Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Preview

E3 2008 Preview

Darth Vader is one bad Sith Lord. He wiped out the remaining Jedi, including younglings. He flew across the galaxy, blew up entire planets and ruined billions of lives just because he could. When sent to kill a stray Jedi Master that had been causing trouble for the Dark Side, Vader didn't hesitate. But before his job could be finished, an immense power was sensed. He questioned the Jedi, asking him where his master was, assuming that he was somewhere in the area. But this Jedi was old and his master had died a long time ago. Just as Vader was about to deal the final blow, his lightsaber was ripped from his hands. He turns around, expecting to see a new enemy. But the only one standing there was a little boy -- the force Vader sensed was that of the Jedi's son.

This sequence is an incredible catalyst for a game that promises to abolish all previous Star Wars games. Its music was taken directly from the "Order 66" sequence in Revenge of the Sith and fit the scene perfectly. For the first time ever, I actually felt something for Star Wars characters that weren't created by George Lucas.

That boy, incase you weren't aware, grows up to become the Secret Apprentice and star of The Force Unleashed. As you've probably heard a hundred times since the game was unveiled, The Force Unleashed gives the player more control over The Force than any other Star Wars game. The Euphoria physics -- which have been a part of the LucasArts hype machine since they were unveiled two or three years ago in the Indiana Jones tech demo -- are everything the developers claimed. Lift a Stormtrooper, Wookiee, droid, or any other living, breathing character and you'll be amazed at the way they squirm. They may even try to grab onto something, including one of the comrades, who will now be caught in your Force bubble. Before going hands-on, GameZone was shown exactly how this works in the game.

When The Force envelops and levitates someone, the alien/droid loses control of its body. Consequently, it ends up floating within its own space. The enemy can spin around to try and regain control (and it will many times over), but that won't happen as long as you're holding the right trigger (the Force-raising button). If you do release the Force, the enemy is still in trouble -- while enemies, objects or anything else are suspended in the air, they may be moved around with the right and left analog sticks. If you release your power while in motion, inertia will take over and continue pushing the enemy/object until it hits something or until gravity has run its course.

In practice, this move is just as cool as it looks but not very easy. It is seamless -- you won't struggle to make the buttons or thumbsticks work. The control design is top-notch. But as a gameplay mechanic that hasn't been done before on this level (the only other games that have levitated objects successfully are Psi-Ops and BioShock), there is a learning curve simply because it's not familiar.

The demo wasn't long enough to allow anyone to master this mechanic, but it was still a blast. When several enemies gathered together for a Secret Apprentice shooting fest, what're you gonna do? Kill each of them one by one with your lightsaber? Deflect their attacks? (This move is right out of the Star Wars movies and looks great.) Wouldn't it be better to grab an enemy and throw him into the crowd? Another option: pick up something large and heavy and crush the enemies, as Obi-Wan Kenobi might say, "Into oblivion." If the Force isn't with you now, it most certainly will be when The Force Unleashed is released on September 16.

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