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Star Wars the Force Unleashed 2 Review

Posted on 25. Nov, 2010 by Freak_c in Games, News, Reviews

As far as sequels go, I was hoping this sequel would not suffer the same fate as many of its movie sequel cousins.  Usually movie sequels tend to suffer a complete battering by critics and movie goers alike, unless of course it was directed by Christopher Nolen or James Cameron.  The same can’t really be said for games (case and point God Of War 3 – AWESOME).  Having seen the four and a half minute introductory cut scene of ‘Starkiller’, doing what we all wished we had seen in the Star Wars movies, one would think that you’re in for a real humdinger!

Unfortunately like many movies before it, this highly anticipated title fizzles out without a bang.  Its lack of solid story line, which feels like it was thought up in the span of 5 minutes, leaves much to be desired.

The story continues from where the previous game ends and has you trying to figure out whether you are a clone or not. During the course of the game you will also find yourself searching for the love of your life (so essentially this is a Sci-Fi Romance… aaah cute… NOT!).  I am trying my best here not to give away too much of this already ‘thinly buttered piece of toast’ so this is as much of the story as I can divulge without ‘spilling all the beans’.  I’m sure if the writer had full control you wouldn’t been playing a menacing sith apprentice but a more Ryan Gosling character… but thankfully you’re still Starkiller!

One feature of the game that I must admit has improved (for your viewing pleasure)  is the graphics.  Not that the graphics in the first game were terrible but I do enjoy the little added details, for example, the way your ‘force push power’ now cracks and separates the ground beneath it gives you a feeling of…  YEAAAAH!!!  The dismembering of Storm Troopers with your light saber and the actual animations of said Troopers, makes he experience feel more realistic than its predecessor.  The details of the surroundings are spectacular and show just how much work the Art Department put in.  The visuals are refreshing and do create the feeling that you are playing an entirely new game rather than just an upgrade from the first.  So thumbs up to this department!

The gameplay is based on a single button pressings mechanism with the odd hint of a second button combo. You can pull off some pretty cool combos when you use both light saber and your force abilities.  The combo system is pretty basic and there’s not too much to upgrade and no learning curve, having said that in the plainest sense it is good fun and most importantly looks pretty spectacular.  The camera angles itself have been improved since the previous game and the use of force grip has been vastly enriched and you do feel more in control.

The use of the environment is another offensive mechanism you have at your disposal as you will be able to push your enemies off various ledges to their ultimate death or blowing them up with explosive barrels that are lying around. These barrels are also used to help solve the very simple puzzles that you will encounter during your play through and the majority of them are solved by using he force. Take downs are performed when your close and personal encounters with the larger enemies near the end as a button prompt will be highlighted above their head which leads to a quick time event to finish them off.  This however does loose its appeal when you witness the same kill method numerous times over and over.

Killing the ever increasing number of storm troopers and their bigger mech friends will replenish your health will allow you to purchase upgrades for your abilities similar to the previous game.  This has also been revamped and I must admit a welcome improvement. No longer do you have to worry about collecting the three different colour halogens for your different force powers as now you use an experience bar, you will still come across the familiar halogens but they are now there as a bonus  for experience, force powers and life.

Even with the entertainment the storm troopers give you from throwing them off platforms and using the force to throw them into things for the hundredth, it was the lack of boss encounters that I found disappointing. One highlight from Force Unleashed was being able to face it off with some Jedi’s and some huge boss creature, allowing you to enjoy using the light saber as your adrenaline pumps to a duel of fates theme track.

Usually in these types of hack and slash games you are definitely in for some kick-ass boss encounters, but like the story, the lack of boss battle is a let down. The one multi-stage boss fight encounter should of been a show piece but unfortunately due to a lack of combat variety and an un-imaginative fight, it becomes far too repetitive. None of the encounters were memorable which seeing as this as a Star Wars game you think that they would have been.

It’s brevity is something which has to be said and can’t be overlooked, with just around 5 hours of gameplay this is pretty short for the average gamer. The game feels rushed and when you get through the final showdown you have to sit back and realise that you barely got into the game.

Conclusion
The presentation itself can’t be faulted sporting the best motion blur and rain effects I’ve seen on the PS3 but unfortunately can’t be saved by the lack of story or boss battles.  I tend to have a soft spot for Star Wars games and Force Unleashed 2 is no exception. However I’m finding it rather sad that this sequel didn’t take what reputation it made from the first game and expanded on Starkillers genuinely interesting and dangerous lead character, it to leave us hungering for more.  With the excitement of the game been diminished by a very plain storyline and nothing much expanded and improved from the first one, it will definitely not leave you with any memorable moments.

6.5/10

This review was written by Paul Frew and was played on PC and PS3.

Big thanks to Megarom for supplying the game for review.

Tags: Review, Star wars, star wars the force unleashed 2, The Force Unleashed II