Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

If you consider that the average movie tie-in has has problems in the past then surely Star Wars tops the same list with only the recent Lego games, featuring the George Lucas films, coming close to a true celebration of the Force and it's many followers. There's no end to just how many attempts Lucasarts can have at this, of course and the expansive Star Wars Universe means that you can set up a story on just about any planet whilst also introducing new characters and this is exactly what the majority of titles do. This latest outing, takes a slightly different direction in that you are now dealing with the Dark Side as an apprentice of Darth Vader himself.

Gameplay

After a handful of introduction levels you'll find yourself on your spaceship (Rogue Shadow) which doubles as the games hub. This is where the story unfolds and, in addition to wandering around your ship you can also chat with your various crew. This allows you to get information on missions, customise your character and launch into your next mission. Once you actually land on one of the planets the action begins as you hack and slash your way through almost every Star Wars character you've ever encountered including everything from Storm Troopers to Jawa's. It's not all hand-to-hand based though and occasionally you'll be able to call on the Force to move an object so it topples on an enemy or even 'push' then off a ledge. This is where the game is a tilted a little in your favour as, even though the first few levels take place high above the ground, it's almost impossible for you to fall off. You'll also quickly discover that few enemies give you any problems and a few waves of your Lighsaber, as they approach you, is generally sufficient to stop them in their tracks. All this generally leads on to an end of levels boss, who's generally astride of a robot or creature of some description, and it's here where you'll actually have to employ any level of skill although it's still nowhere near as difficult as similar titles.

After completeing each level you are generally awarded with new moves and Force points (which are awarded during the levels) can be alloted to your various skills making them more powerful and focused. Unfortunately, the game never really deviates from this framework and while you do get the odd chase level, the majority of the action is always fight/force based. Finally, there's also a few Multiplyer modes but given that these are not only a little on the shallow side and, also require multiple copies of the game, they're hardly worth mentioning.

Controls

Moving around is all done with the d-pad but you'll need to combine it with the touch-screen if you are going to get anywhere.

Graphics

While the attempt to produce a fully realised 3D engine on the Ds is admirable it does have mixed results with some textures bland and flat and the occasional model a little too jaggared for it's own good. To make matters even worse, there's even a noteable slow down when there's a little too much action going on at any one point. There's also problems with the camera which doesn't always behave itself especially when it most matters.

Sound

As with all the Star Wars games, while the visuals may be of varying quality, the music is always outstanding and as with most of the classic movie scores, it's have to still not be moved by the tremendos John Williams score. Elsewhere the minimal voice acting and Sound effects do their job but are hardly memorable.

Dual screen

Most touch-screen additions to DS titles feel a little like an afterthough or at least a little gimmicky but n-space have done an outstanding job here and you get the feeling that the whole experience has been built around this main idea as opposed to the other way around. It all works mainly because it actually makes combat easier and pulling off some off some of the combos and force moves. This is your main use, of the touch screen, and while you could simply continually tap the 'swing' icon, it's far more rewarding to actually learn and execute some of the more complicated moves. You'll also have to use your stylus in one of the many light saber battles where the bottom screen switches to another screen featuring two crossed light sabers. The object here is keep the sabers perfectly crossed in order to win the battles. The final touch-screen use is when using some of the more powerful Force powers where you must drag power-up's into a kind of vortex until you have achieved the required level so you may achieve your move. All this works remarkably well and it would be nice if a few more developers gave this level of thought to the DS's interface in the future.

Final comments

In the end Force Unleashed is an enjoyable Star Wars title and certainly one of the better attempts to bring the franchise to a handheld audience yet. The story is engaging, the touch-screen and mini-game elements well though tout and the 3D engine impressive. Unfortunately, the latter is also one of the games undoing and while the developers have clearly attempted to push the DS's hardware, it's arguably a little too far and the DS occasionally creaks under the pressure of the job at hand. There's also the usual concerns with camera angles but if you manage to overlook these flaws, and don't own any of the console versions, then this is well worth a look.

Pro: Interesting Plot, Star Wars Theme Music.
Con: Poor Visuals, Similar Missions.
Final score: 6.1

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