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

[Amnestic]

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

Pretty much. If I want a highly in depth story told well, I will buy an XBox and play both Kotors. When I want to cut shit up and destroy things in unbelievable scale, I want The Force Unleashed.

Get them for the PC, you can throw in some mods then, some are quite well made and add some nice things to the game as well, even if it's just a few reskins or difficulty adjustments.

Oh, and as for the OP, I'm curious as to how you know all this, rather than taking second hand knowledge from reviewers/critics and rewriting it as your own words. Release date for US isn't until tomorrow, with EU and Australia a few days following that.

 

[fedpayne]

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.

QFT

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

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

Alternatively, the answer boils down to "The game isn't as good as we thought, and I don't recommend anyone else shell out their cash for it"

 

[CyberAkuma]

What bothers me is how this game just fits too perfectly well with the teen "consolization" legacy of many many recent games.
The character is just rediculously overpowered and it goes against everything that the Jedi Knight-franchaise stood for.

For you who hasn't played the old Jedi Knight games, on each level you are being taught a new Force Power and only *ONE* and on that map you need to master that very same force power to the fullest in different challenges. Anyone who played the Jedi Temple early on in Jedi Knight II knows probably what I'm talking about. From there the force powers increase slow but steadily having to challenge yourself when meeting other Jedi/Bosses with the little powers you have. It's a deep lurning curve to truly master all the powers and use the correctly depending on the situtation and it's even more fun when brought to the multiplayer aspect when some powers cancel other powers out. Force Push cancels our Force Grip etc.

In Force Unleashed the player can cut hordes of enemies in half with minimal effort and blow up machines with a few easy button presses. In Jedi Knight, even with most of your powers maxed out, an AT-ST could still own your ass. I remember that I felt awesome when I defeated an AT-ST after much effort bouncing back the rockets it shot at me with Force Push. Rember that? Games that actually required you to THINK?

Force Unleashed is so consolized in every worse aspect. (did I mention quick-time events during bossfights?) The fact that they didn't port this for PC and went console exclusive should suffice to further strengthen my statement.

Also, what the hell is up with the characters name? StarKiller? What the hell happened to the Darth WhateverEvilName set up the Siths always use? I know that the StarKiller name originates from the original name of Luke Skywalker but still, is it just me that think that's just annoying?

 

[Amnestic]

What bothers me is how this game just fits too perfectly well with the teen "consolization" legacy of many many recent games.
The character is just rediculously overpowered and it goes against everything that the Jedi Knight-franchaise stood for.

For you who hasn't played the old Jedi Knight games, on each level you are being taught a new Force Power and only *ONE* and on that map you need to master that very same force power to the fullest in different challenges. Anyone who played the Jedi Temple early on in Jedi Knight II knows probably what I'm talking about. From there the force powers increase slow but steadily having to challenge yourself when meeting other Jedi/Bosses with the little powers you have. It's a deep lurning curve to truly master all the powers and use the correctly depending on the situtation and it's even more fun when brought to the multiplayer aspect when some powers cancel other powers out. Force Push cancels our Force Grip etc.

In Force Unleashed the player can cut hordes of enemies in half with minimal effort and blow up machines with a few easy button presses. In Jedi Knight, even with most of your powers maxed out, an AT-ST could still own your ass. I remember that I felt awesome when I defeated an AT-ST after much effort bouncing back the rockets it shot at me with Force Push. Rember that? Games that actually required you to THINK?

Force Unleashed is so consolized in every worse aspect. (did I mention quick-time events during bossfights?) The fact that they didn't port this for PC and went console exclusive should suffice to further strengthen my statement.

You still didn't answer my question. How have you played this before the release date? I'm intrigued.

And you seem to be hating on the game simply because it has a different style to your vaunted Jedi Knights series. Not being the next game in a series YOU want is not a negative point on the game, no matter how much you want it to be.

 

[Cyclomega]

One thing I really resent is how The Apprentice (or Starkiller according to SoulCalibur 4) is generic-looking... he really has nothing for him, he's a generic caucasian looking young guy with short hair and unremarkable apparel... And even if the über levels of godlike pwnage seem fun (provided you don't pay the full-blown price), I resent playing another generic short black-hair dude, I would have liked an alien character, not some kind of human seemingly born on Kashyyyk (I thought this was a Wookie-only planet according to the SW mythos)...

I wish they had given Vader an apprentice as cool looking as Exar Kun...

Amnestic, I think you have a point here, I don't recall Force Unleashed marketed as a Jedi Knight-series game, were it Jedi Knight IV, I can understand his rant, but since the Jedi Knight series is probably the only one with a branching story (although it's as manichean as Bioshock) and maybe KoToR too (but I have heard it's easily as binary) in the SW universe, it's a little out of place...

 

[Fronken]

well, 6-8 hours gameplay seems to be the norm these days, sadly, i still remember a time when games had 20-30 hours gameplay

 

[tiredinnuendo]

I've heard that the game will have several endings. I've seen various developers mention this in interviews, and the Wookiepedia entry still has that statement posted. Did this get changed?

But then, at the end of the day, I've never really cared about multiple endings. I'd play the same game for the same ending 100 times of the gameplay was fun.

I've heard from multiple sources that have pre-released copies of the game that it is highly mediocre at best, and that the prime thing to hold up about it is that the storyline feels like real Star Wars. It's getting harder and harder for me to feel excited about the game, expecially with its lack of multiplayer, but my brother will most likely buy it first thing on Tuesday, so I can try it out with him.

- J

 

[Cyclomega]

Here's hoping the extreme Force overkill and the Star Wars feel will compensate enough (I doubt so)...

And the more I think about it, the more no multiplayer seems better than crap multiplayer (like Republic Commando for instance).

 

[brabz]

Shame to hear largely negative reviews about the game. I enjoyed the demo, and will probably pick up a copy at some point in the next month or so.

A complete aside, but does anyone else think about "Spaced" when they hear TFU...The Fuckest Uppest.

 

[mrnelsby]

A pity really. Seems that most reviews are saying the story is better than that of the prequels, but that the game suffers from bad or monotonous mechanics....

 

[anNIALLator]

I've only read one review, but it was pretty positive, 7/10. This review had pretty weak points. Linearity is not a thing to mark a game down for. It never did Call of Duty or Half Life any bad, did it? Bugs and glitches was the only semi valid point in this 'review'. How would multiplayer have worked in STFU?

 

[tiredinnuendo]

I've only read one review, but it was pretty positive, 7/10. This review had pretty weak points. Linearity is not a thing to mark a game down for. It never did Call of Duty or Half Life any bad, did it? Bugs and glitches was the only semi valid point in this 'review'. How would multiplayer have worked in STFU?

Well, there's the obvious arena deathmatch model that worked so well in Jedi Knight.

There's the expanded "Movie battles" esq version, where you have an objective to complete or defend.

There's the "King of the mountain" type gameplay where you have a two teams of normal guys and the high-performer in each round is promoted to Jedi in the next round.

I can think of several ways multiplayer would work. Hell, the Wii version has it, so clearly even they can think of at least one way.

- J

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

Not being the next game in a series YOU want is not a negative point on the game, no matter how much you want it to be.

Pick a game you don't like.
Now when you say something against it, your point is now negated because you're simply measuring against what YOU want to play, instead of what IT is.

 

[Woe Is You]

How would multiplayer have worked in STFU?

If the game had just plain well done good old lightsaber battles in multiplayer, that would've been enough for me to run out and get a copy.

 

[Nokterne]

My biggest problem with the game is its mechanics. You can't dodge while blocking (like every other 3rd-person game in existence) and movement just feels awkward. The combat is too shallow in my opinion.

 

[Cyclomega]

Nokterne, sorry to bring counter examples, but Sengoku Basara and Ninja Gaiden (for instance) let you do so.