Nutshell Review: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

I have to admit that the reviews for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed bothered me in a sense that I couldn’t determine whether it was a good game or not. Ratings have been mixed, yes, and it’s pretty narrow-minded of me to think that it would simply fall under “good” or “bad” and not hover in between, but I can’t help it, folks. I really want to know what there is to love and to hate about the game so I went out and got myself a copy.

There’s no mistaking that this is indeed a Star Wars title. The grandeur, presentation and overall look delivers a genuine feel. The characters are alive and remain true to their movie origins and the chaos remains intense. You know how the movies always started in medias res? That holds true here.

What’s disappointing about it is the actual gameplay. For all the wonder that the physics engine possesses, the execution falls short. Let me enumerate: targeting feels wrong, there’s too much hack-and-slash, everything feels too chaotic; combine everything and you’ve got a game that feels like a powerful padawan. All the potential is there but the experience is lacking.

And there you have it. I finally understand why the reviews have been so mixed. The game deserves a few hours of your time though, so I still recommend that you give it a whirl when you can.

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