RPG Dreamers Forums > Hands-on: Force Unleashed

Dragon Brigade

Aug 19 2008, 06:52 PM

The quote below is for the PS3 version, just as a heads-up, but I figure (p)reviews of the other console editions will be popping up as well, so...yeah.

QUOTE

Hands-on: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Posted Aug 19th 2008 4:00PM by Andrew Yoon 

You'll be able to get your hands on a demo of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed this Thursday on PSN. However, we had a chance to get an early look at the upcoming release. As with most every Star Wars game, there's a lot of excitement and anticipation over this upcoming LucasArts project -- in spite of the franchise's notorious legacy of mediocrity. However, fans have rallied for The Force Unleashed, due to its unique interpretation of Force powers, and the dark character that stars in it. Darth Vader's apprentice is, essentially, the Kratos of the Star Wars universe. Dark, brooding, conflicted ... and yet oh-so-powerful. Certainly, the premise has a lot going for it.

However, it becomes immediately apparent that The Force Unleashed isn't going to be the definitive Star Wars game that some are hoping it would be. The visuals are rather lackluster, with none of the environments, character models, or special effects looking beyond "par." Of course, it may be because of the demo: restricted to a rather clean, barren Imperial spaceship, there isn't much to see. Perhaps the game's later planetary levels will offer a bit more eye candy. Even the framerate didn't feel smooth -- and the camera seemed annoying, requiring manual adjustment throughout.

Video; scroll down to see.

Just like the visuals, the combat feels simply "adequate." Chopping droids in half with the lightsaber looks cool, but the overall experience of controlling the Apprentice doesn't feel sleek. Compare the controls of this game to that of Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden or even God of War, and The Force Unleashed feels clunky -- and far less visceral than any of these other action games. For example, grabbing an enemy in the air and throwing him around looks very cool. However, the execution of the grab manuver, which requires both analog sticks to control (one for X-axis and one for Y-axis control) is much too cumbersome. The Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2 functions exactly the same as the Force grab, and does so in a much more natural way.

If combat does one thing well, it's the finishing moves. Taking down an AT-ST by cutting it in half with a lightsaber looks ridiculously cool. If the developers can continue offering "wow" moments like those, we're sure The Force Unleashed will be, at the very least, a fun, flawed adventure.

There are a number of improvements we'd like to suggest to the LucasArts team about the combat -- but with its release only a month away, it's far too late to change anything significant. We wish the combat were a bit more visceral, a bit more intense, and a bit more intuitive. However, Star Wars geeks may find the presentation, and the intriguing story to be more than enough to satiate even the most casual of fans. You'll be able to judge the demo for yourself when it launches on PSN this Thursday.

Crimson Cloud

Aug 20 2008, 05:52 AM

Well, I'm not sure how the gameplay will be. We see some bad/good guys being crushed by enormous usage of Force powers, but how saber duels will look like, that is still unknown. The story seem interesting but I wonder what will happen in the end? Since we know that there is no Starkiller in the New Hope, it means aether he will loose his powers, run away or die in the end.

Phisix

Aug 20 2008, 10:16 AM

The gameplay is hack and slash type gameplay. Until last night I though this was just another boring Star Wars clone, but after watching a demo it looks awesome. It resembles KoToR a tiny bit too and the story looks to be very interesting.

Voyou San

Aug 20 2008, 11:31 AM

gonna try the demo but my hopes are not that high

Grahf

Aug 20 2008, 12:21 PM

Yeah, I'll try the demo for myself to see how it is. These past few weeks of seeing stuff about this game I realized that my hopes had been unreasonably high up until recently, where I was sure this was about to be the first really good star wars game (action wise, don't count KotoR in that, or battlefront for that matter) but these past couple weeks I realized its most likely just gonna be another meh star wars game. I really really want this game to be good, but after reading this, I realize its probably going to be only slightly above average at best.

Grahf

Aug 22 2008, 09:25 AM

Played the demo for this game, and I have to say, its pretty awesome. I think it really makes good use of force powers by making them easy to use (I thought it was gonna be a slot kinda system where you assign force powers to a limited slot selection) and making them normal buttons.

I very well may buy this game, but first I'm gonna look into how long the game is, because if its short I might as well just rent it. The complaints in the article are things I can honestly say I didn't really notice and I think the article makes the game sound bad because it really only points out the negatives. I think we'll have to wait until reviewers get full versions of the game to see how the game really is though, the demo just isn't long enough to base how good the game is on.

Athrun

Aug 22 2008, 11:18 AM

I played the demo last night, and I was pretty impressed by the game. I question whether the guy who wrote that article realized that you can level up in the game and learn new things, when calling the battle system is "adequate" in comparison to Devil May Cry. Because in the Devil May Cry demo you started out with even less impressive things than you do in this demo.

QUOTE

"far less visceral than any of these other action games"

I wonder if they figured out that you can mix in lightning or force attacks in combos? If so, I'd like to know in what way is Force Unleashed far less versatile than Devil May Cry. Or perhaps they are comparing the demo to a full game.

I thought the graphics were nice as well, so the only thing I agree with the article on is that the camera is slow to control, and that the finishing moves are really impressive.

To me this was probably the most promising Star Wars game I've played in years. I think I might end up enjoying it more than any other Star Wars game in fact. But that doesn't say too much since I only thought KOTOR and a FPS which I've forgotten the name of were good games. But this game seems really good in it's own right. If you can keep unlocking new moves by leveling up and such, I think the game might turn out to be really fun.

Soul Reaver

Aug 22 2008, 11:46 AM

I'm looking forward to this game, and what this review fails to mention is the new engine that Lucas Arts put in place for this game, when you throw someone THROUGH something like a wooden door or glass, it will break how it would in RL, all you have to do is look this up on youtube (I can't access it at the moment) and they have a video explaining the new technology in this game.

The force powers seem to look very very good in gameplay trailers that lucasarts have been releasing, and honestly, if the camera is the only issue that Athrun noticed, well I can live with a #### camera if I get a good fun game, with some nice storyline in it.

Edit: They say that starship looks bland? For a fairly "bland" screenshot i notice the lighting looks good, it reflects off the metal flooring, you can see how the I guess computer screen things reflect their light etc. Doesn't really look like this reviewer is really taking much into account and he's totally ignored gameplay trailers released prior that show the first level with Darth Vader on the Wookie Homeworld.

Mushroom

Aug 22 2008, 12:00 PM

Can't say I agree with one word of that preview. I had my breath held, but after playing the demo last night ( and quite alot today), I'm very excited for this game. A great looking interactive environment? Check. Badass lightsaber moves? Check. And do I feel like ana ctual Jedi? Check. I'm not a star wars fanboy or anything, but I've always hoped for a game that REALLY does the movies and the coolness of the jedi's justice, and this is it for me. The way you can use the force on its ow or in combination with the lightsaber and the lightning is freaking awesome. The only argument I can see from that preview is they picked a slightly bland level to showcase, but that is the nature of such a famous star wars surrounding, the starships. And even with the steely, cold colours, you can see how good the graphics are.

Just goes to show, don't always decide your purchases based on a preview, if there hadn't been a emo, I would probably have believed it. Total nonsense imo.

Soul Reaver

Aug 22 2008, 12:04 PM

QUOTE (Mushroom @ Aug 23 2008, 06:00 AM)

Can't say I agree with one word of that preview. I had my breath held, but after playing the demo last night ( and quite alot today), I'm very excited for this game. A great looking interactive environment? Check. Badass lightsaber moves? Check. And do I feel like ana ctual Jedi? Check. I'm not a star wars fanboy or anything, but I've always hoped for a game that REALLY does the movies and the coolness of the jedi's justice, and this is it for me. The way you can use the force on its ow or in combination with the lightsaber and the lightning is freaking awesome. The only argument I can see from that preview is they picked a slightly bland level to showcase, but that is the nature of such a famous star wars surrounding, the starships. And even with the steely, cold colours, you can see how good the graphics are.

Just goes to show, don't always decide your purchases based on a preview, if there hadn't been a emo, I would probably have believed it. Total nonsense imo.

You've made me happy I have a pre-order on this game.

I still say that starship isn't bland, especially the way you can use the force power and just smash people into all of that stuff. The supposed bland level still has a lovely amount of detail imo.

Dragon Brigade

Aug 22 2008, 01:44 PM

I've still been planning to buy the PS2 version of this game (not at launch though, I'll wait a bit. That and I can't play it anyway. xD.). It looks like a lot of fun (I've seen footage of the PSP version, and that one looks great, seriously), so I'll be getting it.

Good to hear feedback on the demos though.

Athrun

Aug 22 2008, 01:49 PM

Looks like no one agrees with the preview then. I'm not a Star Wars fanboy either, but this game really impressed me. I really liked the interaction with the environments in this game. Picking up soldiers and pressing the force button to blast them through a door, or blasting them open by using the charged up hadouken, or the way the glass ceiling collapses and breaks when it hits the ground, it was all very enjoyable to me. And the L1 force dash reminds me of the dash in Megaman X, and makes the game more fast paced. Like Shrtoom said, if I didn't try the demo for myself, I might have believed that preview.

And Reaver, I think you mean this video? http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36527.html

QUOTE (Dragon Brigade @ Aug 22 2008, 11:44 PM)

I've still been planning to buy the PS2 version of this game

There's going to be a PS2 version as well? Nice. My friend is planning to pick this up for PS3 after we played the demo. So I thought I'd play it that way. But I could get the PS2 version as well, as long as the game engine isn't too different from the next gen version. Spiderman 3 for PS2 is a great example of a terribly watered down game engine compared to the PS3/360 version. If it's the same deal here then I probably won't bother with the PS2 version and just play it on the PS3 instead.

Dragon Brigade

Aug 22 2008, 02:04 PM

QUOTE (Athrun @ Aug 22 2008, 04:49 PM)

QUOTE (Dragon Brigade @ Aug 22 2008, 11:44 PM)

I've still been planning to buy the PS2 version of this game

There's going to be a PS2 version as well? Nice. My friend is planning to pick this up for PS3 after we played the demo. So I thought I'd play it that way. But I could get the PS2 version as well, as long as the game engine isn't too different from the next gen version. Spiderman 3 for PS2 is a great example of a terribly watered down game engine compared to the PS3/360 version. If it's the same deal here then I probably won't bother with the PS2 version and just play it on the PS3 instead.

I believe there is going to be one for every system, actually...I don't want to get it for the handhelds (though the PSP version does look beautiful, but I only have a DS and...well...I don't think the game would work best on it), so I'm getting it on the PS2, which is the next best alternative I have.

Here's a video of the PS2 gameplay:

Video

I think it looks pretty good. Not sure how it compares to the PS3 version, but this one still looks nice.

Soul Reaver

Aug 22 2008, 03:40 PM

They all use the same engine according to lucasarts developers, they just pretty much tone it down somewhat for the lesser consoles, kind of like scaling back the graphical settings on a PC game.

The ps2 version comes with 5 additional levels, including the abandoned jedi temple on coruscant.

And Hiku there's a bunch on youtube, they'll show what I mean. Still, the game is going to be good fun and it's one of the few games I've actually felt excited about buying this year.

Also I plan on the ps2 version as well =x.

Mushroom

Aug 23 2008, 02:39 AM

The PS2 version even looks slick, from that vid DB posted up. ITs obviously scaled down, but we all know what the PS2 can do, and they've made a few good decisions I can see, such as changing up the colour scheme etc so the game looks a little different, and not just a lesser version or whatever.

Glad to see plenty of people comnig out and disagreeing with that preview, things like that can cripple a good game, and from the demo a least, it seems like a very good game. I'm psyched because my $ comes in on the 15th of september, just in time for this and ratchet and clank, all in one week. Its a good time to be a game <3

cloudycat

Aug 27 2008, 03:47 AM

I had a go of the demo, and it's not bad. The enemies are pretty stupid though and the combat isn't as fluid as I'd like it to be, but yeah it's a decent action game and definitely not as bad that IGN preview made it out to be. I'd likely pick it up at some point, not straight away because I have too many games that take priority over this. Also, as with any other mass produced game I guaranty that this game will be down in price big time well before Christmas.

Mushroom

Aug 27 2008, 03:56 AM

Out of interest, what difficulty did you play on? The enemies were stupid on easy, but on hard they kicked my ass! Its only a demo though, so I couldn't really figure out if thats only because they were hitting more damage or because they were doing anything smarter. TBH though, I enjoyed it alot more on easy; this is the kind of game I'm going to love for stupid enemies, because I'll be able to pick them up and do what I want to them

cloudycat

Aug 27 2008, 06:05 AM

QUOTE (Mushroom @ Aug 27 2008, 12:56 PM)

Out of interest, what difficulty did you play on? The enemies were stupid on easy, but on hard they kicked my ass! Its only a demo though, so I couldn't really figure out if thats only because they were hitting more damage or because they were doing anything smarter. TBH though, I enjoyed it alot more on easy; this is the kind of game I'm going to love for stupid enemies, because I'll be able to pick them up and do what I want to them

I had it on normal (middle setting last setting was locked) setting - Sith something or other lol! - I always play on the normal setting just to make the game last a little longer. It was still quite challenging just the AI was a bit off - kind of just standing there and waiting for a big-ass hovering box to get dropped on their heads, which was kind of fun at the same time though

The Evil Dead

Aug 27 2008, 07:04 AM

I played the demo a few days ago at a buddies house on his 360. Do not want.

I'm personally glad they broke up Lucas Arts, those guys create the most generic and underwhelming games. This is further proof of that. My guess is there's about a 5 hour campaign, limited moves with the force and lightsaber as shown in the demo, and even more weak ass character animations, plot, graphics, and so on and so forth.

Definitely not impressed at all with the demo. I'd say avoid at all costs unless you like generic action titles.

Mushroom

Aug 27 2008, 02:00 PM

I guess there's quite a few of us that love generic action titles then TED

thats fair you hated it, but I think there's enough people saying they enjoyed it to vindicate my taste

or y'know not. Either way, I'll be buying it XD

Mushroom

Sep 15 2008, 08:47 AM

Has anoyone got this or played this today then? F#ck the us for getting it at the beginning of the week XD Ours isn't due til Fri but I think I've found a place thats going to have it in on Wed, can't wait for this game, its really going to kick off a half year of superb games for me.

Athrun

Sep 15 2008, 09:03 AM

My friend said he's playing the Wii version right now. I haven't played it though. Maybe on Friday, if someone buys it. Or I'll get the PS2 version if it's any good.

Mushroom

Sep 15 2008, 12:31 PM

Well IGN's review is in and they went for a 7.3. I have to admit thats a pretty positive thing to me; 7.3 is a solid review and I'm particularly invested in the game and have already accepted much of what they criticised it as positives so I'm even more psyched now. The review conifirms there's nothing game breaking in there, so I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Ken Masters

Sep 15 2008, 04:25 PM

I'm kind of torn whether or not I should get it now, I wanna know the story between Episode 3 and Episode 4, but at the same time I don't wanna spend money on a supposed generic action title. Maybe I might rent it before I buy.

Mushroom

Sep 15 2008, 04:47 PM

Well, the demo is up on the psn/live ^^ I wouldn't say 7/8's is generic, but I guess its all is the eye of the beholder what you find as a good rating haha. The demo is up though ^^ I'd say with this game is really going to be how you feel about the combat, whether you find this to be a 6 to a 8.

Ken Masters

Sep 15 2008, 09:09 PM

I suppose I could try the demo, still waiting for my PS3 to be sent back though. ^^;

Mushroom

Sep 17 2008, 08:10 AM

Picked this up today and just got done with the first level. Gotta say, I love this game. You start off with less than you have in the demo, but you can level up by killing enemies or by finding the 15 hidden holocrons in each level. Holcrons as well as the story give you pretty good incentive to plough through the action, as if that wasn't enough. Can't say much moire at this point, but i figured it was worth saying that there's ALOT to customise and upgrade so finding the holocrons and upgrading have made this alot more addictive than what the demo offered ( which i thought was excellent anyway). The visuals are pretty spectacluar on the second mission too, I'm excited to play more.

The Evil Dead

Sep 17 2008, 06:59 PM

Do they ever explain why the main character holds the lightsaber in such a ridiculous way that may only seem cool to pre-teens?

Ken Masters

Sep 17 2008, 07:20 PM

Because he has the look to be a super hero?

Mushroom

Sep 18 2008, 12:54 AM

QUOTE (The Evil Dead @ Sep 17 2008, 06:59 PM)

Do they ever explain why the main character holds the lightsaber in such a ridiculous way that may only seem cool to pre-teens?

They actually work that into the story, its pretty cool.

Crimson Cloud

Sep 18 2008, 01:50 AM

I'm Interested in those alternative endings they mentioned a month back. Somehow I heard nothing of it. Mushroom, did you had any choices to choose in the game?

The Evil Dead

Sep 18 2008, 07:18 AM

QUOTE (Mushroom @ Sep 18 2008, 03:54 AM)

QUOTE (The Evil Dead @ Sep 17 2008, 06:59 PM)

Do they ever explain why the main character holds the lightsaber in such a ridiculous way that may only seem cool to pre-teens?

They actually work that into the story, its pretty cool.

Is it a style? Just curious. They already have numerous lightsaber stances or what have you in the Star Wars universe so I'm curious if it's his own thing or a style that's taught.

Athrun

Sep 18 2008, 07:41 AM

Funny though, he doesn't seem to hold it like that in the Wii and PS2 version.

Soul Reaver

Sep 18 2008, 01:11 PM

So I finished the game in 6hours, completely on the PS2 version, I feel a little ripped off in the game itself, but the story itself was worth it, and so was using my refund to pre-order Wrath.

The boss battles were weak sauce especially if you used the right skills which for me was usually Detonation, Sith Scorcher, some saber combos and the triangle circle push lightning combo. The hardest level for me was Death Star and all the god damned jetpack troopers.

Vader was a pathetically trivial battle and so was Palpatine, they could have done so much better ah well.

Amna Umen

Sep 23 2008, 05:23 AM

I watched and played the PS3 version, was very beautiful graphically and full of epic moments. But it was very short, and i feel that the only two good versions were probably the PS3 and 360 version. The Wii and PS2 versions seemed tacked on and forced. Overall it was very entertaining, but I would definitely rent it first. And the alternate endings all depend on a single choice made late in the game so just make a save state in the final level and there ya go.