Welcome to Modojo, 
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Review
Written by Robert Falcon on Thursday, September 18, 2008
User Score
Terrific production values, fun Force-wielding gameplay, Force Unleashed Mode lets you recreate classic Star Wars battles, excellent soundtrack.
Long load times, slight lapses in story, boss battles become repetitive.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is finally here, and while the console game gets the most attention, we can't forget that a PSP version is also available. If Sony's handheld is all you own, you'll have a good time Force Pushing enemies and slicing them with your lightsaber, but beware. This game barely earns its Jedi training braid.
In the game, you play Darth Vader's secret Apprentice, raised by him to do his bidding in an attempt to overthrow the Emperor. Along the way, this Jedi killer has shifts in conscience, due to a turn of events and some coaxing from his cohorts, a droid called Proxy and a beautiful co-pilot named Juno Eclipse. Still, that doesn't stop him from fulfilling his missions, hunting down rogue Jedi throughout the galaxy while working on building an alliance against the emperor.
As expected, the gameplay is a huge draw. That's because you get every kind of Jedi power imaginable, from neck-snapping air chokes to lightsaber slashes to Force throws that launch anything, even TIE Fighters, across the room. For the most part, the gameplay works, though there are a few issues. With so many objects around and the lack of a decent targeting system, you'll grab the wrong thing from time to time. Still, you can hurl it at a Stormtrooper and watch him crumple to the ground.
The other major problem is the boss fights. At first, battling a Rancor or an AT-AT seemed like a great idea. You hack and slash these guys for a while (which is cool), but then it's a matter of completing a push-button game to watch them perish. If we had direct control of these finishing moves, they'd be a lot more fun.
The animation is great, whether you make Stormtroopers fall at your feet or charge a TIE Fighter with Force Lightning to bring it down. In addition, there are some cool levels that whisk you across the galaxy as you become a force (ahem) to be reckoned with, all while listening to John Williams' epic score. Still, the cut-scenes could be better. They're done in real-time, so they look shoddy compared to the computer generated ones in the console version. Furthermore, we couldn't help but notice that some parts of the story were cut out to fit the game onto the PSP.
Aside from the main story mode (which will only take you a few hours to beat), The Force Unleashed also includes a special mode where you can recreate classic moments from the Star Wars saga with unlocked characters and make new ones; Mace Windu, for instance, holds his own against the Apprentice. If you feel brave, you can even travel back to Cloud City and pit Luke Skywalker against Darth Vader in a welcome rematch from The Empire Strikes Back. This mode is short-lived, but it's entertaining for fans and a cool bonus.
With a little bit more development time, The Force Unleashed could've been a monstrous hit, even bigger than the Death Star. However, it's good for lightsaber nuts looking to play something on the go.
