Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2

Lucasarts

3.5 stars out of 5

Back in 2008, LucasArts unveiled the next generation Star Wars game with the first Star Wars: The Force Unleashed featuring force powers maximized to an extreme degree unseen in the films or any game before. The original game presented an award-winning story for Star Wars canon, but overall the gameplay itself felt somewhat lacking. The end result didn’t quite meet the high expectations, and while The Force Unleashed 2 is an improvement on the first game for the most part, it still doesn’t quite meet its full potential.

This time around, main character Galen Marek a.k.a. Starkiller is even more powerful than before from the get-go. The controls and enemy targeting have been tightened up from the first game, but the overall combat and combo system has been simplified. This isn’t a problem seeing how most smaller enemies can be annihilated with the ramped up Force powers, and the final boss fight can be overcome by alternating between the lightsaber attack button and the Force lightning button. It’s not the most graceful of combat systems, but the feeling of so much Force power is admittedly thrilling.

One of the biggest complaints with The Force Unleashed 2 is its issue with being overly repetitive. Destroying legions of hapless Storm troopers never gets old, but the mini-bosses are repeated several times each per level. There isn’t much variety amongst the mini-bosses, and while the finishing moves are cool at first, players will soon realize there is only one for each mini-boss and it soon becomes a drawn out routine. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the repetition doesn’t become too aggravating because the game is really short anyway.

Overall, the game plays much better than the first game even if the combo system has been simplified. The technology that creates euphoria in the enemies is still here, and dismemberment has been appropriately added as well.

However, while the gameplay takes more or less a step forward, the story itself has taken several steps backwards. Granted, the story in The Force Unleashed 2 isn’t terrible, but it pales to live up to the standard set by the first game. There is a bit of mystery in plot that questions whether or not the Starkiller seen is the original or a clone, but that hardly matters when he is still able to blast through waves and waves of Storm troopers and is still emotionally tied to his love interest from the first game, female pilot Juno Eclipse. The story features themes of self-identity and the bonds of love, but doesn’t handle it nearly as well as the first game did with its themes of loyalty. The game still manages to pull of some epic and emotional moments by the end, but it also cuts off abruptly in an obvious set up for a third game.

The graphics in The Force Unleashed 2 are better than ever, and the character animations are still top notch with its use of motion capture technology. The story may not live up to expectations for a true Star Wars game, but it does showcase some beautiful locations that really match classic Star Wars landscapes. There is a good variety in set pieces and environments, and the game runs smoothly even with so much action happening on screen at once.

The story does a reasonably good job with exploring a more personal story for Starkiller, but other popular characters aren’t fully utilized. Darth Vader is scary and mean as usual and General Kota is back as crazy but tough as ever. Fans should note, however, that appearances by Boba Fett and Yoda are to be labeled as cameos at best. Juno Eclipse is barely seen until the end of the game, but she holds a high level of significance that really only stands if you can remember her in the first game.

Decimating the Storm trooper ranks and crushing TIE Fighters at a moment’s notice is great fun if one is willing to endure through the game’s more repetitive moments. The gameplay is an improvement over the first game, but this sequel’s story falls short of the first game’s storyline. Fans of Star Wars shouldn’t be too bothered by the gameplay issues, and can hope that the projected sequel could easily be the defining Star Wars game of this generation. In the end, The Force Unleashed 2 isn’t nearly as good as it could have been, but is still a fun romp