When crashing a space ship into a planet the best option you have as a Jedi is to jump out of it at a height one would normally consider “a tad too high” so you can free fall your way to the planetary surface and land safely. In this case the ‘tad too high’ point would be the moment just after the ship stops glowing red from the intense heat of re-entering the planetary atmosphere, which should give you plenty of time to pick your landing spot where your feet, thanks in part to being a Jedi, could easily absorb the impact of, you know, going as fast as gravity permits. This scene exists in The Force Unleashed II, which once again takes something as simple as “using the force”, to a whole new level.



In terms of how each medium portrays that mythical thing that binds us all together, known as The Force, there’s an obvious difference between Star Wars games and films. In the films, the all round Dark Side head honcho, Emperor Palpatine, was able to shoot lightning from his fingertips like some sort of evil wizard. In gaming terms, when controlling a character adept in the force, being able to shoot lightning from your fingertips at multiple enemies feels like something that they would have taught at Jedi kindergarten, right after finger painting. It comes with the territory, and when compared to a space free fall is amateur hour. The same sentiments also apply to being able to push and pull various objects in an environment, something that has a minimal but important presence in the films - like the time Yoda lifted Luke’s X-wing out of the swamp then fed him some of his world famous grub stew. In the gaming space, players can expect to use the force to err, forcibly open large doors, because waiting for them to open is tantamount to being a loser.

In the original Force Unleashed, as players took control of Starkiller, it quickly became apparent that the title’s namesake meant that unleashing the force resulted in being able to bring down Tie Fighters at will and even an entire Star Destroyer when required. It opened the door to gameplay that very much made the use of various over-the-top force powers the focal point, as well as opting for large scale action that gave the overall nature of the game a somewhat comic/superhero vibe. Coupled with a physics engine that allowed for some truly hilarious ways in which to dispatch a seemingly endless supply of Stormtroopers, the original was also wrapped in a well executed story that involved Darth Vader, secret apprentices, Jedi Generals, wholesale Wookie slaughter, and various familiar locations. Although flawed, it was a lot of fun, especially for the more old school Star Wars fans, which easily put the inevitable sequel at the top of many most wanted lists. And although a certain main character got sacrificed at the end of the first game, for the sake of a broad, he’s back and this time it’s personal. Or is he and what makes it so personal? What, with the clone storyline and all.



And if judgement was to be based solely on first impressions, then this sequel delivers in spades. Not only does it retain the great cinematic feel of the original it literally drops players onto the rain soaked planet of Kamino, ready to do battle against the Empire in a truly impressive setting. The level of polish in everything from model detail, character animation, to the lighting, and some truly amazing water effects, immediately gives the impression that this is going to be something pretty special. The gameplay itself also seems to be on point, taking the best part of the original game, that being combat with larger than life force powers, and right off the bat gives players the ability to dispatch a large number of Stormtroopers in a number of hilarious ways. Troopers that like to fly around with jet packs can be overloaded with force lighting, paving the way for a prolonged Looney Tunes style death animation full of comical smoke trails and small explosions. Simply using a combination of your lightsaber and force push ability can send some Stormtroopers seemingly off into the horizon with the only thing missing being the small cartoon twinkle signalling them leaving the atmosphere. Dispatching small armoured walkers is also a breeze as they can be sliced and crumpled into small condensed pieces, once worn down with some lightning and saber throws.

But even though first impressions last, the problem here is that the entire game is essentially a first impression. There’s not a problem with keeping a game short and sweet, especially one focused on action and spectacle but there is a problem when playing the game you get a distinct feeling that not only is half of the story missing, but also the environments and levels to go with it. After apparently breaking out of a clone facility as a clone and then embarking on a quest to rescue General Kota, Starkiller’s journey to re-unite with his lost love and find out his true identity and perhaps confront Darth Vader, has all the hallmarks of a potentially great story. Is he a clone, is this all part of a sinister plan by the Sith Lord, etc, etc. The problem however is that once Starkiller reunites with General Kota the story seems to shift into cliff note mode, as the player is swiftly taken to the rebel fleet where they mount an attack on Kamino, thanks to the data supplied by Starkiller, where Darth Vader is waiting for the final showdown. And although that reads like a broad summary, that covers pretty much all plot points. Oh, and Darth Vader is holding Starkiller’s girl hostage for some reason. Yep, that’s pretty much it.



And it’s all a little baffling when you consider that the Dagobah level simply consists of walking up to Yoda to trigger a cut scene, whereas the Dagobah challenge stage features a timed platform jumping section of gameplay. If the goal was to somehow shoehorn an appearance by Yoda into the game by any means necessary then this is probably the sloppiest way imaginable, but the challenge levels which unlock at regular intervals seem to indicate a larger game that most likely due to release constraints was summarised into the game we have today. This means that the first level stands out as a great example of a missed opportunity because the rest of the game is simply just a handful more hours of the same, with a few underwhelming boss battles thrown in. The number of different environments in the game can be counted on one hand and seen in the first few hours of gameplay, leaving one thing that Star Wars fans would expect from a game like this, that being a space adventure across exotic locations, completely missing.

Perhaps the game can best be summed up with its all too quick ending, where players are once again given the choice to choose the path of either the light side or dark side of the force. Whereas this choice carried with it some weight in the first game and led to a great cinematic conclusion, here its inclusion feels somewhat at odds with the story, which although barely fleshed out, makes no mention of Starkiller’s leanings to either the light or dark side and instead seems to be more focussed on whether he’s the real article or a clone. Which by the way, the game fails to answer or even develop beyond the brilliant introduction, which makes the inevitable third game in the Force Unleashed series an interesting prospect. Interesting in the sense that as this game is by no means the series’ Empire Strikes Back, it would have to make up a lot of ground to get people interested in Starkiller again.