Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo

A little over a year ago I saw some of the first footage of the AI and physics that would be used for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. I was very impressed with the realism and I have been anticipating this game every since then. Well, yesterday the demo was released and I promptly downloaded it after work.

Overall I would say I was pretty impressed with it. As a Star Wars fanboy if a Star Wars game is above average then that is a win in my opinion. Out of all of the Star Wars games I have only really ever liked Knights of the Old Republic and Battlefront. The Force Unleashed demo starts with a scene showing Darth Vader and the Apprentice. Vader instructs the apprentice to track down a Jedi and destroy him while leaving no witnesses behind. When the game starts you already have some of the force powers like force push and force lightning. The force powers are pretty impressive and it is really fun to throw a Stormtrooper 100 feet in the air and watch him drop. The lightsaber combat is very good and the combos that you can create are amazing. For instance if you hit two lightsaber strikes and then use force lightning you can charge your lightsaber with lightning and deliver a devastating blow. The force push is also a great attack and when you charge it you can clear out four to five enemies at once.

My only gripe with the game is the mechanics for levitating. When you pick up an object or enemy to throw them it is really hard to maneuver the object with both sticks. It is really slow and ends up leaving you vulnerable to attack. You will usually be blasted with lasers while you are trying to line up your throw. I prefer to just charge the enemy with the lightsaber, force push, and force lightning. I guess the levitation is okay if you are throwing objects at enemies from a distance, but in close combat it will get you killed fairly quickly. Overall I would say that the game is very good. The story looks like it will rival KOTOR and from what I have read it has open-ended gameplay so that is a good thing. I think this game is basically an attempt to create a Star Wars themed hack and slash adventure game where you get to use ridiculously absurd force powers. I think it achieves that and then some.