Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

This game could've been much better if only Lucasarts could've figured out what it wanted to actually accomplish.

Why is this game on the Wii and PS2? They spend all this time telling us how awesome the new technology (which isn't new, but more on that later) is, and then develop the game for a last-gen system and a system that's last-gen with slightly higher clock speeds? The practical result here is twofold. First, the initial design the game is built up from is done with the less powerful systems in mind. This is what gets us the bland, un-exciting environments and level design mentioned by the critics. Second, all of this new technology doesn't even matter. Using it to aid in the creation of a living, breathing environment simply isn't possible on the weaker systems, so we're left with maps designed for the weaker systems with this stuff thrown in here and there as an afterthought.

The big huge technologies aren't even close to new. Havok physics has been around for years, and is currently giving way to the more advanced Ageia model. Half-Life 2 did a materials system, called "DMM" here, literally years ago where every object behaved and broke like it would in reality. There is absolutely nothing new about these things. The graphics are terrible compared to many other current games, they are simply not impressive. Compare Starkiller here to Starkiller in Soul Calibur 4 or the game to other high profile titles.

I'll leave off with this quote from the game's producer courtesy of Kotaku regarding the lack of a PC version that should sum up the intelligence in use when design decisions are made at Lucasarts:

"[If we made the game for high-end PCs], someone with a low-end PC would have a watered down experience, they would have to turn all the settings down and it wouldn't be the same game. On the other hand if we made that game for as many people as possible then it's not taking advantage of what those $4,000 systems can do."

What.

Most of the reviews here call the game, "Frustrating, but good."

That's a bold lie.

If the game irks you consistently, what could make it so good? Keep in mind, any redeeming qualities must also overcome the poor level design, the choppy gameplay, the lack of variety, the low quality cut scenes, and the general lack of effort of any type from the designers. So, what could overcome all these things?

It's a Star Wars game! If you're a giant fan, you'll enjoy the game. If, however, you're like me and think that the movies are overrated, you will NOT enjoy this game. It's not even worth a rent; just ignore this game. I thoroughly enjoyed Knights of the Old Republic. Even though it was in the Star Wars worlds, the game was made to appeal to gamers in general. The Force Unleashed is made to appeal to people who blindly buy everything with the Star Wars name slapped on it, regardless of quality. It is a fantastic concept - Who doesn't want to run around using wildly wielding "the force" and destroying EVERYTHING in their path? - but the execution is so poor that I probably won't even finish the game. It's a mess, and it saddens me that people enjoy this.