|
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | 
 enlarge
| From: Lucas Arts Entertainment
Category: Video Games
List Price: $49.99
Buy New: $36.99
You Save: $13.00 (26%)
New (27) Used (11) from $36.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  60 reviews
Sales Rank: 46
Format: Cd
Platform: Nintendo Wii
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: Nintendo Wii
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 33263
Model: 32631
UPC: 023272332631
EAN: 0023272332631
ASIN: B00113T0VA
Release Date: September 16, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Brand new factory sealed. All items guaranteed.
|
| 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. |
|
| Accessories:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
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
View larger. | 
Use the Force to disable your enemies
View larger. | 
Artwork of the Jedi "Maris"
View larger. |
As its name implies, The Force Unleashed completely re-imagines the scope and scale of the Force. The Wii version will not only give you a solid story-line developed by LucasArts involving the Darth Vader's secret apprentice, but you'll experience a new style of gameplay only the Wii can offer. With the Wiimote and Nunchuck you'll be able to battle your way through your enemies utilizing your Lightsaber attacks and Force powers. Not only can you experience this new control system in story mode, but you can also try your Jedi skills against a friend in the Wii, "Battle Mode." Joining the Dark Side doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all.
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 Wii system's "Battle Mode," a one on one fighting arena simliar to the classic game, Star Wars: Masters of Teraes Kaesi.
- Use the Wiimote to slash and pierce your enemies with your Jedi Lightsaber while you use the Wii Nunchuk to disable other opponents with your Force Powers.
- 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 Technology of The Force Unleashed
With The Force Unleashed, LucasArts not only introduces a new chapter in the Star Wars saga, but also pushes the Wii's game engine to deliver amazing detail and realism only found in a Star Wars title. You will experience gameplay and the Force like you never had before.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 55 more reviews...
 Great game ... Difficult? October 14, 2008
I really enjoyed playing SW-TFU the interactivity is great and keeps things interesting. The difficulty however is questionable, I would have liked it to be a little harder. I still have yet to get all of the bonuses and I've run through it twice. All in all I've been pleased with the game can't wait for the next.
Problems are small, but noticeable. October 13, 2008
The Force Unleashed is ridiculous fun to play. The few problems with this game are basically minor annoyances, but pile enough minor annoyances on top of eachother and it warrants pointing them out. No game is perfect, but this game could have been if one more review was done to polish it up.
First, I loved the cut scenes that moved you through the story line. Once. After beating the game once, all I wanted to do was to go back and lay waste to some Stormtroopers with god-like Force powers, and I did not want to have to sit through the same storyline over again. I already knew how it ended. Every other game I've ever played (including LucasArts games) give you the option to skip past these scenes. Why not here?
Second, I don't always have a second player ready for a lightsaber duel. Why can't I have the option to make the computer the second player?
Other than that, great game. The Force powers are amazing as is the way the characters interact with the environment, etc.
 Frustrating game to review October 13, 2008
It's been a long time since Lucasarts has established anything substantial in the Star Wars universe (the Lego Star Wars games were fun, but not exactly awe-inspiring).
Needless to say, I was waiting for this game's release on tip-toes. However, I'm a little disappointed with its execution.
The game's flow is very similar to the promo ad that Amazon had running for this game which featured the game's creators. During that promo, they showed a meeting and discussed the game's ultimate objective: "kicking a$! with the Force."
Unfortunately, that's where the game fails because every fight with extras is mind-numbing in its monotony. Gee, how should I defeat this stormtrooper? Should I choke him? Zap him with lightning? Cut him down with my lightsaber? Oooo, another door that I'm going to have to develop a Force blast to get through? How about a vehicle that I can throw around like a rag doll? It's good fun for about the 1st 5 minutes, but then every encounter that doesn't involve a major character or creature becomes a legal substitute for Ambien in its creativity. Enemy AI is on the order of 1st generation DOOM-type games - i.e., run at and try to destroy you. All the while, you can almost hear the droning litany of its creators through every encounter "kicking a$! with the force...kicking a$! with the force...."
Major character encounters are more challenging, but lead to Dragon's Lair-esque (that dates me a little) moves that involve moving the Wii remote a certain way to defeat said major character. If you mess up, you get knocked to the side and you have to laboriously start guessing your way through the sequence again. Don't worry, though; if you die, then you get the pleasure of fighting that character again with full health with the enemy's own health diminished. You'll get him...eventually!!!!
On the plus side, the cut scenes and the storyline are intriguing. Without giving too much away, you play a Sith who was Vader's apprentice between Episodes 3 and 4. It's an interesting story with some interesting character development besides.
It's fun to play only to get to the next cut scene, but the journey is on such a one-minded track ("kicking a@s with the force!!!!") that it's almost not worth it.
I would suggest purchasing the game when it's $29.99 or less. The full, beginning retail value of this game is not worth it. Gone are the days when the next installment of Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, X-Wing, and TIE Fighter were reasons for excitement. Lucasarts has a LOT of confidence that they will have to re-establish with me before I buy another.
Dissapointing Force: Unleashed for the Wii October 12, 2008
Please first note this disclaimer: This is a review for the Nintendo Wii version of this game. If you are considering purchasing the game for another console, please do not consider this review in your decision.
LucasArts is at it again; another entry into their long line of Star Wars library is upon us. In Force Unleashed, we play as Darth Vader's secret apprentice and we follow the story between movie episodes 3 and 4. The secret apprentice is a newly-minted canonical (George Lucas approved) character with a pivotal role to play in the shape of the galaxy.
The premise for the game play is that, as a secret apprentice of a super-powerful dark Jedi warrior, you begin the game with extraordinarily powerful abilities, and as the game progresses your power grows even greater--there's no starting out powerless and working your way up; it's balls of lightening from the word go.
Now, for the Nintendo Wii, LucasArts had a great gameplay opportunity, and they met it pretty nicely. With the console's extreme emphasis on motion-controlled games, it's a perfect platform for free-form Jedi Combat. Want to shove your enemies across a room with the force? Simply thrust the "nunchuck" at them. Pick them up? Grip the nunchuck and it's trigger. Swing a lightsaber? Just swing the wiimote. Easy, intuitive, invisibly fluid controls. So, from the "am I having fun playing this department," yes all the way--top marks!
From the other departments, though...the game is pretty heavily underwhelming.
If you've seen nice-looking graphics from the ads, those aren't from the Wii. The graphics in this game are late-1990s at best; they're awful. I nearly failed to recognize the Jedi temple during an in-game cutscene, for example, because it has practically no texture. I though it was a pyramid. And the lack of graphics is everywhere; the effects are watered down, there's no realistic reflections or shading... Bleh--not what the previews were showing.
Then, we've got the physics. For a Wii, they're probably amazing. But once again, they're not what was being hyped in the ads. If you've hear about material physics where wood splinters and tears and metal bends and warps realistically...not in the Wii version. If you've heard of the "central nervous system" developed to make the enemy characters try to protect themselves...not in the Wii version. Stuff breaks, sure, and it looks broken, but it's the same pre-rendered, "breaks the same way every time" physics that we're used to in very old games. Which is a real shame, because this game gives you so much control, and yet the environment doesn't respond. Unlike other console versions of this game, NOT everything can be tossed around and destroyed.
And then, there's the story. They tell me my character had a love interest in this game--did you know that? I'm not sure I did. I think my character spoke to her three, maybe four times in short, business-like fragments. Apparently he's in love? Point is, the story is really, really badly presented. The voice acting is actually pretty decent, but there's just not much to see. You get a mission: go kill something. You do it. You get 20 second of dialogue. You repeat. It's a real shame, because the underlying story is actually very compelling--it ties the movies together absolutely beautifully in a very clever way. But it's told so plainly and flatly.
Also, the game is short. I finished in 5 hours. Didn't like the ending (especially for a Star Wars game).
So, let's review:
Great gameplay mechanics, horrible graphics, clever plot line, horrible presentation of the story, not much to play or re-play for (oh, unless I want to go back and find all 200 hidden Jedi holocron cubes. Did you know the Jedi hide their secret knowledge under rocks on remote planets? I certainly didn't.)
Recommendation: find a friend who bought the game and play it. It's fun to play and you'll want to know the story, but if you own it yourself it's gonna take up shelf space. Review officially ends here.
Side track...what would have made this game worthwhile (because I know the LucasArts people are lining up to read this):
1) The graphics...really...that bad? Even hiring a better texture artist would've fixed some of this. Or go to pre-rendered cutscenes. It's just too ugly.
2) Get rid of the useless menu. I mean, ship. Once I'm on it, I can't move; I pivot in place and select options, most of which are available from the regular game menu anyways. It's a useless addition that adds long load times. So, either ditch the ship, or make it DO something. (And why, when I land someplace, step back on the ship, and step off again, do I have to jump through hyperspace? I'm already there!)
3) What with the ending? You remember how Star Wars games work, right? I get to make some choices about how things go...this would've been a great game to incorporate some of that, even if the result was basically similar. But, this felt so absurdly rigid. I'd play a bit, then watch a seemingly detached story unfold; I had no influence on anything. Between not having any choices and the poor story presentation, it was pretty bad. Maybe that menu ship could've let me go different places in different order...mix things up a bit.
Fun to play for five hours, but that's about it.
Great game, with semi-weak map access October 12, 2008
This game is amazing, with the controls making the game fun to play and the content making it worth the time. The only noticeable drawback is that there are places within the map that appear to be able to be jumped to, and off of, but are not. It's a small factor, but it would have made for a much more enjoyable board in each level. Still, a small complaint, next to the awesome force powers and lightsaber combat brought to you by the Wii remote. Hands down, one of the best games I've played for the Wii.
|
|
|
Copyright action-web.net 2007 | |
