Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360, PS3)

A Disturbance in the Force

With all The Force Unleashed has going for it, there are some notable inconsistencies that hinder the overall experience with the game. First, we'll address the enemy AI. While your foes can be challenging with their own ranged attacks, there's almost no variance in the ability to take them down. They aren't necessarily pushovers, but players can pretty much wipe any of them out using a single lightsaber combo throughout the entire game. This brings about to the question as to whether or not the force powers are necessary to defeat them. The answer is a resounding no, but without them the game would simply be boring.

Speaking of boring, there's nothing like being taken out of the action to participate in button mashing mini-games. No, this is not really an inconsistency; rather, it is a poor design choice that could really stand to disappear in video games altogether. While we're on the subject of disappearances, it should be noted that, for a game that's screaming for cooperative play, neither the PS3 nor the 360 versions contain a multiplayer component

As for the level design, it works for the most part. Still, there is not a lot of variance in the game's missions. Players will travel from point A to point B then flip a switch or perform some similar action that will allow them to proceed to point C, all the while taking out wave after wave of enemy forces. If you're imagining this can get boring, you're correct. Even the use of your force powers becomes dull not long into the game, thus dissipating the desire to upgrade them.

As mentioned previously, the game incorporates an auto-targeting system that highlights objects that can be picked up. While this does help, objects along your path are so numerous that targeting the wrong object or enemy happens all too often. This auto-targeting also directs your lightsaber attacks and can be quite frustrating when trying to eliminate an attacker, only to swing at a nearby barrel. These issues, coupled with the frequent slow down periods and audio that cuts in and out at times points to an unpolished final product.

As far as the contrast between the two consoles is concerned, there were no dramatic differences worth pointing out. It all comes down to which one you own or prefer (if you own both). The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions both look great, yet suffer from the same issues mentioned above. However, the increased tightness of the analog sticks on the 360 controller did provide for better control over the auto-targeting issue, as well as the accuracy when throwing objects with the force grip. However, if you're not pondering over which console to buy the game for, or you're not an Xbox fanboy spamming the PlayStation forums, this is a trivial concern.