Published July 16, 2008
If I learned anything from LucasArts' E3 demo of Star Wars™: The Force Unleashed it's that there isn't a more aptly named game at this year's show. Force Unleashed celebrates the dark side, the destructive awe-inspiring power of the Force in its raw and wrathful form.
This isn't your daddy's Star Wars game.
The action here revels in large scale, eye-popping devastation as you rip TIE Fighters free from their housing and fling them at defenseless opponents, batter Stormtroopers into trees, fling them off cliffs, or fry them with a lightning attack that's more a raging storm than a single bolt.
One Saga Ends …
We're getting ahead of ourselves here though. When Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith released, it marked the end of George Lucas' six-part live-action cinematic epic. With the saga finally complete, LucasArts is at last free to create games that don't just recreate and support existing events, but tell fresh, entirely original stories all their own.
The Strolling Dark Lord
You begin The Force Unleashed not as Vader's secret apprentice, but as the Dark Lord of the Sith himself in all his cold, controlled rage as he lands on the Wookiee home world Kashyyyk to track down and assassinate one of the few Jedi to survive the infamous Order 66.
Feel the wrath.
Vader's not one to rush about though. Rather, he stalks through Kashyyyk calm and collected as he cuts down, chokes, flings, and tosses would-be Wookiee opponents with detached deadliness.
Without giving too much away, this first level sets the stage and motivation for all that follows.
The Swift Apprentice
In contrast to Vader, his secret apprentice plays faster, angrier, and in less control. Initially, he's also less powerful, but as LucasArts' Haden Blackman points out, there comes a time where you've amassed enough new powers that you wonder whether you just might have an edge on the fallen Anakin.
In terms of mission structure, Vader's apprentice must necessarily remain secret, so whether Imperial, Rebel, or neutral, no one you encounter can live to tell the tale of your meeting.
The contemplative apprentice.
Technology Tells the Tale
Beyond the movie-like presentation and Force-powered gameplay, The Force Unleashed brings two powerful new technologies to the fore. The Euphoria engine (also seen in Grand Theft Auto IV™) grants each enemy you encounter with a sort of instinctive A.I. which powers their reactions.
Fling a Stormtrooper into a buddy and their hapless friend may grab hold of the other, holding on for dear life as you toss them about with the power of the Force. Send them skittering towards a cliff and they'll scramble to hang on. In direct contrast to the classic ragdoll physics, Euphoria injects life and unpredictability into every character.
Meanwhile, the DMM (Digital Molecular Matter) engine imbues every surface and item with the appropriate physical characteristics. Metal doors bend and buckle as they should, wood splinters realistically, crates fly, crash, and tumble dependent on their precise characteristics, and so on and so forth. No more will you see a dense metal crate fall to the floor only to bounce about like a soccer ball. Every item's weight and structural integrity is accounted for.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashedhas all the makings of a landmark title as LucasArts revels in its newfound freedom while simultaneously empowering their highest profile game with new and remarkable technology. The best news though? It's out on Xbox 360® September 16!
Article by Ryan Treit
