Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | 
| From: Lucas Arts Entertainment
List Price: $59.99
Buy Used: $37.50
You Save: $22.49 (37%)
New (29) Used (16) from $37.50
Rating:  90 reviews
Sales Rank: 260
Platform: Playstation 3
Genre: adventure_games
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: PlayStation 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 901802
Model: 32389
UPC: 023272332389
EAN: 0023272332389
ASIN: B000R39GPA
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Confront and associate with familiar faces from the Star Wars films, including Darth Vader in addition to new adversaries such as fugitive Jedi and Force-sensitive Felucians | | • | Unleash and upgrade the Secret Apprentice's four core Force powers - Force push, grip, repulse and lightning - throughout the course of the game, and combine them for ultra-destructive, never-before-seen combos. | | • | Examples of unleashing the Force in ways never thought possible: Secret Apprentice won't just Force push enemies into walls - he'll Force push enemies through walls, and will Force grip them in midair, zap them with lightning, then drop them to the ground | | • | Visit locations such as Episode III's Wookiee homeworld Kashyyyk and the floral Felucia, the junk planet Raxus Prime, plus an Imperial TIE fighter construction facility | | • | Decisions made by players throughout the game will determine the path of the story, including multiple endings that will rock Star Wars continuity as they know it. |
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Amazon.com
The Star Wars saga will continue in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a videogame developed by LucasArts, which casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The expansive story, created under direction from George Lucas, is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In it, players will assist the iconic villain in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi - and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.
Join the Dark Side |
You are Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice
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Use The Force to disable your enemies
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Artwork of the Jedi "Maris"
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As its name implies, The Force Unleashed completely re-imagines the scope and scale of the Force by taking full advantage of newly developed technologies that will be seen and experienced for the first time: Digital Molecular Matter (DMM), by Pixelux Entertainment, and euphoria by NaturalMotion Ltd. Paired with the powerful Havok Physics™ system, these new technologies create gameplay only possible on the new generation of consoles. DMM incorporates the physical properties of anything in the environment so that everything reacts exactly like it should - wood breaks like wood, glass shatters like glass, plants on the planet Felucia bend like plants on the planet Felucia would, and more. Meanwhile, as a revolutionary behavioral-simulation engine, euphoria enables interactive characters to move, act and even think like actual human beings, adapting their behavior on the fly and resulting in a different payoff every single time.
Game Features:- During the period between Episodes III and IV, players hunt Jedi in the role of Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice.
- Unleash and upgrade the Secret Apprentice's four core Force powers - Force push, grip, repulse and lightning - throughout the course of the game, and combine them for ultra-destructive, never-before-seen combos.
- Examples of unleashing the Force in ways never thought possible:
- The Secret Apprentice won't just Force push enemies into walls - he'll Force push enemies through walls.
- The Secret Apprentice won't just Force grip foes to throw them aside - he'll Force grip them in midair, zap them with lightning, then drop them to the ground to explode like a bomb.
- In addition to new adversaries created just for the game, such as fugitive Jedi and Force-sensitive Felucians, players will also confront and associate with familiar faces from the Star Wars films, including Darth Vader.
- Visit locations such as Episode III's Wookiee homeworld Kashyyyk and the floral Felucia, the junk planet Raxus Prime, plus an Imperial TIE fighter construction facility.
- The Force Unleashed is LucasArts' first internally developed title for next-generation consoles, and it represents the first in-game collaboration of talents and technology between LucasArts and Industrial Light & Magic, two companies now finally under one roof at the new Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco's Presidio district.
- The Force Unleashed debuts Digital Molecular Matter from Pixelux and euphoria behavioral simulation from NaturalMotion Ltd.
- LucasArts is preparing an unprecedented promotional effort around the launch of The Force Unleashed, encompassing a full line of toys and game-based action figures from Hasbro, as well as a full publishing program from Dark Horse, Del Rey and Palace Press.
Meet the Cast
The Star Wars Saga will continue in 2008 with LucasArts' biggest-ever video game event. Set during the "dark times" between Episodes III and IV, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed portrays the previously untold story of Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice -- and now you can put a face to that mysterious character as well as the major supporting cast members as LucasArts unveils the actors set to star in The Force Unleashed. The New Technology of The Force Unleashed
With The Force Unleashed, LucasArts not only introduces a new chapter in the Star Wars saga, but also two completely new and innovative technologies -- Digital Molecular Matter by Pixelux Entertainment and euphoria by NaturalMotion Ltd. These groundbreaking technologies combine with Havoc physics to create true next-gen gameplay and the Force like it's never been seen or experienced before.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 85 more reviews...
 Should have been a great one but..... September 18, 2008
Michael D. Buchanan (FT Gordon GA, USA)
31 out of 38 found this review helpful
This game is pretty good but could have, and should have been great but as usual they just decided to get too cute. Using the force powers to dangle stormtroopers in the air, throw them around, and hit them with lightning (as seen in the trailers) is lots of fun for a while but that doesn't even come close to making up for all the areas of the game where the designers just thought it would be funny to frustrate the crap out of us. FYI...NOT A LOT OF SITH LORDS SPEND 20 MINUTES TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CROSS A FREAKING JUNK PILE!!!! Oh and how the hell does a junked robot steal the force energy from me?!! Oh how I dreamed of the day when I could become a sith lord and fight a giant junk robot and spend a solid hour doing stupid jump puzzles and falling into lava. Why? Why do people think it's funny to frustrate us? The game has a great storyline,almost as good as KOTOR, but that doesn't make up for the glitches and frustrations. After not even 3 days of owning it, I beat the game despite the frustrations and glitches, that tells me they were a little short on content for it to have been hyped for so long.Don't misunderstand, this is a must have for any Star Wats fan, but it is not worth the 59.99 price tag and doesn't live up to the hype. Wait for the price to drop to at least 39.99 and then get it.
Another mediocre game with the Star Wars name. September 16, 2008
Shoyu
26 out of 30 found this review helpful
A long long time ago ...
George Lucas created Lucas Arts, and from the moment of inception has produced some really lack-luster games. Of course, they have also produced some real gems - The Knights of the Old Republic and Tie Fighter come to mind, but The Force Unleashed is just another shovel ware produced by the studio - and this is truly a disappointment. In fact, knowing that most Star Wars games are bad, The Force Unleashed is really disappointing. After several delays we finally get to play as Darth Vader's secret apprentice. The story is classic Star Wars - Darth Vader discovers a young boy that has Force sensibility that mirror his own as a lad and trains him as an apprentice to over throw the Emperor. It takes place after Revenge of the Sith and before A New Hope and fills in all the details between the two films.
The game isn't entirely bad. The effort put into the surroundings will place you squarely into the Star Wars universe with a genuine feel. But the gameplay sinks the game fast. The controls are sluggish and you'll find yourself falling into the dark abyss more often than not. The camera is jittery and makes it almost impossible to accurately use your force powers. You'll also notice that no matter how you build your character you'll never be able to simply overpower the enemy - and this is bad, since being a Sith you should be able to crush at least minor opponents. Speaking of which, the AI almost acts like no one is home ... I mean, you can literally stand in front of them and they'll do nothing.
The game is also loaded with glitches that will hinder your advancement. The boss battles don't fit in with the story and more often than not, they're just pumped up enemies. The game has some ridiculously tedious aspects in it as well and you'll end up getting bored with them rather quickly. With so much hype surrounding this game, a gamer expects a game that utilizes the Star Wars franchise, not just bits and pieces from other areas pulled together and shoveled out.
 Works for me September 20, 2008
J. Leigh (chicago)
23 out of 27 found this review helpful
Pros
- Good story and voice acting
- The visuals are magnificent- I found my self looking outside of Cloud City rather than killing stormtroopers at one point
- When you fight a jedi boss the game switches to a wide-angle pulled-back cinematic camera reminiscent of the duel between Dokku, Obiwan and Anakin in Revenge of the Sith. This is one of the best ways I've seen of taking advantage of the HD screen format and resolution. When you Force push your enemy across the room it really does remind you a lot of the movies.
- Sound track is good- some new themes and old themes are enhanced.
- Even though NPCs appear to have the ability to block your force powers or lightsaber blows, each one of them has a particular weakness you can exploit - so it's not really a problem
Cons
- Locking on to objects is sometimes clumsy- PsiOps did it much better
- A few bugs here and there
- As compared to say Jedi Outcast / Academy it doesn't have as rich a Force upgrade mechanism- mainly because the story doesn't really lend itself to it
- Camera needs to be manually adjusted frequently
- Too short
- There are some frustrating jumping puzzles - especially with a problematic camera
Considering I've been waiting since Jedi Academy for another Star Wars game, and the fact that the average budget for a video game is over $40 Million, spending $60 on a decent Star Wars game seems like a bargain to me. I have no complaints.
Comparison to the Wii version:
- Wii version uses canned Star Wars musical score. Reminds you of playing the old Jedi Power Battles game.
- Wii controls are quite well thought out and does make Force wielding fun.
- But over time the Wii interaction does tend to get fatiguing.
- The visuals between the Wii and PS3 are night and day- including the cutscenes which are rendered using the in-game engine. The Wii's visuals just look really dated/primitive compared to the PS3's. E.g. on the first mission on Kassyk, if you look at what's happening in the background on the PS3, there are stormtroopers on a beach-head in the distance slowly advancing, and shooting and then dying. It's gratuitous but it's beautifully done. None of this made it to the Wii. Of course this is understandable since the Wii is a less capable system.
- Wii provides additional game levels not provided in the PS3 game.
- The Duel Mode on the Wii can only be played with another player, rather than with an AI- too bad.
If you own both the PS3 and Wii, I recommend buying the PS3 version and maybe the Wii version when it goes on sale. TFU is visually the most stunning Star Wars title to-date and missing the opportunity to experience it's full visual splendor would be a shame.
 When a good idea gets ruined September 18, 2008
K. Glenn (Spokane, WA United States)
17 out of 25 found this review helpful
I wanted to like this game. I waited for nearly two years, read all the hype, watched all of the videos, really wanted to play it. I especially wanted to play the scene where you tear the star destroyer out of the sky, man that looked sweet. I wanted to throw people around and zap em with lightning.
But when I picked up the game finally and began playing, I was immediately greeted with a lackluster opening level that looked like it was slapped together at the last moment. Vader ended up being less powerful in the first level of the game than your baseline apprentice that you play as. What the hell?
I could get over that, but the constant freezes, glitches, bugs, and overall unfinished feel to the game has left a sour taste in my mouth. I've had the game freeze on me a dozen times in less than 10 hours of game time. The controls are ok, but actually throwing things where you want them to go, and or managing to grab the things you want to grab have proven to be an exercise in futility. I've spent more time screaming at this game and wanting to pull my hair out than I have actually enjoying the game. It's just broken. Simply put, they released a beta of the game to the general public. It's a sad ending to what I had hoped would be the Star Wars game to end all Star Wars games.
I highly recommend staying away from this game. Whether you are a Star Wars fan or not. There is DEFINITELY better things to play out there...
 The demo is very misleading September 19, 2008
Whitey (Irving, Texas USA)
14 out of 19 found this review helpful
I enjoyed the demo for this game very much because I felt like a dangerous, powerful jedi. I was frying gangs of stormtroopers with my force lightning and wading through their puny blaster fire to cut them all down with my lightsaber. Only when I bought the game did I discover that the demo features a completely "maxed-out" character, and that the demo level's entertaining mayhem is not at all representative of the game as a whole.
Your character does not feel strong until the very end of the game, if then--a full combo of melee attacks doesn't kill some regular stormtroopers, and enemies with overpowered bazookas and flamethrowers (read--every enemy from about mission 5 on) can kill you from full health before you can even turn your camera to figure out who's hitting you. The big creatures like AT-STs and Rancors are pretty much all the same--throw rocks at their heads until they die.
The story is great. In fact, I wish I knew more about the characters I was introduced to. The cutscenes seemed to give you the bare minimum, as if I had already seen the movie and was playing the game.
Also, the game has a lot of frustrating bad design. If my character steps forward with each attack, don't make him fight on narrow catwalks. Game designers should have learned that players don't like enemies who can knock them down and juggle them to death a long time ago, too. I felt like I was being rewarded for being as cheap as possible, and wound up running straight through several areas after dying repeatedly. I really needed a "fire from cover" mechanic that allowed me to target items for the "force grab" maneuver without standing in the line of fire, and I was constantly pelted by off-camera enemies and enemies far outside my target range. Finally--I didn't like "press this button now" scenes on the old Dragon's Lair arcade game, I didn't like them in Resident Evil 4, and I don't like them now. This game's take on them is 100% pointless--if you miss the button, the guy breaks out of his headlock and you grab him again for another try--repeat as necessary. All in all, this game plays like a super-nice looking Nintendo 64 game.
In the game's defense, the visuals and sound are spectacular, and really immersed me in the "Star Wars" experience--that is, until the bad stuff brought me back down to earth (remember in the movies when Luke had to fight the stormtroopers with shields that blocked the force? Neither do I...) The only thing I can say against the graphics is that Juno Eclipse has really freaky huge teeth that distracted me during the cutscenes.
All in all, buy this game expecting it to be a beautiful button-masher and you won't be disappointed.
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