Murder and mayhem: In galaxy far, far away … there really needs to be a leash law.
“The Force Unleashed,” Lucas Arts latest installment in the Star Wars series, is perhaps the largest disappointment to the franchise since Jar Jar Binks.
It’s basically a brawling-based action title in which you play Starkiller — yes, it’s OK to laugh — who is Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. As you hack, slash, electrocute, choke and throw various people through the game you become more and more powerful, gaining abilities that assist your generic anti-hero angst.
The game’s Havoc physic’s engine was a much-touted facet of the title and performs well enough as you can pick up and throw nearly anyone and anything in the game. Unfortunately my frustration level with the game was such that the only thing I wanted to pick up and throw was the game itself.
The camera is a problem; with the attention span of a 10-year-old it will focus on something shiny while an enemy is busy gunning you down.
Loading times were long enough for a Tchaikovsky symphony, targeting is so bad you couldn’t hit water if you fell out of a boat, and Lucas Arts has rendered a lightsaber — perhaps the most powerful melee weapon in the universe — into a wiffle ball bat that’s so ineffectual it couldn’t hurt someone’s feelings.
Do not buy this game. Rent it if you must, but if you are really dying for a Star Wars fix then buy a Wookie costume and go bowling. At least there is a game you can actually play, plus the added benefit of nachos.
For: PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
Rated: “T” for teen
Price:$59.99
Justin Arnold
425-339-3432
jarnold@heraldnet.com
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