Stars Wars game unleashes Dark Side forces

The new console-spanning Star Wars video game, "The Force Unleashed," hit shelves Sept. 16. The game takes place a few years after "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," the most recent theatrical release in the Star Wars enterprise. The main character is Darth Vader's secret apprentice, codenamed "Starkiller," whom Vader took under his dark wing as a prepubescent boy dwelling with his Jedi father. The game offers a startling look at the vicious nature of the Sith while giving players a chance to utilize the awesome power of the Dark Side - all the eye-popping, bone-crushing, dark-glare-inducing techniques. This game is all about the Force and how wicked-cool it is to be a Sith.

In "The Empire Strikes Back," Yoda warns Luke Skywalker, "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will." And, boy, is there a lot of power trapped within. Force lightning, Force pushing (seismic waves of Force energy), levitation of objects, throwing those objects at your enemies (or simply throwing your enemies at each other) and Force choking are just a few of the techniques.

The gameplay is downright stunning. The graphics are phenomenal - way beyond what I expected. The game touts that it uses brand-spankin' new graphics engines, and whatever they are, they are perfect for this game, rivaling some of the stuff Squaresoft's miraculously smooth White Engine can do.

"The Force Unleashed" plays like an action game, but it's really an action-RPG in which players accumulate Force Points to be used in upgrading Force powers. This is no turn-based battle - this is all live action. The higher-level abilities are worth all the slaughtering, barely resembling the lower-level ones in both destructive power and onscreen presence. By the time I had my Force push and my Force lightning up to level 3, I hardly ever had to use my lightsaber.

Like any good LucasArts game, there are tons of cheats. The game even gives you the codes, if you can locate enough hidden items in the levels. You also can customize your lightsaber, both the hilt and the color of the focusing crystal. Many of the cheat codes are costume-unlockables. I could play as any number of Jedi and Sith from both the films and the books, like Mara Jade or Darth Maul, or even someone who would look totally out-of-place holding a lightsaber, like Han Solo or a droid. And the best part about the game: It's challenging. But don't worry, all you Game Genie lovers. Once you beat it the first time, there is a "new game plus" (a la "Chrono Trigger") option that allows you to keep all your power-ups and items from your first play-through.

The depth of the story is a welcome change in the Star Wars series. Most of the games, excluding "Star Wars: Bounty Hunter" and "Star Wars: Battlefront," are merely video game incarnations of the movies. This game, akin to the Matrix video game "Enter the Matrix," tells a previously-untold chapter in the story, a chapter only accessible in the video game. The story reveals crucial details pertaining to the birth of the rebel alliance, Darth Vader's relationship with the Emperor, the fate of the Jedi Order after Palpatine killed most of the Jedi (including some familiar faces) with his clone troopers and when the clone troopers were replaced with storm troopers. Some familiar Jedi show up, along with some newcomers. Players also get to battle numerous Sith Lords.

Despite all this, I still have three big complaints. First, the commercials lied. That whole thing where the Wookies fly backward and the bridge comes back together never happens in the game. And he doesn't hold his lightsaber inverted, like in "Soul Calibur 4" on XBOX 360 or on the commercials (but he does in the demo I played on PS3. Stang!). Even the menus are different per console.

Secondly, on the PS2 version, there is no difficulty setting, so the replay value plummets compared to the other consoles that allow players to choose to make the game more challenging if they are playing it for the second time. Also, it's kind of short, making the player replay levels as the plot progresses. Granted, the levels change a little, but it still feels like the lightsaber isn't fully extended on that one.

Thirdly, it is obvious this game was designed for next-generation consoles, and anyone lame enough (like me) to still have PS2 could experience lagging, choppy graphics when lots of enemies are onscreen and when Force abilities reach high levels, and the graphics engines just need that extra boost that a PS2 can't provide.

All things considered, this is the darkest, most Force-emphatic Star Wars console game I ever have played. The gameplay, story and power-up system are all mega-enjoyable, and it's about time that the Sith got their share of representation in the limelight. To all you Star Wars fans who think the Jedi are as cool as they come, there's nothing quite as awe-inspiring as a Sith in a Force trance, looking up from beneath brow ridges, smiling menacingly as he wipes out an entire cruiser's crew, clones, militia and Jedi without breaking a sweat or using a blaster.