"You are Vader's slave. But your power is wasted with him. You could be so much more . . ."
--Shaak Ti, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
The Force Unleashed is now a fairly old game, having debuted in 2008 across a variety of systems with very different levels of power, and a remastered edition has come to the Switch. This is the same as the version released on the Wii, which itself is the same as PSP and PS2 release other than differences like the former lacking PSP-exclusive modes and the latter two versions lacking the Wii's motion controls. A fine Star Wars Legends story (in the sense of the plot itself) with poor execution, very outdated graphics, and characterization that could have been far deeper, it makes its titular frenzy of force abilities the main pillar upon which the game stands. At its best, this kind of gameplay is a true glimpse into how powerful a force-user could become, but even then, the move set can be limited and the rest of the game is so undeveloped that The Force Unleashed yearns for potential it never rises to.
Production Values
This is not the better looking version of The Force Unleashed. Even on the small screen of the Switch Lite, the bland or pixelated textures are very apparent. Small rocks and plants also suddenly appear onscreen very close to where they are situated. No one who understands the various qualities of art will play this game to admire its graphics! Unfortunately, the voice acting has very little vocal nuance in its delivery, and the dialogue is basic enough only to advance the plot. These latter problems could have been avoided no matter the graphical limitations of the Wii, PSP, and PS2, which this version of the game debuted on. Once you start unlocking more force powers and extend the health and force bars, the gameplay shines far more brightly than the graphics, voice acting, and characterization. The game does express the power of the force much more directly and than much of Star Wars media ever actually depicts.
Gameplay
For those with a docked Switch instead of the Lite, there is the option of motion controls that reportedly imitate the Wii's motion controls well. When I was much younger, I played The Force Unleashed on the Wii, PSP, and DS (which had its own game as well), so I had plenty of exposure to the less powerful versions of the game, and since the Wii did utilize motion controls well overall, having the option to use the joy-cons to replicate that is a great idea. Without them, you can still throw your lightsaber into enemies like Yoda does to a clone trooper in Revenge of the Sith, and you can still easily force push objects or figures. Swinging the lightsaber is in this case done through buttons by pressing the Y button instead of literally waving the joy-cons around. However, having that as an option could greatly enhance the immersion.
Other powers triggered by either gestures or buttons alone include the force repulse, which launches nearby objects or people away, while maelstrom first pulls them in to gently orbit the player's character before repulsing them. Up to a point, new moves become available after initially completing levels in the story, and eventually the player can hurl enemies stunned by force lightning as a projectile that detonates upon impact or combine lightsaber swings with force attacks. Despite there being only four levels of upgrades for force powers and even the fully expanded list being fairly small (but much larger than it is at the beginning), a second playthrough is needed to upgrade every ability to its maximum. It is still easy to become extremely powerful by the end of the first run through the entire story.
Story
Some spoilers are below.
Darth Vader decides not to kill a force-sensitive boy he finds on Kashyyyk and instead trains him in secret as an apprentice. A tool Vader aims at surviving Jedi, the student of the dark side becomes involved in the start of the Rebel Alliance when he is tasked by Darth Vader with creating a faction to oppose the Emperor as a distraction, all to keep the head of the Empire from knowing that Vader still has his own protege. As he seeks out the Empire's enemies to unite them, this apprentice has the opportunity to reevaluate his alignment with Darth Vader.
Intellectual Content
That there are more than 200 items to find across the levels does not mean that The Force Unleashed makes the most of its "hidden" objects. Very occasionally, collectibles like holocrons might be hidden in somewhat secretive places, but for the most part, they are right in the open or very easy to obtain with minimal exploration. Sometimes two to four collectibles will even be found in the same small area. Yes, there are times where the only way to reach a holocron might be to stack different pieces of debris on each other to jump from a higher position, but this is very rare. What of the metaphysical issues in Star Wars and the moral aspects in particular? With these, The Force Unleashed does almost nothing at all. The moral issues are not explored with any particular level of thoroughness through the imagery or the story, and even when the characters do articulate some ultimately grand issue of evil, redemption, or power, the dialogue is short, superficial, and literally the bare minimum necessary to advance the game to the next level or cutscene.
Conclusion
Especially once several levels are cleared and more experience orbs have been obtained, the combos and moves become much more expansive than at first, and the gameplay of the Switch remaster of The Force Unleashed is at times quite strong for a version lacking the more elaborate digital physics of the PS3 edition. Visually, the game is far from incredible, having little detail for character models and environments. It would have been very unique to see the Xbox 360 version remastered for the Switch instead or perhaps even both versions, but at least the Wii edition is now easily accessible on a new console generation, whereas the Xbox 360 version can still be downloaded on the Xbox One store. The deficient graphical capabilities of an older Nintendo system, a shallow handling of the moral themes of Star Wars, and a story that is barebones in its execution despite deserving better still make for a game that could have been greatly improved before its release.
Content:
1. Violence: Despite lightsaber slashes not actually removing limbs as they do in the movies, throwing your lightsaber does show it as it protrudes, the beam still active, through the torso of enemies.
No comments:
Post a Comment