Star Wars: The Force Unleashed First Look Preview

Could Star Wars: The Force Unleashed be the greatest Star Wars game of all time, as Cameron Suey, the producer in charge of the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game, believes? Perhaps. Having seen the next-gen versions of the game for four hours straight, we’re even more convinced that Suey, and LucasArts, might be on to something. That’s right. The Force Unleashed may well turn out to be the greatest Star Wars game ever made. And that’s exciting enough for us to get as giddy as a Wookiee with a can of flea killer.

Hyperbole? We don’t think so. It looks that good. We’re talking tech. Old-fashioned, nerd-pleasing tech. The kind that gets processor obsessives and graphics whores so hot under the collar their heads explode. The Force Unleashed is so impressive from a technical point of view that it should have all hardcore gamers, Star Wars fans or otherwise, salivating at the mouth like a Jedi-obsessed fanboy at a science fiction convention. If the Force Unleashed doesn’t quite make the grade as the greatest Star Wars game ever made, it will certainly go down as the most ambitious whatever happens between now and its September 19 release date.

At first glance The Force Unleashed looks odd. Jedi and Sith use the Force in ways we’ve never seen in the films or in previous Star Wars games. But, as the game’s title suggests, this is the Force unleashed, and so it proves. The game’s opening tutorial sees you play as a slow-moving, almost stalking Darth Vader, yes, Darth Vader, who has such overwhelming power that the poor Wookiees he slaughters on their home world of Kashyyyk seem like mere rag dolls. With powers like Force Choke and Force Push, as well as the ability to combine those with lightsabre attacks – Vader can lift a Wookiee high into the air with the Force then throw his lightsaber like a boomerang into the abdomen of the unfortunate furball from a distance, a move called the Sabre Impale – the giant Bigfoot wannabes never stood a chance. Absolute class.

But Vader’s devastating Wookiee-killing power isn’t the most impressive thing about The Force Unleashed’s first level. It’s Vader’s ability to use the Force to destroy the game world. Almost immediately the game presents an opportunity to show off its vision for how devastating it can be. A wooden structure blocks Vader’s relentless path towards a rogue Jedi hiding on the planets’ surface. Vadar charges up a Force Push and unleashes it into the wall, which splinters and crumbles. Buoyed by this, Vader sees how the rest of the lush forest world stands up to his power as he makes his way inexorably onwards and upwards into the centre of the Wookiee encampment high in the forest trees. The Force makes quick work of shrubbery and obstacles, leaving wobbly bridges shaking in its wake. Lightsabre throws chop tree trunks in half like samurai slicing up bamboo. Huge boulders are lifted then thrown into the path of onrushing Wookiees. Any remaining are dispatched either with lightsabre slices or simply by picking them up with the Force and throwing them off into the jungle below. The game world Star Wars: The Force Unleashed presents somehow manages to steal the show. It looks like a playground of epic proportions.

The great dark one eventually catches up with his target – a Jedi hiding from the evil Galactic Empire. A face-off ensues. When lightsabres clash it’s button-mash time. Eventually Vader wears down his opponent and triggers a spectacular finishing move, involving timed prompted button commands. These finishing moves won’t punish you if you fluff your prompt – it will simply go back to the beginning and wait for you to get it right. The Jedi’s distraught son turns up. Vader senses great power in him and decides to take him under his wing. And thus the game’s plot (it is set in the gap between the two film trilogies) is set in motion.

We then skip forward a number of years and Vader’s secret apprentice has almost completed his Sith training. To get over the line he sends him off on a mission to kill a Jedi called General Rahm Kota, who’s been making a lot of noise on an outer rim ship yard. Many of the powers Vader enjoyed aren’t available to the apprentice – LucasArts has employed a Metroid style ‘give you everything in the first level then take it away’ strategy. Throughout the campaign you’ll unlock combos (there are over two dozen in the game), talents and powers, and level up your lightsabre. The apprentice is not the finished article, and he actually rekindles memories of Luke Skywalker as he goes off on his final mission before becoming a fully fledged Jedi Knight in The Empire Strikes Back.

The apprentice does, however, begin with a number of handy powers, including the Force Push, Force Dash and the Force Grip, a move LucasArts is extremely happy with. Here, you lift your target with the right trigger and then move it about across all three dimensions with the two analogue sticks. You can, for example, pick up a Storm Trooper and chuck him through a pane of glass. Or simply wave him about the air just for the laugh. The ST will struggle about as he tries to regain his balance and, once he does, will start shooting you from mid air. It’s up to you to decide how you want to dispatch the unfortunate foe – smash him into the nearest wall or fling him bowling ball style into his onrushing allies – the choice is yours.

This ties in with LucasArts’ design mantra that The Force Unleashed should be a game with infinite ammo. Everything is considered a weapon, from containers to Tie Fighters to metal pylons to allies and enemies alike. We see a ST used to smash open a door (LucasArts is also insistent that a Jedi never has to look for keys) and he gets stuck inside the small opening, comically flailing his arms and legs. With a Force Push the apprentice puts him out of his misery. He contorts a metal beam so that it takes out strafe-running Tie Fighters. It’s the game’s plentiful options and ability to surprise that impresses the most.

LucasArts take a bow. It has taken Euphoria, DMM and Havok, three pieces of revolutionary gameplay technology, and successfully let them loose on the Star Wars universe. Euphoria, seen recently in GTA 4, simulates how humanoids in the game react to force. Storm Troopers will desperately cling to ridges and structures, as well as friendly arms, as you lift them off their feet. One hilarious challenge is getting three or more Storm Troopers to hold hands as you use the Force to swing them about in mid air. DMM, or Digital Molecular Matter, makes sure material like wood and metal reacts as it should. Wood splinters, and metal twists. Then the Havok physics engine ties it all together.

The apprentice can, for example, use the Force to pick up a Storm Trooper who will then grab onto a mate. As the two struggle against his power the apprentice can fling them both into a metal door, denting it realistically. As they smash through the door they then impact on a wall, triggering the game’s impressive physics. Then, using Force Push, the apprentice can bend the door closed again, preventing other troops from following him into the room. The physics and animations at play in The Force Unleashed really are remarkable.

Back on mission and the secret apprentice, along with his pilot, the sexy Imperial Juno Eclipse and the hologram happy android PROXY, finds Rahm Kota on a space installation orbiting a planet. A boss battle ensues. The perspective switches to an arena cam to give a more epic feel. The installation begins to crash towards the planet and the glass floor heats up as it enters the atmosphere. The apprentice needs to direct his force powers and lightsabre attacks at Kota while staying off the burning white hot glass. When sabres clash it’s once again button mash time, as it is when the apprentice is caught in Kota’s Force Grip. Eventually the apprentice drains his opponent’s life bar to zero and a finishing move is triggered. Kota’s final words are cryptic ones. He whispers: “Vader won’t always be your master. I only sense… me?” The apprentice watches Kota die as he falls through the glass floor and plummets to the planet surface.

Suey believes The Force Unleashed is the greatest Star Wars game ever made, and part of that is his belief that the story is by far the best seen in any of the games. It’s all about redemption. While LucasArts is keeping many of its cards close to its chest, it’s already revealed one or two in its promising hand. After the apprentice deals with Kota he returns to Vader with his lightsabre as proof. Vader details his next mission – to kill another Jedi called Kazdan Paratus in a temple where all droids go to die. Reassuringly, Vader doesn’t expect the apprentice to survive, but if he sorts Paratus out and brings back his lightsabre Vader will know that the apprentice is powerful enough to help him take out the biggest target of all – the Emperor himself.

We skip even further into the game and the apprentice has unlocked some powerful and spectacular attacks. The Lightning Bomb, for example, sees him strike an enemy with evil Emperor-style lightning and use the Force to chuck him about like a grenade. The Lightning Shield does what it says on the tin, and Repulse is a Storm Trooper scattering blast of power that temporarily envelopes the apprentice. With all this firepower you’d expect the game to be somewhat of an easy ride. Not so. The tougher enemies have resistances, for example to lightning, Force Push or lightsabre attacks. Players will need to constantly adjust their tactics and switch up play styles if they’re going to succeed.

Oh, and a Rancor turns up too, which is always nice. The apprentice infuses his lightsabre with Force Lightning and flings it at the beast – carving a lightning arc through the air. The Rancor is dispatched with another spectacular multi-string finishing move. There will be plenty of these to enjoy when the game is finally released.

We jump forward once again to another cut scene. The apprentice has become strong enough to take his place by Vader’s side and defeat the Emperor. But the Emperor turns up and, ominously, seems to know what’s going on. He gives Vader a choice – kill his apprentice or face the wrath of the Emperor himself. The cut scene ends and so does our demo. We’ll have to wait till September to find out what happens next. We can’t wait.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is due out for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii and Nintendo DS on September 19, 2008.