Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed lets players assume the role of Starkiller in a brand new story. In simple terms, Starkiller is the hidden, powerful apprentice of Darth Vader. The game's campaign follows Starkiller through a journey of destruction, retribution, and redemption. Simple combat mechanics allow players to wield the Force in exciting fashion. TFU stands out as one of the better Star Wars games to date.

In The Force Unleashed, players visit various locales in the Star Wars universe. They control Starkiller under the orders of Darth Vader at first. Combat mechanics are simple, making the title easy to pick up for new players. However, a variety of Force powers ensure that combat is exciting with large numbers of enemies on screen. Players can customize Starkiller to some degree, personalizing him to their preferences.

The Force Unleashed provides fans with a new Star Wars story with familiar themes. Graphics for the game look great, and it performs without many issues. However, not all players will like the simple mechanics. Others will want more customization options, or higher replay value on successive playthroughs. TFU provides for a few hours of enticement with a strong story, but it's not the perfect Star Wars game.

Nonetheless, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a Star Wars game worth playing, if only once. Its story is accessible to everyone and doesn't require much knowledge about the Star Wars Universe. TFU is geared toward younger players, but hack-and-slash combined with the Force still works for players of all ages. Despite some shortcomings, The Force Unleashed is easy to recommend for any Star Wars fan today.

Pros

• Good graphics and performance.
• Simple combat mixed with many Force powers.
• A straightforward but interesting story.

Cons

• An intricate and complicated game this is not.
• Choices in the game don't matter much in the end.