.FLYINGHEAD WE GOT GAME!
.TITLE Unleash the Force on your PSP
.AUTHOR James Booth
.SUMMARY One of the most anticipated games of 2008 was Stars Wars: The Force Unleashed from LucasArts. In it, the player takes on the role of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice in an effort to hunt down remaining Jedi, carrying out secret missions of espionage and destruction on behalf of the Dark Lord. Resurrecting our WE GOT GAME! column, Editor-at-Large James Booth takes his Force powers with me wherever he goes with a hands-on look at the PSP version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
.OTHER
One of the most anticipated games of 2008 was Stars Wars: The Force Unleashed from LucasArts. This title, approved by George Lucas himself and considered to be canon to the Star Wars universe, is set between Episodes III and IV, or, if you prefer, between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope (the first movie from 1977). In the game, youtake on the role of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice in an effort to hunt down remaining Jedi, carrying out secret missions of espionage and destruction on behalf of the Dark Lord.
Resurrecting my "We Got Game!" column, I’m taking my Force powers with me wherever I go in this hands-on look at the PSP version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed shown in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
.BREAK_EMAIL Click here to find out how to unleash your Force.
Looking to redeem a game franchise that has had a less than favorable reputation over the years, The Force Unleashed is one of the most impressive LucasArts offerings to hit the gaming world. Available on nearly every gaming platform, Unleashed should find an audience regardless of what system a gamer owns. As a matter of fact, the PC and Mac are the only current gaming platforms where you won’t find The Force Unleashed.
.H1 How best to use the Force
With so many platforms to choose from, which is the best for your Force gaming experience? That depends. What are your gaming priorities? While the story of the game is pretty much the same across all platforms, feature-wise, each version offers something a bit different from the others.
.CALLOUT I’m currently on my third run through the game. The first was just to complete it, the second to blow the snot out of everything.
If visuals are your priority, then the PS3 or Xbox 360 would be the path to take. Taking advantage of the Havok gaming engine and fully destructible environments, I would expect the PS3’s BluRay to be visually superior. But from what I’ve been able to ascertain, the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game are identical. [[http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/starwars2007/video/6197957/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-the-starting-block|Gamespot has some PS3 gameplay video]] offering tips on how to deal with some of the Bosses and how best to level up your powers. If nothing else, it gives you an example of what the game looks like on the PS3.
The PS2, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PSP offer a visual experience pretty much the same regardless of system. Many gamers find multiplayer to be an essential element of their gaming, and those players will be sadly disappointed to learn that multiplayer is only offered on three systems: the Wii, DS, and PSP. Multiplayer on the Wii is really only a head-to-head dueling mode for two players on the same Wii, and not an Internet multiplayer game. On the DS, it’s supposed to be an adhoc for three or four players.
While the game may be most visually appealing on the PS3, it is Sony’s little PSP that offers the most features and content for The Force Unleashed. There are play modes and content in Unleashed only available on the PSP; and it is for this reason that I will be covering the PSP version of the game. Well, that, and because I don’t have any of the other systems.
.H1 So much Force, such a little platform
As far as visual appeal goes, I found TFU’s (The Force Unleashed) graphics on the PSP to be the best of just about any game I’ve played on the system so far. Developers are limited not only by the size of the screen, but also the system and video processor, as well as available memory; even so, the game looked very nice. I did notice some fracturing at surface and texture joints from time to time though. Unleashed definitely pushes the capabilities of the PSP, and I don’t think a better visual offering can be made with the current system’s technology.
In fact, it pushes them a little too far at times. During some fight scenes, the game will freeze momentarily as the system tries to catch up with everything going on, and load times can get a bit long. Sadly, there are also some issues with how the camera follows the player, and there’s no way to manually control the camera angle.
Gamespot has a video with TFU producer Dan Wasson, who provides a short walkthrough of one level on the PSP. There aren’t really any spoilers here, but you do get to [[http://www.gamespot.com/psp/action/starwars2007/video/6196979/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-video-walk-through-3?tag=videos;title;4|see the game in action on the PSP.]]
The game uses an environment that will likely be familiar to most players; that of a third-person perspective in an essentially linear adventure. Players of Renegade Squadron, God of War, and Prince of Persia will be right at home in Unleashed. It also utilizes the QTEs, or Quick Time Events, also found in those games.
For the unfamiliar, QTEs are generally used in the demise of Boss opponents when their health gets to the point of death; button icons are flashed on the screen and the player has to punch them correctly in order to finish off the enemy. It’s usually accompanied by a short cutscene to visually illustrate finishing off the Boss.
I found the game’s controls to be ergonomic and easy to remember; but the buttons weren’t always as responsive as I would have liked. There isn’t any shooting to speak of, so aiming isn’t really much of an issue. However, there are Force powers that equate to a ranged attack, and in that respect the aiming wasn’t always a hundred percent on. Most of those attacks deal an area of effect damage though, so like with grenades, close is usually good enough.
The audio was pretty good; excellent sound effects, original background music, and voice-overs with passable impressions. Some of the voice-overs were done with audio straight out of the movies; unfortunately it’s painfully obvious.
I’m not going to give away any spoilers in this article, but there is quite a bit for the player to unlock throughout the course of the game. And while the PSP version may not have the completely destructible environment offered by the PS3/Xbox 360, there’s still plenty to blow up and toss around with the Force.
Holocron pickups throughout the game are viewable as artwork and concept drawings. Pay close attention to those holocrons, some may contain codes for unlocking additional skins or cheats.
As the game progresses, the player will have the opportunity to upgrade combat moves and Force powers, as well as customize the player’s lightsaber and look. In Figure B you see the apprentice with the standard red blade of the Sith, but by finding crystals and hilts throughout the game, you’ll be able to change the appearance of both.
.FIGPAIR B The apprentice starts out with the recognizable red blade of the Sith.
In addition to unlocking player skins, you’ll be able to upgrade your Force powers. Ever since we saw the Emperor conjure lightning in Episode VI, we’ve all wanted that Force ability. In Figure C you can see Vader’s apprentice hurling lightning at his foes, a skill he starts off with at the beginning of the game.
.FIGPAIR C The apprentice hurls lightning at his enemies.
Finally, there are the cheats. For some of the hardcore gamers out there, cheats are anathema; but I love them. There’s a distinct lack of cheats with console games, period, so it’s nice when developers leave them in. Most of the cheats in Unleashed are for unlocking player skins or upgrading Force powers, but there is a God mode cheat, which is only usable in Story mode.
The general consensus is that you get about six to eight hours of play from The Force Unleashed, but I think that’s an extremely conservative estimate. Taking your time and enjoying the game, environment, and story in Story mode, as opposed to just running through and blasting everything, should yield around ten hours of play. Then there are the extras, which add a few more hours of play on their own.
.H1 What there isn’t
Now that I’ve addressed what there is, I’ll cover what there isn’t; what isn’t on the other platforms. As I mentioned, the PSP version offers features and content unique to, and created specifically for, the PSP. First would be the multiplayer. While it’s not an infrastructure (Internet) multiplayer, it does offer an adhoc multiplayer. This means that if you know someone else, or up to three someone elses, that has TFU on PSP, you can fight against one another via WiFi in variations of Deathmatch and King of the Hill.
Speaking of dueling, that’s another of the unique features offered on the PSP. There is a dueling campaign, wherein you square off against a variety of characters from the game and movies in one on one, and later two on one combat. Fortunately, your progress is saved when you die.
Another variety of multiplayer is Force Out, which is unlocked by completing the Order 66 mini-game. In Force Out, you attempt to force your opponent out of the ring by utilizing your various Force powers. In that respect, it’s similar to a Jedi/Sith version of sumo wrestling.
The above-mentioned Order 66 is a challenging game in and of itself. Your goal is to defeat twenty-three waves of increasingly difficult and numerous enemies in a variety of locales, like the now-defunct Jedi Temple on Coruscant in Figure D.
.FIGPAIR D Visit the decimated Jedi Temple on Coruscant.
Once accomplished, you unlock the Force Out game and an additional player skin. The catch with Order 66 though is that your progress is not saved, you have to complete it all in one shot. If you die, you have start over at the first wave.
Finally, the last PSP-specific feature is Historic Missions. This is where you get to relive some of the most famous lightsaber battles from the Star Wars movies. How would you have handled the duel against Count Dooku aboard General Grievous’ flagship in Revenge of the Sith? You’ll get to find out in the Historic Battle shown in Figure E.
.FIGPAIR E Battle against Count Dooku in the Historic Battles.
You’ll also get to fight as Mace Windu in the Geonosis arena, as Luke Skywalker against Jabba’s henchmen over the Sarlacc Pitt, and as Darth Vader against Luke in the Bespin carbon freezing chamber.
That’s right; they pulled a switcheroo on us. Most would have expected to battle Darth Vader as Luke, but they’ve turned the tables on us, allowing us to don the mantle of the Dark Side in one of the most famous father-son battles in history.
.H1 Wrapping it up
Where does all this get us? Trashing and thrashing stormtroopers, mercenaries, Jedi, and a whole lot of property with lightsabers and the Force across a number of worlds, that’s where. I’ve played the majority of the Star Wars games, on a multitude of different systems, and most of the time I’ve found myself a bit, if not greatly, disappointed. Not so with The Force Unleashed. I liked it from the very beginning, and loved it by the end. I mean, it’s Star Wars. You get to use a lightsaber and the Force; and you’re a bad guy.
I’m currently on my third run through the game. The first was just to complete it, the second to blow the snot out of everything. Now I’m going through and picking up the things I missed the first two times.
With so many systems to choose from, some may think it difficult to choose. The decision is really quite easy. For its additional content and multiplayer options, the choice is clearly TFU for PSP. If all that matters to you is a pretty picture, then by all means have your PS3 or Xbox 360. But if you want to take your Force on the road and fight those historic duels, then you’ll want the PSP version. Despite a few glitches here and there, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is still an awesome game on the PSP and earns 4 out of 5.
.RATING 4
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Learn more about [[http://www.lucasarts.com/games/theforceunleashed/|Star Wars: The Force Unleashed]].
Learn more about [[http://www.us.playstation.com/|the Playstation systems]].
Learn more about [[http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/?WT.svl=nav|the Xbox 360]].
Learn more about [[http://www.nintendo.com/wii|the Nintendo Wii]].
Learn more about [[http://www.nintendo.com/ds|the Nintendo DS]].
Learn more about [[http://www.us.playstation.com/PSP/Games/Star_Wars_Battlefront_Renegade_Squadron|Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron]].
Learn more about [[http://www.godofwar.com/|God of War]].
Learn more about [[http://prince-of-persia.us.ubi.com/|Prince of Persia]].
.END_SIDEBAR
.BEGIN_KEEP
.BIO
.END_KEEP
