Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was the beginning of the end for LucasArts.
But most importantly, it was a pretty great game!
A Time of Change
Really, it was a perfect storm.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashedfaced an uphill battle of Clone Wars proportions at its very inception.
It was a time when all of Lucasfilm was mapping out the next step for the franchise.
Now that the film saga was complete, how would George Lucas company move the brand forward?
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The video game part of the franchise, however, was in deep trouble.
In 2004, the VP of Marketing at Lucasfilm, Jim Ward, was named President of LucasArts.
And Ward declared himselfthe Rogue Leader who would put LucasArts on the map.
Of course, numbers dont always equate to quality.
From 2002 to 2004, LucasArts had entered a gaming renaissance.
All of these titles were developed by third-party studios.
At that point, Raven Software, BioWare, and Obsidian were key players in LucasArts success.
Perhaps the only big hiccup was Sony Online EntertainmentsGalaxiesMMO, which didnt quite meet the publishers expectations.
Luckily,Battlefront,Knights of the Old Republic II,andRepublic Commandosurvived the Purge.
But dead, for example, were futureRogue Squadrongames from Factor 5.
I will revisitRepublic Commandoin a later entry in this series, so lets move on toThe Force Unleashed.
And I will never fault a game for swinging for the fences.
And the bridge was built quite masterfully.
Before LucasArts settled on Starkillers story, there were a lot of other ideas.
(Fun fact: Luke Skywalkers original name in early drafts ofA New Hopewas Annikin Starkiller.)
The studio even considered making the third entry in theKnights of the Old Republicseries… Of course, Lucas would come to regret this decision later on.
Legend has it thatdevelopers werent even allowed to mention Starkillers name in his presenceduring the final days of LucasArts.
The Force had definitely been unleashed.
Whos Scruffy Looking?
After all, Vader has arrived to eliminate another Jedi.
Everything short of Force Lightning (Vader canonically does not have that ability) is on display here.
Why then is this intro such a drag?
Its probably because Vader is too badass to ever even consider moving faster than a brisk walk.
So you spend 10 minutes slowly making your way through the beautiful surroundings, Force pushing Wookies off cliffs.
But Im sure these first few minutes immediately sold the game to many adoring fans.
But when the smooth-operating Starkiller is sent on his first mission, the game design really takes shape.
First and foremost, this is not the game for epic lightsaber duels.
Learning complicated button combos is insignificant next to the power of the X button.
And that dumbs down the experience a bit.
It doesnt help that the camera often doesnt agree with you.
This also extends to lightsaber clashes and dodging special attacks.
Actually,The Force Unleashedis kinda scruffy-looking, even to 2008 standards.
Bringing Balance to the Force
So why do I ultimately classifyThe Force Unleashedas a greatStar Warsgame?
The ambition of the storytelling is enough reason to get this game alone.
And dont get me wrong, the game works well enough.
But the games biggest strength is undoubtedly the story it weaves in an unexplored era of theStar Warstimeline.
The tragic stories of the remaining Jedi Masters cannot be lauded enough.
Those Raxus missions (you visit several of the planets twice in the game a little lazy?)
This guy has obviously gone insane.
And thats a balance in character development you dont quite see during the Jedi Purge.
Either the survivors die or fall to the dark side.
At last, we see the mental trauma of surviving the extinction of your kind.
Youre glad to be along for this ride through the Empire.
If you ever wanted to feel like an all-powerful Jedi, look no further.
If you ever wanted to fight Wookies as Darth Vader, this is your game.
Want to know what it was like for Boba Fett to get stuck in the sarlacc pit?
Starkiller dives headfirst into one.
Never got the chance to fight the Emperor?
Hes the final boss.
The only question now is: will you choose the dark side or the light?
