Star Wars is back! But is it though? Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a mishmash of sub-par combat, mediocre platforming, exceptional storytelling and sound, and a whole lot of Wookie ass-kickery. Are the high points enough to save the game, or will its drawbacks “force” you to pass this one by?

Remember that Wookie ass-kicking I just mentioned? Well, it only happens in the beginning of the game, though it’s still worth mentioning due to the fact that The Force Unleashed starts out so strong.  Unfortunately, it begins to wane in later levels.

The game begins with the player as Darth Vader (exciting, right?!) and provides the ability to use all of the force powers one would expect of Darth Vader. However, even in this first level, the game’s overall lack of polish in the level design department begins to show. After only a few minutes of play, I managed to get Vader stuck in some nasty trees.

WOOOOOOKIEEEESSSS!!!!

Here I am, the galaxy’s most feared and powerful Sith Lord, but these blasted trees had me by the dangly parts and wouldn’t let go.

After the first level, the main meat of the game begins to take shape. Story wise, The Force Unleashed takes place in between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the first real Stars Wars movie, Episode IV: A New Hope.

Players wield the lightsaber of the apprentice, Starkiller, after being adopted and trained in secret by Vader himself. Wearing the cloak of Starkiller, players move from planet to planet, killing off any remaining Jedi while gaining new force abilities and combos along the way.

The story, dialog, sound design, and character motion capture are the standout gems of The Force Unleashed. Luckily, LucasArts paid a lot of attention to these aspects of the game, otherwise The Force Unleashed would not have done enough to hold my attention. Honestly, this is the best story Star Wars has seen since 1983, and for that I am grateful.

See that stuff floating behind me? Yeah, I’m gonna throw ALL of it.

Starkiller is a conflicted character with a surprisingly dark demeanor, but he has just enough soul in him to be regretful of his actions. And before it’s asked: no, the player doesn’t get to kill younglings, even if the word “youngling” is the dumbest thing ever conceived.

The combat system is fine as the game begins, but I soon learned that the depth was not there when compared to other games in the action genre like God of War or Ninja Gaiden. I found myself relying on the basic four-hit combo to defeat the enemies because it seemed just as powerful as some of the flashier combos available. The air juggling had its moments, but I still found myself rarely relying on them to get the job done.

Alongside the lightsaber combat, the game provides the player with an assortment of cool force powers to exploit – I mean, the game is called The Force Unleashed, after all. Each level is designed to give players the maximum amount of resources to use against the enemies, from ripable pipes to an ass-load of boxes and crates.

So what does the player do with all these items littered around the levels? Well, one could throw them with force grab, hit them with force push to… throw them, or electrocute them with lightning so that they will be more effective when the player… uh… throws them.

I found myself tossing all the boxes and such in the direction of the enemies as soon as I entered a room. That gave me enough time to overuse my force lighting on the stunned enemies, though once I beefed up my lightning to its apex, it became the “win” button.

The “Win” Button in action

Having the ability to electrocute everything in my vicinity was an acceptable option because a few of the levels in Force Unleashed were so poorly designed that I couldn’t see half the enemies attacking me. This design flaw also plagues Ninja Gaiden, and it made me long for God of War’s automatic camera. In this day and age of gaming, having to babysit a camera should not cross the gamer’s mind while playing.

The camera also played a horrible role while traversing some of the platforming sections of the game. In an action game, the platforming should be second nature, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how many times I fell into a bottomless pit only to have to sit through the lackluster loading times just to try again.

Work on your boss battles, LucasArts. That’s all I’ll say about that.

Overall, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a decent enough experience, but it’s plagued by a few last generation gaming pitfalls. If you are a Star Wars fan, though, the game may be well worth it for the story alone — just don’t pull your hair out during the more frustrating parts.