forcing you to constantly repeat the same fight over and over again.

+ Perfect difficulty, not too frustrating, not too easy
- Controls and camera enjoy killing you for no good reason

OVERALL 6.8/10 

A good but buggy experience that will keep you engaged and playing for a decent amount of time. There are many good reasons to get this game but many of them are undermined by glitched and bugs. For example, there are a variety of good moves and powers at your disposal which are really fun to use, held back by a sub-par control scheme. Or a brilliant physics engine rendered almost useless by a terrible camera. If you are a fan of the brand or just looking for a solid action game and can overlook some glitches and bugs then definately get this. I should point out if you are not enticed by the idea of portable games then there are home console versions of the game that do eliminate many of the issues apparent in this version, as long as you are willing to sacrifice some of those exclusive modes.

BETTER THAN: Warriors Orochi (PSP)

WORSE THAN: God Of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)