Developer: Krome Studios
Publisher: Lucasarts
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T: Violence

Sure, like many other people, I tried out the demo that came out on XBox Live, and thought it was good fun, but nothing more. Fast-forward to two weeks ago, when a friend of mine called me and said: "Hey, my brother-in-law just beat The Force Unleashed on Wii and is lending it  to me. Wanna try it out?" I figured that there was no reason not to, and it's not like we had any better plans for that evening. Beer and force powers sounded like a good idea.

We played for a while, but got tired at one point and moved on to better games, but when he left, he forgot the game in my console. Knowing I wouldn't see him for another week, I thought I might as well play the free rental I just got.

And I have to say, I was mildly surprised.

So in case you've been living under a rock for the past year or so, TFU is about Darth Vader's apprentice, who remains unnamed during the game, but "Starkiller" seems ot be what he's called around the web. The game starts with the apprentice completing his basic training, and does Vader's will, which often consists of either killing somebody or sabotaging an operation and leaving no witnesses behind. The story is also fills the gap between Episodes III and IV of the movie saga, but for all intents and purposes for the game, it works well enough.

You see, TFU isn't about difficult puzzles or levelling up. It's about beating the midichlorians out of everthing that moves. And I thought that was an interesting concept, after all. Not that it's new or anything, but it seems to me that we don't see as many straight beat-em-ups anymore. And the game does the job pretty well, but there a few things that seem... out-of-place, or unpolished. More on that later.

Let's talk about the first impression: graphics. All I can say is that it's obvious this game is also on PS2 and PSP. I don't personally think the textures or models are ugly, but even the PS2 could manage better than that. Wearing bulkier costumes will sometimes cause clipping into other objects during cutscenes, such as capes going through chairs. Worse yet, it doesn't feel like the team made much to ensure that the cutscenes would be... obstacle-free. Example: In one mission, you have to free a certain somebody, and as you find him, a boss battle begins. So you slash away with your lightsaber, you throw stuff around and kill the bastard. Then, the game proceeds to a cutscene where you talk to the person you've just saved, and that person happens to stand where a crate landed. The game doesn't remove the object for the cutscene, and the two clip into each other. You are basically talking to a crate with a head. Although rare, this makes me feel like this game could have used more polish.

Audio-wise, the game's okay. Voice acting is pretty standard fare, nothing outstanding, but at least it won't make want to kill the characters. The music is simply ripped from the movies, so no complaints here. The musical scores are engaging and the sounds work just fine. On an interesting note, whenever your lightsaber hits an object or is turned on or off, the sound will come out the the Wii Remote's speaker. It's low-quality, you can turn the speaker off as the sounds also come out of the TV, but I enjoyed the addition.

Now let's look at what really matters (in my opinion, at least): How do the controls hold up? Is it just a waggle fest? Do Nunchuk controls work? Well, after playing the game for over twelve hours, I have to say that they work just well. Yes, waggling like a moron will get you through the game, but don't expect to make the most out of your lightsaber that way. Krome did a good job at implementing the swiping controls. If you flick your Wiimote up, down, left, right or perform a stabbing motion, Starkiller will react accordingly. The trick to swordsmanship in TFU is not to shake like you have Parkinsons' disease. Timing your swings can and will result in sometimes intricate combos, easily going over 10 hits against tougher targets, with the possiblity of finishing with a pop-up move, a killer stab or downward stab at the ground, Twilight Princess-style, for the instant kill. All in all, it's what I consider good development: easy to use, but mastery is rewarded. While the Wii Remote represents your lightsaber, the Nunchuk is your your source of Force. Flicking the attachment sends out a Force Push, Z is Force Hold and C is Force Lightning. With these three simple powers, cool, well-executed abilities are rather fun to use. When holding someone, turn the Nunchuk upside-down to choke the helpless victim. Use lightning while approaching enemies and then do a Force Push to send one of them flying, who will then explode with electric force (when fully upgraded, this combo triggers a strong chain reaction, great for dispatching low-level targets.)

Yeah, about them Force powers. While a good number of them are fun to see and use, I feel like this section of the game could have been made better - or maybe less redundant. For some reason, even with my Force Push maxed out at level four, using it in the air isn't as efficient. It is only later that I realised that I needed to upgrade a seperate skill, one that allowed me to use a better Force Push while in the air. Why won't the one I use on the ground work while jumping? Go figure. There are a few other oddities like that, like the "do a two hit combo with your lightsaber and then Lightning" thing that barely works because you never really think about hitting only twice then pressing C. It is also problematic that sometimes, the Wii Remote thinks you're taking another swing as you bring it back into a normal position, effectively negating a few skills. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You upgrade the skills you want with Force Points (AKA Exp.) that you gain by defeating enemies. You can get up to a 5x multiplier to increase the amount of experience you gain. If you die, you lose a percentage of the points you have and restart at the last checkpoint.

Other things worth mentioning? The quick-time events, which are usually prompted just before the killing blow on a boss, are simple in execution, but have a very cinematic feel. They simply require you to either flick the Wiimote or Nunchuk when specified to. As an aside, I prefer the AT-ST killing animation in the Wii version more, where Starkiller crushes it and then blows it up. Better than simply slicing it in half, IMO. There are two hundred Jedi Holocrons to find in the game, each one unlocking a piece of concept art. You can also search for color and power crystals to pimp your lightsaber. There are like 10 different lightsaber handles to get, but since you never really see it up-close except in the menu, I don't see the point.

Now that my word count is like my expectations for this game (read: exceeded), it's time to conclude this review. This game isn't one that will blow your mind, but it certainly isn't bad either. This game is a must-have for Star Wars fans, and a weekend rental for pretty much anybody else. The game can be beaten in about seven hours on your first playthrough, and after that, you get the option to start over with your powers and inventory intact, which adds a bit of replay value to the game. There is also a two-player Duel Mode, but I haven't tried it out, so I'm not commenting. The single-player campaign, though, does what it set out to do, and does it well. This brawler makes good use the 'mote-'chuck duo, but on afterthought, it might have been nice to use the pointer to choose targets. If you don't know what to do on a rainy weekend, give this one a try. I never thought I'd play through the game twice, to be honest.