From time to time, Number 1 son is going to give us video game reviews. Here is the first:
One of my favorites came out about two years ago, and it is called Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. First of all, the whole purpose of this game is awesome. It literally came about when the good folk of LucasArts said "Let's see just how powerful the Force really is." As it turns out, the answer is "very." The tone for the game was set in the first trailer I saw, in which Starkiller (this is the only name we know the main character by, I just call him "the Apprentice") pulls a Star Destroyer out of the sky using the Force (it turns out that two starfighters vs a Star Destroyer is a suicide mission, but send one guy with the Force and the Star Destroyer and its entire crew are doomed).
Before I talk about the game itself, be aware that there are two versions, one for the Wii/PS2, and another for the PS3/X-Box/PC. I am talking about the latter.
The gameplay is simply amazing. You can combo up to four moves. At the beginning of the game this will be mostly lightsaber attacks, but as you buy upgrades this will evolve into combos including lightsaber attacks and Force lightning in one glorious combo (seriously, that set of combos is unbelievably good). Naturally, a game designed to demonstrate the power of the Force is sure to have Force powers. There are actually only a few core powers, all the others combine powers with each other or with lightsaber attacks. You have Force push, Force grip, Force lightning (awesome), Force repulse (a shockwave attack), lightsaber throw, and lightning shield. You also have a double jump and a short-ranged dash. Unlike most games, there are absolutely no healing items in this game, you heal by killing enemies. Combat is very smooth. You can go wherever you want, or lock onto a particular enemy, making it so that you will always face them, making it easier to aim. However, my favorite combat is the bosses. Every single area boss in the game wields a lightsaber (except for one) so all of these fights are pretty epic. The visuals are also amazing, and the characters, outfits and levels are very well designed.
As for the story, it's also very good. The writers did a very good job of tying the story into the whole saga. The story begins shortly after Revenge of the Sith, when Darth Vader is hunting a surviving Jedi on the Wookie planet. After killing the Jedi (playing as Darth Vader is awesome, he's basically invincible, to the point that neither Wookies-From-the-Planet-Krypton nor getting Tie Fighters dropped on his head can do more than mildly annoy Vader), Vader discovers that the Jedi had a son (turns out that getting married does not equal turning to the Dark Side), who he takes as his Secret Apprentice. This is the main character, a Sith assassin who Vader is using to take out the remaining Jedi who survived Order 66. The assassin is helped by his pilot/love interest Juno Eclipse (an Imperial officer), and his best friend, PROXY, a droid who can use holograms to turn into anyone (this power can be used for either communications or combat by turning into a Jedi). PROXY has a humorous trait, which is that his primary function is to kill the Apprentice (this leads to numerous funny lines where PROXY cheerfully states his wish that he will finally kill the Apprentice).
Another character (and my personal favorite) is General Rahm Kota, who is actually the first boss fought as the Apprentice (it's part of the plot), a samurai Jedi, who is one of the awesomest characters ever (seriously, he is so awesome that simply putting his lightsaber away looks awesome). In all, this game is amazing, it is one of the best games I've ever played, probably making the top 15, if not the top 10. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who asked me.
I cannot say the same thing about its sequel. But that's a topic for another post.
I didn't know they still made games for PC.
ReplyDeletethis is outstanding. i'm surprised how little of my life i spend playing video games, which are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteto your point that video games based on movie are typically snoozer fare, i would add that "the flintstones" game for nintendo was a heck of a lot of fun.