Developed by Krome for the Nintendo Wii(also available on Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, and DS)

Published by LucasArts

Rated “T” for Teen with Violence.

The only acceptable and more honorable equivalent to playing a video game in “God mode” in my book should be playing one as a Jedi Knight, something The Force Unleashed achieves with passion. Flinging entire squads of stormtroopers aside with a flick of the wrist while cutting down bounty hunters with a slash from your lightsaber is a deeply satisfying and drunkenly powerful experience, especially as you do so while merely sauntering down corridors and forest paths, imploding everything around you with the force of your casual will. This is the first game I’ve played where I’ve thought it might be more rewarding to play on an easier difficulty level than on a harder one.

As someone who has been playing Star Wars games since X-Wing and Rebel Assault I will tell you that The Force Unleashed is good, really good. It takes the usual game design of fighting battles and dueling bosses and elevates it with an exceptional story and plot development. The tale takes place right in between episodes III and IV, when the rebellion we were first introduced to with Princess Leia is only just starting. What’s intriguing is that line of destiny begins with a single act, performed by of all people, Darth Vader. He is still hunting down the Jedis, although there aren’t too many of them left, when he decides to take on an apprentice. It is against the rules, of course, the Sith only exist in pairs and Vader is the Emperor’s apprentice, so it opens up an entire line of intrigue. We know from Return of the Jedi that Vader will eventually betray him with his son, but was that really his first attempt? Is he really plotting against the Empire or does he have more sinister goals in mind? Throughout the game you’ll have several different ideas about what’s going on behind that mask, abut which side if any Vader is on and that portrayal of him gives him far more depth and complexity than you’d expect, from of all things, a video game.

You don’t play Vader, you play his apprentice, a skulking young man who is “strong with the force” if not in charisma. You’re given your own ship and a sexy blonde pilot with a British accent, all of which are dead give aways that she is to become a love interest at some point. As cheesy as that is set in motion, the way it’s handled works very well and I’m most impressed with how the game balances the marketing needs of making you a powerful Jedi with your own sexy companion and the creative need of actually telling a good story. There’s a droid too, Proxy, who performs as a telephone, taking on the holographic appearance of the caller and acting out their conversation which delivers several amusing moments.

You begin by hunting down Jedis and then move on to more complex missions, although they all play out with the same outline. You land on a planet and work your way through a complex of paths, fighting waves of troops, some that are sent in as fodder, others that attack from a distance or use special abilities to keep you off guard. Each environment is full of destructibles, not just the usual crates, but chandeliers, statues, computer consoles, etc. Destroying them will reveal a plethora of collectables; new costumes, unlockable art, light saber upgrades, hilts, blade colours, and health packs. In most cases you can just walk into a room and use Force Push to implode it all and collect what you need.

About half way each complex and again at the end are Boss Battles which can be instance duels with a Jedi or swordsman or a fight to the death against a massive opponent such as a large Rancor or AT-ST-Scout. In each case you’ll reduce their health to a point and then be challenged to match on-screen commands to guide your self through a spectacular ending sequence where you flip and fly about your opponent, sometimes tossing them about like marionettes on a string, other times crumpling them up like paper cups. Most games give you long, drawn out Boss Battles that end in a whimper, here you get a satisfying finish.

The force powers start off simple and then gradually get very complex. You begin with a selection of the basics, including Force Push to knock people over, often to their deaths, Choke, Lightning, Rage for added battle bonus, and the ability to both dash quickly and throw your light saber. As you earn points from your battles you can use them to both make these basic powers stronger as well as unlock new ones including aerial attacks, the ability to add lightning to your blade, and thrust your saber into the ground for a quake of damage. There are many complicated powers most involving combo maneuvers with the controls and many you’ll never get a chance to really use. The idea, I think being that when you play the game for a second time, you’ll ignore the powers you already know and use the others instead.

Although available across all current game consoles, the Wii is the one that includes motion controls. The Nunchuk controller represents your use of the force. Push it towards the TV to perform a Force Push, hold down “Z” to grab and object and then fling your wrist to send it flying, while the Wii Remote represents your light saber and here all you have to do is move it from side to side to duel with opponents. It all feels very natural, is far from tiring and to the experience of using Force Powers. I prefer to use them over the controls offered on the other systems. While yes, the motion of wielding a light saber would benefit greatly with Nintendo’s Wii Motion Plus accessory, it’s clear that you need to map in the movements of the wrist to meet every fan’s fantasies, what is offered here works is quite fun.

While the Wii can’t compete with the others systems on graphics, with the Force Unleashed you’d never know it. All of the characters and effects are crisp, detailed and clean, and the environments, from the Jedi temples and junkyard worlds to the alliance cities look fantastic. The organic homeworld of Shaak-Ti, with its lush, overgrown flowers and garden plants is exceptionally rendered for the Wii, far more impressive than I expected.

The Force Unleashed is a rewarding Jedi experience and one of the best games for the Nintendo Wii this year.