Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Review

Written 11/14/2010

Note: This review is for the PS3 version of the game. Screenshot and video courtesy of Google Images and Youtube respectively, and credit goes to the original capturers.

The original Force Unleashed is hailed as the fastest selling Star Wars game to date. Notice I didn't say that it was the best, but the fastest selling nonetheless. Now two years after the original's success, LucasArts is hoping to Force Push it off its throne with the Force Unleashed II. Can it hope to compare to the quality standards of the first game, or does it fall flat on its face? Unfortunately, the latter seems to hold truer than I'd really like.

Visuals and Presentation

Visually, TFU2 is truly spectacular, especially if you're playing it on an HDTV. LucasArts really went all out to ensure that everything you see is fully polished and shines like a freshly washed Corvette (I don't really know cars; that was the first thing that came to mind). The problem with all of this polish and shine becomes apparent in the lack of variety seen in the environments. There are only four different environments you visit in the game, three planets and one starship. Character variety doesn't suffer quite as much though, with roughly ten different “normal” enemies. Another problem arises when the framerate begins to spike rather badly in high-action areas. Considering how fast the combat is, this can be a pretty major problem. The biggest problem I think, is the fact that TFU2's visuals are by far its strongest point. It annoys me to no end when developers put out a shiny package with less-than-shiny gameplay. Overall though, this game really is quite pretty, but it's really just the skin-deep type of beauty.

Visuals and Presentation Rating:

Sound

This is a Star Wars game, so it's pretty easy to imagine what TFU2 sounds like. Slightly remixed tracks from the films permeate the entire game, with the most original track being the Force Unleashed theme from the original game. The sound effects, from the lightsabers to the blasters to the ships, are the same exact ones we've been hearing for years now. I'm not saying they need changing, because it would really be a crime to do away with such classic and iconic sounds, I'm just saying it further limits the variety of the game. Voice-acting is also what you would expect from a recent Star Wars game; high quality performances with a bit of cheesy dialog. Every voice actor reprises their roles from the original Force Unleashed and are each great. A minimal amount of cheesy dialog has always been somewhat of a staple in Star Wars, but it seems to be present a bit more than it needed to be in TFU2. In short, this is exactly what you're expecting it to be. It's not amazing, but it's not terrible either.

Sound Rating:

Gameplay

There were plenty of complaints about the gameplay in the original Force Unleashed, mainly about the targeting system and a little about the limited saber combat. I seem to remember in a development diary for TFU2 that someone mentioned that the team was aware of the problems in the original game and were working to fix them in the sequel. To put it very bluntly, if this is what LucasArts considers fixed, then they need to leave their original code broken! In the original Force Unleashed, when I would Force Grip something or someone and toss it at something else, I would hit it every time without fail because the game was smart enough to properly throw the object at the angle I was telling it to. In TFU2, I was lucky if I could hit my targets in the same fashion five times in a row. Considering how integral Force Grip is to the game, this is a massive issue! Force Lightning also suffers similarly, but to a much lesser degree.

Saber combat definitely FEELS more satisfying now with the additions of dual wielding sabers, dismemberment, and Jedi Mind Trick, but in reality it's still almost as shallow as the original game. You can still spam the Square, Square, Triangle combo and it's still just as effective. With dual wielding sabers though, it's much harder to properly time and execute your combos because the animations are much faster now; and at times it's nearly impossible to pull of the more complex combos. While the animations are pretty awesome, it really hurts the gameplay. I would have been happy if the animations were slowed by a quarter of a second to give me the time to pull off every combo available to me.

Jedi Mind Trick has replaced the Force Barrier ability from the first game, and it's by far more useful. When activated, you wave your hand in front of an enemy and he will either randomly begin attacking his friends, or find a way to end his own life. At the max level of the ability you can mind trick three enemies at once, and it's very satisfying to watch the chaos ensue once you do. Finally, along with the framerate issues I mentioned above, there is a pretty nasty bug in the final boss fight that will root you to the ground during a transition in the fight and make it impossible to move. If this bug hits you, you WILL die and be set back quite a ways in the boss fight. Not only is this very annoying, but it is completely unacceptable that it was allowed to remain in the game and see release! Come on LucasArts, give me a break!

Gameplay Rating:

Story

WARNING: Spoiler Alert!

The story in the original Force Unleashed is considered by most to be the strongest aspect of the game, and I have to agree! It was smart, well written, and dramatic. Unfortunately, I can hardly say any of those things apply in TFU2. Basically, you are a clone of the original Starkiller. You were created to serve Darth Vader unerringly, unlike the secret apprentice you were cloned from. You are quickly deemed a failed clone by Vader and, sensing betrayal by seeing into the original Starkiller's memories, you strike first and make your escape. After escaping Kamino, you begin to search for General Kota, and then Juno Eclipse. Along the way, you begin to doubt if you're a clone at all. That's basically the whole story. Yoda and Boba Fett make appearances in the game for about one minute each. I'm not joking, one minute! There are some pretty cinematic moments throughout the game, but none of them have any real substance when it comes to the story. By the end of the game, none of the questions that are raised are answered. In short, TFU2's story is almost as shallow as its gameplay.

Story Rating:

Replay Value

The replay value here is next to nothing unfortunately. The game itself is 6 hours long if you play it on the Normal difficulty. I was able to complete it twice within three sittings. Other than replaying the game on a harder difficulty, the only other option available to you is the limited selection of challenge missions. There are roughly ten in all, and they can range from simple survival, to obstacle courses, to king of the hill type challenges. Most are simple enough, but it is a true challenge to attain a platinum medal in each mission. Overall though, challenge missions can't save TFU2 from the simple fact that there's just not much to do.

Replay Value Rating:

Final Thoughts and Overall Score

I really wanted to rate TFU2 higher, I really did. Despite all of the flaws, I still enjoyed the game! I simply couldn't bring myself to rate it higher because I personally enjoyed it. If you've played the original Force Unleashed, or you simply play every Star Wars game that comes down the pipe like I do, give TFU2 a try; but DEFINITELY rent it first! If you don't care about either of those things, this isn't the game you're looking for; move along! TFU2 is available for PS3, 360, PC, DS, Wii, PSP, and iPhone.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Overall Score:

Minimum PC System Requirements:

• OS: Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista® SP2, or Windows 7
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 5200+
• Memory: 2 GB RAM (XP, Vista, or 7)
• Hard Disk Space: 10GB + 1GB Swapfile
• Video: 256 MB Video Memory with Shader 3.0 support; ATI Radeon HD 2600 / NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
• Sound: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible Audio Device
• Direct®: DirectX 9.0c (March 2009)

Recommended System Requirements:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 6000+
• Video: ATI Radeon HD 4800 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260