It seems like ages since this title was first announced; all the Star Wars gaming fans of the world (me included), likely chomping at the bit for its inevitable release date. That came today (September 17), for those of you still unaware and while I realise there are more than a handful of you out there who'll care less about any review of the game simply because it is a Star Wars title, those of you who're waiting to know whether the wait was worth it should definitely read on.

Now that last paragraph might have sounded a bit doomish; like a "stay away from this game at any cost" type of thing, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

It's just, like the prequels, there are elements added to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed that are simply unwarranted, and at times it comes across as overly camp and utterly ill-balanced in its narrative misdirection of dark souls, betrayal, redemption and killing Jedis. This is done with the inclusion of whacky Lucas-esque characters; a love interest (who if Vader saw how she dressed for work would Force Choke her on the spot), an annoying Droid and some equally irritating enemies and bosses. But if you're willing to overlook most of this, there's an ace story here that Star Wars fans will eat up – you just need to persevere for awhile before any of it feels justified.

The same too, can be said of being a Sith Apprentice. Initially the game does little to make you feel overly powerful (especially after the Prologue, where you play as the powerful Vader), and at times, thanks to some broken gameplay mechanics, you'll likely want to Force Push the controller into a wall out of frustration. But again, if you can overlook and forgive (because this is Star Wars), what's waiting around the gameplay and story corner is a Star Wars title worthy of a medal ceremony presented by Princess Leia Organa, and then some.

So, as mentioned (and touted by the folks at LucasArts), you begin the game as the darkest mofo this side of A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away... Darth Vader.

He's still hunting the now recluse Jedi who have gone into hiding after Anakin Skywalker turned to the Dark Side and hooked up with Senator Palpatine (aka The Emperor) to wipe out the Jedi once and for all and control the Galaxy. His quest has brought him to Kashyyk, home-world to the Wookie race and a great place to start toying with Euphoria, DMM and Havok (with a little help from The Force).

While it should be one of the greatest moments in gaming - playing as Darth Vadar, all powerful - it's unfortunately nothing spectacular. To begin with, his CG intro reveals a clunky, robotic walk as he descends the walkway of an Imperial Shuttle (which brings initial fears one of the elements of the game most fans are going to be looking forward to just isn't up to scratch). Sizing up the conflicted Kashyyk, Vader does look reasonably cool, and once you take control of him things do begin to look up.

As Vader you'll walk along fairly linear paths as you hunt your rogue Jedi, but not before countless Wookies throw themselves at you like so many bowled cricket balls in the practice nets. The obvious reaction to this is to use The Dark Side to teach these hairy menaces what the cost of attacking the purported "chosen one" is (in this case, usually a crushed trachea).

As has been promised, you can fling Wookies off into the blue yonder with Force Push (they may even be collected by a TIE Fighter mid-flight), crush their throats with Vader's coveted Force Choke, lift and impale them with Saber Fling as well as much, much more. You do feel utterly powerful, with numerous monstrous Wookies surrounding you and not an ounce of HP desperation on the radar. A simple tap of a button, based on your own sickly murderous choice, will dispatch one or all of your enemies with barely a dint in Vadar's black visage to be seen.

Finding your target reveals how the boss encounters in the game will work, and I have to admit it's not only disappointing, but also fundamentally flawed. The camera is now panned back to as broad a view of the immediate area as possible, and you and your foe face off in an almost 2D-like realm. You'll still have full control of all your abilities, but you're confined to a tiny space for the duration of the battle (with annoying camera restraints, which makes aiming very difficult). Once you've beaten your enemy to a near pulp, the game kicks in a very forgiving QTE (Quick Time Event) situation, which delivers the awesomely animated, scripted and choreographed final blow. Job done, dust hands, move on with story.

And boy, what a story to move on with. After finding his rogue, Vader kills him upon discovering he's been hiding a very powerful son. Taking the boy under his wing as his secret apprentice, it's revealed the boy's place by Vader's side is to eventually take on the Emperor so Vader and he can rule the Galaxy together. Before this insidious turn of events though, he is sent on a handful of final training missions to destroy the last remaining Jedi, the first of which is a separatist Jedi general by the name of Rom Kotor (a nod to Knights of the Old Republic maybe?).

This is where the game begins proper, and the first thing you'll notice is a severe lack of power and ability. "Starkiller", as he is called, only has a handful of Force Powers at his disposal; Force Push and Force Lift, to be precise, and while they certainly do make do in the early stages (and it makes sense from a narrative point), it's still frustrating – leaving you definitely wanting more.

This is an area of the game I thought LucasArts kind of screwed up. You accrue Force Points to spend on varying abilities, affinities, combos and more. Now it's definitely worth your while to spend time upgrading your character, but the way in which it's done is very mechanical; breaking the game's overall immersion. An organic XP system with garnered abilities based on in-game actions - I feel - would have helped so much more with the suspension of disbelief. Moreover, the way in which you gather points is by finding "Holocrons", glowing cubes scattered about the levels. While overall it is functional and easy to use, having to seek out glowing cubes in the organic wastes of the planet Felucia just feels too manufactured - you're meant to be guided by The Force, yet instead you're forced to find pick-ups.

It takes at least three more levels before you begin to become really powerful, and in that time, the game's story seems to be flying on autopilot (after a very promising beginning) - not giving very much in the way of something to get excited about. But just as everything seems to becoming a bit tedious, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed kicks it all up a notch and suddenly you're not just a Sith Apprentice, you're a powerful kid with a clear mission. All you thought you knew has changed, and everything begins anew. Which side are you on and what's your place in all of this? When all of this comes crashing down, the gameplay levels almost become a tease, keeping you from that next story sequence just that little bit longer than you'd like.

What unfortunately sits juxtaposed to the incredibly awesome story then, is the frustration found at various points of broken gameplay. You are all powerful, but simple things like aiming a piece of debris at an enemy off in the distance (or an all-important boss) constantly fails due to either a poor aiming system or the lack of a semi dynamic camera system. The Apprentice can often times simply take too long to recover from a blast and is then constantly bombarded by any enemies aiming at him usually resulting in a frustrating and unwarranted death.

There are even moments of frivolous platforming where your double jump and dash simply aren't enough. Level design works in equal detriment to this and you'll constantly find yourself swearing at the screen in pure frustration.

It's the ebb and flow of The Force Unleashed though. You're a powerful Sith Apprentice with The Force more than on your side, but you're constantly battling poor level design, inconsistent mechanics in the camera, aiming or combo department and ill-balanced enemies who should be cowering at your powers but can instead block your every Lightsaber attack (seriously, there are even Storm Troopers immune to your Force Powers because of a Force Shield they have).

And from all of this stems my biggest problem with the game: the promise of playing as a Sith Lord and experiencing the power of The Force is cheapened because you're constantly reminded you're just playing a videogame.

What makes this constant reminder worse is the further you get into the game, the better the story becomes until ultimately you'll almost wish the two were separate entities.

Don't get me wrong, there are more than enough memorable gameplay moments throughout. Taking on a Bull Rancor, destroying countless Chicken Walkers and killing various Jedi among much more I don't want to spoil for you all created an awesome Star Wars experience on singular levels, but the definitive glue between each of these moments just wasn't what it should have been; leaving the legacy of the game as one with plenty of ambition, but never quite reaching the plateau it should have.

It also ultimately leaves the bridging tale between Episodes III and IV as the only real reason to put up with all the frustration, but true Star Wars fans will be more than thankful as a game that seems to be going nowhere not only manages to tie itself into the overall saga, but also sets itself up as possibly one of the most important Star Wars revelations ever crafted.