Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is by no means a “great” game.  Sure, it did a nice job of putting you in the role of an uber-powerful Sith warrior, giving you plenty of ways to decimate your opponents, but unbalanced boss fights and a host of technical issues keep it from being anything more than a B+ title.  One aspect of the game that was met with almost universal acclaim, however, was the story.  Starkiller’s journey as the apprentice of Lord Vader was engrossing, impactful, respectful of the source material, and seen by many as the best piece of Star Wars fiction since Return of the Jedi.

The Force Unleashed may not win any awards for its gameplay, but the Writers Guild of America honored the game’s story with its second annual video game writing award.  The award, which is open to any game that was written by guild members, went to TFU over fellow nominees, Fallout 3, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, and Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!

Despite the fact that some games on the list, most notably Fallout 3, are decidedly superior games, it’s nice to see that the writers really focused on what this award is supposed to be about; the writing.  Fallout 3 may have an inventive setting, great voice-over work and a beautifully realized game world, but its narrative can’t hold a candle to The Force Unleashed’s.  This is good news in a different way, as well; last year's award was given to Dead Head Fred, so this is a pretty big step up.

A heartfelt congratulations to Haden Blackman, Shawn Pitman, John Stafford and Cameron Suey for their excellent contribution to the year in gaming and to the Star Wars universe.

The full list of winners can be found here, including awards for other, less respected media like TV, movies, radio and news.

Related Articles:

WGA Awards Dead Head Fred a Writing Award

2008 Best Story of the Year

2008 Game of the Year