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Author Topic: The Force Unleashed – Lucas Arts – PS3  (Read 38067 times)
Yegolev
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2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST


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on: September 17, 2008, 07:36:44 AM

From Cyrrex:

I’m probably as incurable a Star Wars freak as can be found.  Does that mean I gobble up everything that LA puts out under this license?  Close, but not quite.  I was excited when I first heard this title was coming out, but I’ve learned to mix in a healthy dose of apprehension.  When I played the demo for the first time, I was “meh” about it.  A second run through the demo had me feeling a little better about things, as I was getting used to the controls.

Enter the game proper.  From the word go, I already like it better than my experience with the demo.  This really is a game where you are putting your force powers on display, so it is immensely helpful that you are familiar and comfortable with the controls.  You could snooze your way through this game with minimal effort, just going through the motions and executing the bare minimum of fancy attacks, but you’d be missing the point.  And the point is this:  when your actions become second nature and you learn to chain things together, the combat in this game can be awesome.  Jaw-droppingly amazing, sometimes.

Starkiller (the main protagonist) is, perhaps, the most bad ass force user we’ve ever seen.  He doesn’t choke stormtroopers.  He chokes them, infuses them with lightning and hurls them the length of a football field, where they then explode violently against a bulkhead, causing secondary explosions.  Over-the-top?  Yes, but pretty cool.  Saber fighting is not particularly deep, but it’s well animated and satisfying enough when combined properly with force usage.  The much talked about physics are fairly cool, but forget any talk you’ve heard about stormtroopers reacting in certain ways – they are far too busy dying and being flung off into the horizon for you to notices such subtleties.  Although, there was one random occurrence that made me smile – on a ship, I grab a crate and fling it at a trooper.  I miss, and the crate shatters a viewport, causing the atmosphere and the stormtrooper to be instantly sucked out of the window, followed by a bulkhead slamming down to seal the breach.  I’ve no doubt I would have been sucked out too, had I been close enough.  Really impressive.

Graphics are average – occasionally great, sometimes pretty bland.  The special effects are pretty sweet.  Sound is great, as usual with LA games.  I won’t go into anything about the story, because you’ll love it or hate it depending entirely on how much of a fanboy you are.  The level up systems appears to over up a good deal of variety.

This game is far from perfect, but it boils down to this:  do you want play as the baddest bad-ass dark jedi you’ve ever imagined?  Sure you do.

Rent it. 

Why am I homeless?  Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question.
They called it The Prayer, its answer was law
Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
Bunk
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Operating Thetan One


Reply #1 on: September 17, 2008, 07:39:19 AM

Is there any aspect of an RPG to this, or is it simply an on the rails action shooter?

"Welcome to the internet, pussy." - VDL
"I have retard strength." - Schild
FatuousTwat
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Reply #2 on: September 17, 2008, 07:51:33 AM

Is it anything like the Jedi Knight or Jedi Academy games (if you have played them)?

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
Mazakiel
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Reply #3 on: September 17, 2008, 08:06:31 AM

You earn experience for killing things or finding certain holocrons, and when you level, you get spheres.  You also get a sphere for completing one of the three submissions in each area.  There are combo spheres, force power spheres, and talent spheres.  Combos are the stuff like charging your saber with lightning for attacks, dashing in and blowing things away with a force push, etc.  Powers are pretty obvious, levelling them tends to up the scope and raw power of abilities.  For example, basic force lightning is just a quick burst of lightning, level it up a rank and you can do a larger continuous stream of lightning.  Talents affect your raw stats, like damage, defense, force power, recovery, etc. 

Like I mentioned, there's Jedi holocrons hidden across the level, so exploring gets you rewards.  Some give xp, and others unlock costumes and lightsaber crystals and such.  Finding all the holocrons in a level is usually one of the submissions, so that'll also help you level your character.  The other submissions tend to be along the lines of 'use so many force points', and the last is usually destruction related.  The destruction quests can be somewhat random, like destroy so many TIE fighters, to something tied in with the stage a little better, like destroying generators to a comm tower. 

The fighting is fun, and the things enemies can do will keep you switching around between using your lightsaber and various force powers.  Boss fights, and fights against the bigger enemies, involve QTE segments along with the normal combat, so if you hated God of War, you probably won't enjoy those parts at all. 

There are a lot of little touches that make the game fun to go through, like using the force to toss grenades back at people, or using force lightning on jawas.  It does seem to control a bit better than the demo, but that could be familiarity with the controls. 
Cyrrex
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Reply #4 on: September 17, 2008, 08:41:07 AM

Yeah, I had a whole section in my review about the controls, but it was getting too lengthy.  Much of my like of this game has to do with getting used to the controls.

I've played both both JK and JA extensively, but only on PC.  It is hard to compare them with this.  JK and JA will give you much more life in terms of MP and replay value, I think, but this game will give you more  Oh ho ho ho. Reallllly? moments.  Some of the stuff is just crazy cool.  I they ported this to PC and managed to get the controls translated smoothly, it would annihilate those games in single player.  Multiplayer would lose some luster, though, because I can't imagine they'd still include all the over-the-top force stuff.

The QTE bits haven't bugged me much, so far.  They usually only come at the finish of the boss fight, so it isn't like you don't have to actually fight.  Also, some of the actual sequences are pretty cool to watch.


"...maybe if you cleaned the piss out of the sunny d bottles under your desks and returned em, you could upgrade you vid cards, fucken lusers.." - Grunk
Riggswolfe
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Reply #5 on: September 17, 2008, 08:46:42 AM

I played this for ~4 hours yesterday. It's quite fun though short. I'm already over halfway through the game. Still, things like cannonballing (an actual combo I found) a stormtrooper into his buddies to rack up bonus points never gets old.

The story is actually pretty decent too though it feels like they needed an extra cutscene or two to show why a few things happened. I will say the story is better than the prequels but not quite Empire Strkes Back. In some ways it feels like Starkiller is the prototype Luke as far as Vader's actions go.

"We live in a country, where John Lennon takes six bullets in the chest, Yoko Ono was standing right next to him and not one fucking bullet! Explain that to me! Explain that to me, God! Explain it to me, God!" - Denis Leary summing up my feelings about the nature of the universe.
Cyrrex
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Reply #6 on: September 17, 2008, 08:52:45 AM

Well, this is technically considered "A" level canon, I think.  I'd also been hoping for more cutscene action, but never fear:  there is an entire novel you can buy to flesh out the story  awesome, for real

"...maybe if you cleaned the piss out of the sunny d bottles under your desks and returned em, you could upgrade you vid cards, fucken lusers.." - Grunk
Morfiend
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Reply #7 on: September 17, 2008, 11:45:57 AM

Well, this is technically considered "A" level canon, I think.  I'd also been hoping for more cutscene action, but never fear:  there is an entire novel you can buy to flesh out the story  awesome, for real

Written by R.A Salvatore ?
Cyrrex
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Reply #8 on: September 17, 2008, 12:56:11 PM

No.  Sean Williams, I want to say.  You have a thing for Salvatore?

"...maybe if you cleaned the piss out of the sunny d bottles under your desks and returned em, you could upgrade you vid cards, fucken lusers.." - Grunk
FatuousTwat
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Reply #9 on: September 17, 2008, 01:10:11 PM

HE'S THE GREATEST!

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
Driakos
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Reply #10 on: September 17, 2008, 02:00:52 PM

Dancing lightsabers of death!

oh god how did this get here I am not good with computer
Samprimary
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Reply #11 on: September 18, 2008, 07:36:05 AM

This game is the quintessential The Dark Side Will Fuck You Up experience.
Mazakiel
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Reply #12 on: September 18, 2008, 07:44:24 AM

Finished this last night.  Overall a pretty quick game, though it was fun.  Mostly.  The boss encounter for the next to last stage was a major pain in the ass.  Pretty much ignore the on screen cues for what to do when you get to the Force using part. 
« Last Edit: September 18, 2008, 07:46:54 AM by Mazakiel »
Morfiend
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Reply #13 on: September 18, 2008, 10:41:50 AM

I got this yesterday, but due to WAR I didnt play it much. Logged about 45 minutes before I went to bed, so far its really fun. I got past the tutorial level, and the first level that was the demo.

I am really like the "blow shit up" factor, even though it seems a bit over the top sometimes. I think I could sneeze and knock buildings down. But its still awesome.
Mazakiel
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Reply #14 on: September 18, 2008, 01:15:10 PM

Yeah, the UNLIMITED POWER aspect can get a bit cheesy, but the way they handle it is pretty nifty.  Like, the quick dash surrounds you in a blur of the force.  I noticed last night that the bubble will destroy/knock around some of the flimsier scenery.  And really, crumpling an AT-ST like a soda can is just awesome to watch. 

I'd like to see them do a KOTOR era game now.  That way, they'd have a bit more freedom with things. 
NiX
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Reply #15 on: September 18, 2008, 01:58:28 PM

Finished this last night.  Overall a pretty quick game, though it was fun.  Mostly.  The boss encounter for the next to last stage was a major pain in the ass.  Pretty much ignore the on screen cues for what to do when you get to the Force using part. 
Had to emphasize this. It took me a good 20-30 minutes to figure out why it wasn't working. To flesh out his tip: Despite the sticks being even, the background will stay red. Just move the right stick up until it goes yellow even if the cue says to move the stick down.
MournelitheCalix
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Reply #16 on: September 19, 2008, 10:57:34 AM

Is it anything like the Jedi Knight or Jedi Academy games (if you have played them)?

I have beaten it now twice, and in my opinion it plays very much like Jedi Outcast in that there are puzzles and plenty of lightsaber/force power action. The puzzles however aren't anywhere near as "difficult" as Jedi Outcast's was or even Dark Forces. In fact they are dumbed down by the key parts of the landscape that you have to interact with being "glowy".  Unlike Jedi Outcast you really don't have to wait that long at all for force powers to regenerate.  Regeneration is super quick.  Also Boss fights are handled a bit differently.  The endings are a combination of buttons which launch ingame cinematics.

This game plays like a movie.  It plays like a bridge between the prequals and A New Hope.  You see the Empire becoming more like the Empire and you also see the story behind the birth of the Rebellion.  Is this game fun, damn straight it is.  I don't regret my purchase at all, for me it lived up to the hype.  Is the script that great, no not really.  It suffers from the same grade A cheese that ruined the prequals.  This is not to say that there wasn't really good ideas behind it.   I was thoroughly entertained simply by the irony of the actions of Darth Vader and the Emperor.  I am hoping we will see more games like this one complete with ingame cinematics.

Born too late to explore the new world.
Born too early to explore the universe.
Born just in time to see liberty die.
MournelitheCalix
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Reply #17 on: September 19, 2008, 11:01:49 AM

Finished this last night.  Overall a pretty quick game, though it was fun.  Mostly.  The boss encounter for the next to last stage was a major pain in the ass.  Pretty much ignore the on screen cues for what to do when you get to the Force using part. 
Had to emphasize this. It took me a good 20-30 minutes to figure out why it wasn't working. To flesh out his tip: Despite the sticks being even, the background will stay red. Just move the right stick up until it goes yellow even if the cue says to move the stick down.

In my opinion this was the absolute worst part of the game.  Yes it was cool seeing the Star Destroyer go down, but it was also cheesy as all hell.  It also made no sense.  Ships hundreds of years earlier in the canon had the ability to vaporize that compound.  I am not sure what the explanation is, but this part was so rediculous to me that it was an immersion killer.

Born too late to explore the new world.
Born too early to explore the universe.
Born just in time to see liberty die.
Cyrrex
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Reply #18 on: September 19, 2008, 12:20:15 PM

I think I've about reached the halfway point or so now (yeah, I'm slow...too much entertainment in September).  The game continues to impress for the most part.  I don't know what collective dope the general reviewing community is smoking.  It isn't a "great" game, but I think it's better than the reviews it has been getting.  This game stomps most games getting 7s out of 10s, or whatever. 

"...maybe if you cleaned the piss out of the sunny d bottles under your desks and returned em, you could upgrade you vid cards, fucken lusers.." - Grunk
Surlyboi
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eat a bag of dicks


Reply #19 on: September 19, 2008, 02:20:48 PM

I dig it for the most part, but then I'm a hardcore fanboy. That said, there are a few annoyances about it. The biggest being that they've fallen into the typical Lucasarts pattern of "harder shit = more content".

The pulling the Star Destroyer out of the sky bit was a bit hokey, but I liked it anyway. (The goddamn interrupting TIE fighters notwithstanding).

Tuned in, immediately get to watch cringey Ubisoft talking head offering her deepest sympathies to the families impacted by the Orlando shooting while flanked by a man in a giraffe suit and some sort of "horrifically garish neon costumes through the ages" exhibit or something.  We need to stop this fucking planet right now and sort some shit out. -Kail
K9
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Reply #20 on: September 20, 2008, 06:15:55 PM

This game is very fun, except for odd frustrating moments (the second boss, the one on robotic legs was an absolute arse to beat). I look forward to finishing it.

It reminds me of Legacy of Kain games a lot, in the sense that the game isn't incredibly deep, it just provides masses of gratuitous action at exactly the right pace.

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Bunk
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Reply #21 on: September 21, 2008, 05:08:59 PM

I'm a little suprised at the reviews myself. The game has flaws, but I'm glad I bought it, even if for just the story. It's not nearly as easy as the demo leads you to think, some of the boss fights I ended up turning the difficulty down after too many tries. I dunno, I just think it has several really good qualities - the cool factor of just letting loose and obliterating squads of Stormtroopers, the hidden treasures on the levels for those of us that like to explore every corner, and most of all - a really good story. It had some cheese moments sure, but come on folks - this is Star Wars.

It is short and doesnt have a huge replay factor though, so I'd call it a manditory Rental.

"Welcome to the internet, pussy." - VDL
"I have retard strength." - Schild
Surlyboi
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eat a bag of dicks


Reply #22 on: September 21, 2008, 08:47:08 PM

I'm replaying it now on the wii and the story is slightly different, (A couple of different locales and cutscenes) but the thrust of the story is the same, plus there's the added value of duel mode to keep the missus occupied sometimes too.

I'm also replaying through the 360/PS3 version again too, this time, fully powered up with all the gear, powers and know-how gained from playing through the first time. All the frustrating stuff in the boss fights is virtually non-existent now. It may get old fast, but we'll see how it goes.

Tuned in, immediately get to watch cringey Ubisoft talking head offering her deepest sympathies to the families impacted by the Orlando shooting while flanked by a man in a giraffe suit and some sort of "horrifically garish neon costumes through the ages" exhibit or something.  We need to stop this fucking planet right now and sort some shit out. -Kail
Yegolev
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2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST


WWW
Reply #23 on: September 22, 2008, 07:22:59 AM

Smashy fun.  I'm impressed with the destructability of the environment, but I still want more.  The controls aren't the tightest I've ever had, but they aren't the worst either.  I'm looking forward to the second playthrough.

I cannot overstate the entertainment I get from choking a jawa, electrocuting him then hurling him into another enemy.  Throwing TIE fighters at stormtroopers is also hot.  Blasting doors open never gets old.  I don't really give a shit about whatever story there is supposed to be.

Why am I homeless?  Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question.
They called it The Prayer, its answer was law
Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
Surlyboi
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eat a bag of dicks


Reply #24 on: September 22, 2008, 01:03:04 PM

Force grip a stormtrooper, electrocute him, then impale him with your saber and then throw the corpse at his buddies on a bridge with force blast.

Teh. Win.



Tuned in, immediately get to watch cringey Ubisoft talking head offering her deepest sympathies to the families impacted by the Orlando shooting while flanked by a man in a giraffe suit and some sort of "horrifically garish neon costumes through the ages" exhibit or something.  We need to stop this fucking planet right now and sort some shit out. -Kail
Yegolev
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Posts: 24440

2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST


WWW
Reply #25 on: September 22, 2008, 01:30:16 PM

I have somehow missed out on the "impale with saber" bit.  Will try tonight!  awesome, for real

Why am I homeless?  Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question.
They called it The Prayer, its answer was law
Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
Sky
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I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.


Reply #26 on: September 23, 2008, 06:52:26 AM

In some ways it feels like Starkiller is the prototype Luke as far as Vader's actions go.
Luke Skywalker was originally named Luke Starkiller.
SnakeCharmer
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Reply #27 on: September 23, 2008, 07:28:01 AM

'Sith Punting' jawas is nearly worth the price of admission.

There's some really good stuff in the game, countered with some really really awful.  I played it all the way through on Sith Lord, got all the holos and stuff.  It does feel incomplete and rushed, though.  The button pressing cut scenes really hurt the game, IMHO.  Rather than watching the cinematic, I found myself ignoring it to make sure i got the button sequence right.
Sky
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I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.


Reply #28 on: September 23, 2008, 12:02:07 PM

hologrinding = lolgrinding

 awesome, for real
Surlyboi
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eat a bag of dicks


Reply #29 on: September 23, 2008, 04:34:06 PM

I ground many lols from this.

And many Bothans died to bring you this post.  DRILLING AND MANLINESS

Tuned in, immediately get to watch cringey Ubisoft talking head offering her deepest sympathies to the families impacted by the Orlando shooting while flanked by a man in a giraffe suit and some sort of "horrifically garish neon costumes through the ages" exhibit or something.  We need to stop this fucking planet right now and sort some shit out. -Kail
K9
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Reply #30 on: September 23, 2008, 06:35:26 PM

Flamethrower dudes suck :/

The environments are really awesome though, I'm finding the game environment more immersive than many others I've played recently.

I love the smell of facepalm in the morning
Bunk
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Operating Thetan One


Reply #31 on: September 23, 2008, 07:24:29 PM

So here I've been defending this game.. finished it once, thought I'd play around with some of the extras. So I look up the cheat codes and what do I discover? There are something like 30 different skins you can play the game with... on the PS2 and the wii. If you have the PS3 or 360, you get about four.

What the fuck is all that about?

"Welcome to the internet, pussy." - VDL
"I have retard strength." - Schild
rattran
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Unreasonable


Reply #32 on: September 24, 2008, 08:56:41 AM

Paid DLC to be added?
Ingmar
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Reply #33 on: September 24, 2008, 01:07:16 PM

Hm, the demo was pretty entertaining other than the stupid QTE at the AT-ST. I wasn't expecting it and spent a long time throwing barrels at the thing. I may have to consider getting this, it will give me something else to play when I'm on living room  kittenwatch duty.

The Transcendent One: AH... THE ROGUE CONSTRUCT.
Nordom: Sense of closure: imminent.
Cyrrex
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Reply #34 on: September 24, 2008, 03:36:54 PM

Well, here's a thought for you to chew on then:  it is an LA game, based on the Star Wars license, hyped like hell and a sorta disappointing demo.  And yet just about everyone in this thread has pretty good things to say about it overall.  Did anyone really expect that?  Probably not.  That's as good a testimonial as you're likely to get.  It is a DO RENT game at the very least. 

"...maybe if you cleaned the piss out of the sunny d bottles under your desks and returned em, you could upgrade you vid cards, fucken lusers.." - Grunk
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