Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - PS3

Set in the years between 'Revenge of the Sith' and 'A New Hope', 'The Force Unleashed' tells the story of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, Starkiller. Under Darth Vader's guidance, he is instructed to travel the galaxy and hunt down the remaining Jedi.

The first level involves the player controlling Darth Vader, taking part in an assault on the planet Kashyyyk (the Wookie homeworld). This level basically establishes the plot of the rest of the game, with Darth Vader encountering a young Starkiller for the first time and taking him under his wing as his secret apprentice. From here on out, the player steps into the shoes of Starkiller. Playing the young dark Jedi, you are given the opportunity to wield a variety of force powers.

The ability to grab any object in the room (including stormtroopers) and sling them into the distance is pretty awesome and quite satisfying. You can also inflict force lightening to disable any approaching opponents, giving you the chance to take them out with your lightsaber.

That all said, at times the gameplay can be infuriating. When in the middle of a fight, you can find yourself falling off the edge of a cliff to your peril, due to the fact that Starkiller moves himself forward every time he swings his lightsaber. It is also quite difficult to master the force grab. Quite often you will lift an object up and unintentionally throw it in the wrong direction, highlighting your opponents to your presence – quite annoying when you are preparing for a stealth-like attack.

On some levels, you will encounter tougher opponents (ATST walkers, large droids, rancors, etc) and to take these out, you are encouraged to perform a combo. The camera changes angle and as you press the correct buttons at the correct time, Starkiller takes out the opponent with an elaborately designed manoeuvre.

Graphically, 'The Force Unleashed' is absolute eye candy. The developers have done an outstanding job in recreating the Star Wars universe. This also is helped by the fact that they have also done their best to use almost every sound within the Star Wars library. Darth Vaders breath, a wookie's growl, the hum of a lightsaber, the blast from a Tie Fighter – it's all here and it all helps to paint the familiar picture on the Star Wars canvas.

Unfortunately though, there are a few bugs with regards to the animation. Sometimes objects can get caught in other objects and on occasion, the screen will flicker. These issues sound minimal, but it is enough to distract the average gamer.

Whilst 'The Force Unleashed' looks and sounds stunning, it is let down by average level design. There is not much room to explore these lush worlds, leaving little deviation for the player. Which again is a shame because at an average length of 8-10 hours long, there is not much lasting appeal here. Sure, there are a few hidden treasures (aka 'holocrons') to find, but it would have been nice if there were other areas to explore.

It is also completely baffling that in this day and age of online gaming, Lucasarts have decided not to include any multiplayer levels.

All in all, this is definitely one for the Star Wars fan and despite it's flaws and it's missed opportunities, this is still a worthy addition to the Star Wars universe. As Yoda might say - the force is strong with this one, but not that strong.

7 out of 10.