Alot of work for a very good payoff!

If you've been gaming for long enough you probably remember most of the older Star Wars games and their reputation for being very bad games at times. While they did have a few shining stars they've only gotten consistantly good as of recent. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a prime example of just that.

In this game you play as "Starkiller," the secret apprentice of Darth Vader, in your quest to bring the enemies of Vader to justice. Your adventure takes you to multiple beautiful environments accross the Star Wars galaxy and even run into some familiar faces from other movies and games. I don't want to say too much and ruin the story for anyone.

The gameplay is very Action/Adventure style. There's a little bit of a platformer feel to it and with the advancement of the force powers as you play through the game there's a slight element of RPG also. Overall it's a very fast paced action game that constantly presents new challenges to the player. The inclusion of storyline progression as you advance through stages of the game via cutscenes and short cinema scenes adds a very strong plotline to the gameplay also.

Overall Force Unleashed has taken the Force to new levels never before explored on previous Star Wars games (including Jedi Power Battles). Anywhere from electrocuting AT-ST's to throwing storm troopers off of cliffsides or even dragging Tie Fighters out of the sky, you truly do unleashe the Force.

The only downsides to this game I found were that although very enthralling, the story and gameplay were a little shorter than I would have liked. Granted it's not a "beat it in one day" game, but most average players will have it done in less than a week. I also found some of the targetting in fights to be a little sketchy and awkward at times when trying to lock on to a single target. But, overall, nothing detrimental to gameplay.

Personally I am very glad I got this on release day. Well worth it and still one of the better games I've played with the name Star Wars on it. Besides, watching a Stormtrooper grab one of his companions while you lift him into the air and throw them both against the wall just gives a certain level of satisfaction you can't find anywhere else.