Another mediocre game that doesn't deserve the attention (Force Unleashed)

[CyberAkuma]

After weeks of immense hype of Star Wars Unleashed, the game has finally been reviewed.
Millions of dollars later intertwined with a long development time this game is lackluster - to say the least.

* The game is short. Oh sorry, I ment "Average Game Length" of 6-8 hours.
* No Multiplayer what so ever
* The game has non-branching storyline. You can't choose between the Dark Side nor Light side
The game is just one linear story from beginning to the end.
* The game has laughable difficulty, and by that I mean you NEVER die and you're given enourmous force powers where you can literally cut an AT-ST (mini walker) in half without breaking a sweat.
* Has a moderate ammount of bugs and glitches to it.

To my surprise this game has recieved average reviews. As of now MetaCritic gives the game a 73% rating based on 10 reviews.
How can a game that is released 8 years after the Star Wars: Jedi Knight-franchaise get this form of flattery? The game is laughable compared to the classic Jedi Knight-games released back in 2002-2003. Those games had everything this game lacks *AND* they made those games with less money and with less development time. Jedi Knight had immense multiplayer, more than 9 levels, had a respectable difficulty curve to it where you could choose force powers and it had branching-story where your actions would affect if you went to the Light Side or the Dark Side.

What the hell did LucasArts spend all their money and time on for this utter piece of mediocrity and why are game sites giving it an average game ranking even though the game is obviously lackluster compared to the games former derivative franchaise that was released many years ago? Have they come to accept games that disappoint and just doesn't deliver?
Is this how games backed up with with millions of dollars and immense development time is supposed to be?

 

[The Wooster]

No branching storylines! No CHOCIES! But the movies were so interactive!

 

[Dealin Burgers]

Was it really a suprise?

 

[Woe Is You]

There's a good reason you can't play a Light Side Jedi. Name me one Light Jedi crazy enough to abuse the Force the way you do in the game.

Kyle Katarn.

 

[peterwolfe]

There's a good reason you can't play a Light Side Jedi. Name me one Light Jedi crazy enough to abuse the Force the way you do in the game.

or, better yet, one light force move used the way you do in the game

 

[Graustein]

There's a good reason you can't play a Light Side Jedi. Name me one Light Jedi crazy enough to abuse the Force the way you do in the game.

Kyle Katarn.

I wouldn't call Kyle a "Light Jedi". He DOES use the Dark Side and all that, he just happens to be on the side of good.

 

[Iron Mal]

The definitive answer to this issue would be 'if you don't like the game, then don't play it'.

With the amount of bad games that have been released throughout history I'm amazed that this still gets to people. I bought Devil may cry 2 because someone else told me that DMC 1 was excellent (so in theory, 2 should be too), I was greatly disappointed and I just let that game fall to the bottom of my cd rack.

Whether a game is good or bad is a subjective desicion as well, some people may enjoy having the power to tear a AT-ST walker in half with minimum fuss (these are probably the same people who always grab rockets in online shooters) even if this does strike others as overpowered or a bad aspect in general.

 

[nikomas1]

So i guess this game basicly boils down to how much you enjoy cutting things up with lightsabers and abusing the force? Well i for one liked the demo and so did my friend so he it going to buy it and in a week ill just go over and borrow it. ^^

 

[The_Deleted]

With the amount of bad games that have been released throughout history I'm amazed that this still gets to people.

I think the problem is STAR WARS + Fanboys + hype X the power to be a Sith shit= Lucas once again pissing in your mouth while you happily open wide.

Did the last 3 films teach you nothing? We expect too much from Star Wars it's the intellectual equivalent of IKEA. You hear great things about it, but deep down you know it'll be shite.

 

[DeadlyFred]

What the hell did LucasArts spend all their money and time on for this utter piece of mediocrity and why are game sites giving it an average game ranking even though the game is obviously lackluster compared to the games former derivative franchaise that was released many years ago? Have they come to accept games that disappoint and just doesn't deliver?
Is this how games backed up with with millions of dollars and immense development time is supposed to be?

In a word? Yes. Because games these days have to be visually mind-blowing cinematic masterpieces. A fraction of that time, money and development goes into the gameplay while the rest is put into presentation. The problem is, this is the kind of shit the mainstream gamer wants, so... guess what? that's what everyone gets.

 

[Hawgh]

I'm buying it to cut and break stuff, nothing else matters.

 

[videot76]

When Episode One was released, I made the decision to disregard any and all further additions to the SW universe. The authorities had been all over George Lucas for mistreatment and abuse if his brainchild had been a real one.
Yes, I DID see episodes 2 and 3 just to give it a fair chance. They just got worse and worse.
And what was the deal with the overhyped side characters? "This movie features the new, awesome badass supervillain Darth Maul" - who had five lines, tops, and then was cut in half. "This movie features Boba Fett's supercool, kickass dad, Jango Fett, whom Boba is a clone of, so you understand he's really, really cool". And Jango too gets more or less five lines, and is then decapitated. (For variety, they made the lightsaber strike two feet higher than in the previous movie.)
And the third movie showed the awesome medical advancement of that universe - about any wound can be healed, any destroyed organ can be replaced with a fully functional cybernetic one; but there is NO WAY to discover in advance if a pregnancy is going to yield more than one baby.

No one has summed it up better than the guys at Penny Arcade, when they let George call Star Wars "My once-beloved accidental masterpiece".

(Luckily, I played Jedi Knight before that decision. That was a good game, and the cinematic cutscenes more interesting than episodes 1-3 together.)

 

[Cyclomega]

The definitive answer to this issue would be 'if you don't like the game, then don't play it'.

With the amount of bad games that have been released throughout history I'm amazed that this still gets to people. I bought Devil may cry 2 because someone else told me that DMC 1 was excellent (so in theory, 2 should be too), I was greatly disappointed and I just let that game fall to the bottom of my cd rack.

Whether a game is good or bad is a subjective desicion as well, some people may enjoy having the power to tear a AT-ST walker in half with minimum fuss (these are probably the same people who always grab rockets in online shooters) even if this does strike others as overpowered or a bad aspect in general.

I must be insane, I thought DMC2 was fun and had a better camera than the first one.

Otherwise I don't care much for branching storylines here. Republic Commando had none yet it was fun, same for the Lego SW games. And the game from Episode 3 had none either, oh wait, what about Bounty Hunter ? Jedi Power Battles ? EPISODE 1 ? SW PODRACER ? OK I'll stop...
Plus you don't need one : you're evil. Maybe giving Force abuse from the get-go kills the challenge, but hey, it's a fan-only game, designed to make you pay for a nerd's blowjob (being Darth Vader's apprentice), and as such it's "adequate" right ?

Maybe when it's cheaper I'll give it a try, but I couldn't care less... I would have liked the opportunity to play Darth Maul in a game re-enacting his formative years and early missions, or a complete parallel storyline, I don't care, I just like the character, I find him fun.

 

[Brett Alex]

When Episode One was released, I made the decision to disregard any and all further additions to the SW universe. The authorities had been all over George Lucas for mistreatment and abuse if his brainchild had been a real one.
Yes, I DID see episodes 2 and 3 just to give it a fair chance. They just got worse and worse.
And what was the deal with the overhyped side characters? "This movie features the new, awesome badass supervillain Darth Maul" - who had five lines, tops, and then was cut in half. "This movie features Boba Fett's supercool, kickass dad, Jango Fett, whom Boba is a clone of, so you understand he's really, really cool". And Jango too gets more or less five lines, and is then decapitated. (For variety, they made the lightsaber strike two feet higher than in the previous movie.)
And the third movie showed the awesome medical advancement of that universe - about any wound can be healed, any destroyed organ can be replaced with a fully functional cybernetic one; but there is NO WAY to discover in advance if a pregnancy is going to yield more than one baby.

No one has summed it up better than the guys at Penny Arcade, when they let George call Star Wars "My once-beloved accidental masterpiece".

(Luckily, I played Jedi Knight before that decision. That was a good game, and the cinematic cutscenes more interesting than episodes 1-3 together.)

You know the best thing about Star Wars? Band wagons.

 

[Hey Joe]

Review section?

Anyhow, I was looking forward to this game but the release date snuck up on me. That's a sign that Lucasarts didn't want to hype this one too much because they knew they had a mediocre game on their hands.

I think I may pick it up if I see it pre-owned.

 

[Cyclomega]

Review section?

Anyhow, I was looking forward to this game but the release date snuck up on me. That's a sign that Lucasarts didn't want to hype this one too much because they knew they had a mediocre game on their hands.

I think I may pick it up if I see it pre-owned.

Seconded, but it will have to be no more than 20 euros (around 30USD/35 AUD I guess).

 

[Jolly Madness]

I'm a PC gamer, and I play maybe an hour of Xbox every month, on hardest difficulty the game was easy. You're so powerful it's ridiculous! The game was a little fancy, but it got boring quite fast...

 

[Slycne]

I suspected this game would just be a tech demo. Wouldn't be surprised if they released a sequel to this with the same engine, same graphics, everything, just more content with the little money they make on the people who buy TFU.

Agreed, top to bottom this game is an extended tech demo. On the plus side it will be great to see these technologies adapted into new games. Bioware's Knights of the Old Republic MMO anyone?

 

[Sixties Spidey]

there is multiplayer. its in the wii version. Heh, im just going to buy both the 360 and the Wii versions just to see the difference. It should be pretty big considering that the Wii version has a duel mode.