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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Trailer

I’ve recently beat Star Wars:  The Force Unleashed (PS3) and let me say that it was incredibly fun.  Having all the powers of the force at your disposal in never before seen ways was amazing.  Playing the game, you almost felt like you were a Jedi…or in this games case…a Sith.

For anyone who hasn’t heard of this game, it was developed by LucasArts and has become part of the Star Wars canon taking place between Episodes III and IV and follows a new protagonist name Galen Marek (aka Starkiller).  What is interesting about this particular protagonist is that he is Sith Lord Darth Vader’s secret apprentice.

The development of the game engine and physics were quite interesting.  The game used LucasArt’s proprietary “Ronin” game engine and then integrated “Havok” for rigid body physics, Pixelux Entertainment’s “Digital Molecular Matter” (DMM) for dynamically destructible objects, and NaturalMotion’s “Euphoria” for realistic non-player character artificial intelligence.  The result is awesome.  You never experience the same reaction twice an opponent.  It was cool to force grip an enemy and then watch the enemy grab hold to a nearby object and hold on to it for dear life.  Good times.

Gameplay was easy to pick up and fun.  Even though some of the actions could seem repetitive, the combo capability and the artificial intelligence of the enemies varied the game enough to my liking.  In addition, you earn experience points by killing enemies in unique ways so there was incentive to get creative.

What really got me hooked to the game was the story and the main character.  Think about how messed up you’re going to be being trained by a guy (Vader) who, in his mind, has lost everything.  Talk about becoming the target of his anger.  The story, in it of itself, was a story of a fallen, mislead hero who finds his true calling and redemption.  The redemptive hero has always been a story arc I have liked, so maybe that’s why I was drawn to this game so much.  However, the concept art was incredible.  This guy not only was a badass, but looked the part as well.  I was hooked.

Here’s the synopsis of the story.  [Don’t read it if you plan on playing the game at all and don’t want to spoil it for yourself.]

Vader discovers a Jedi’s child while on a mission, and because the force is strong with the child, he decides to raise him as his secret apprentice unknown to Emperor Palpatine.  Upon reaching adulthood, Vader begins sending his apprentice on missions to hunt down the remaining Jedi as training for his ultimate goal - assassinating the Emperor.  However, the Emperor’s spies find out about the apprentice and Vader is forced to kill his apprentice; throwing him into space.  Vader, though, secretly dispatches droids to retrieve and revive him.  Six months later, the apprentice is given a new mission:  make contact with those who resist the Empire and foster a rebellion among them to distract the Emperor so that Vader would be able to make his move and destroy the Emperor.  With a new mission now, the apprentice breaks into various Imperial facilities and rescues his pilot and love interest Juno Eclipse, Jedi Master Rahm Kota, Princess Leia Organa, and Senator Bail Organa.  Over the course of these rescues, the apprentice learns the Jedi ways from Kota and develops a “kinship” with those he has been saving despite his initial dark intentions.

Senators Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Garm Bel Iblis meet to plan a rebellion against the Emperor and Vader attacks them and Kota by surprise arresting them with the intent to bring them before the Emperor himself for interrogation and eventually death.  Vader then reveals to the apprentice that he was never meant to overthrow the Emperor, and that from the beginning he was the Emperor’s tool to expose his enemies.  The apprentice is able to survive Vader’s attacks and escape.  Upon ascertaining the senators’ location:  the Death Star, the apprentice starts on one final mission.

Once inside the Death Star, the apprentice duels against Vader in an effort to rescue Kota and the senators.  Upon initially defeating Vader, Kota attempts to fight the Emperor, but is blasted by the Emperor’s force lightning.  At this point, you - as the player - choose to whether to seek revenge and finish off Vader or save Kota from the Emperor.

If you decide to attack and defeat the Emperor, Kota will stop you from finishing off the Dark Lord and killing him in hatred.  However, the Emperor does a surprise lightning attack and the apprentice is forced to absorb it in order to allow Kota and the senators to escape.  The apprentice dies and is martyred as a result, inspiring the newly formed Rebel Alliance.  This is the canon ending.

If you decide to attack and kill Vader, the Emperor offers to let you take Vader’s place at his side.  However, this offer is contingent on the apprentice proving his loyalty by killing Kota.  The apprentice instead attacks the Emperor who in return crushes him with the Rogue Shadow (the apprentice’s ship).  The story ends with the apprentice’s broken and crushed body being grafted with armor so he can serve as the Emperor’s assassin until he can find a new apprentice.

There a presently some rumors out there that they might make this into a movie which would be cool, but I doubt the rumors are true.  Regardless, the game I found more enjoyable the any of the prequels that Lucas did.  It definitely got me pumped up for Star Wars again.

I also bought the book - an adaptation of the game - to help fill in the blanks that the game left out.  I’m excited to start reading it.  The book will definitely complete the whole experience for me.

Here is some really cool concept art for the game: