Star Wars The Force Unleashed English

[Jamey Saldana]

StarWars: The Force Unleashed is an action-adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and part of The Force Unleashed multimedia project. It was initially developed for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles and on iOS, second-generation N-Gage, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Java-equipped mobile phone handhelds.[2] The game was released in North America on September 16, 2008, in Australia and Southeast Asia on September 17, and in Europe on September 19. LucasArts released downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles.[3] An Ultimate Sith Edition of the game, containing both new and previously released downloadable content, was released in November 2009,[4] and later ported to Mac OS X and Windows. An enhanced remaster of the Wii version, developed by Aspyr, was released for the Nintendo Switch on April 20, 2022.[5]

The project bridges the first two Star Wars trilogies, acting as an origin story for both the united Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Civil War depicted in the original trilogy. The game introduces a new protagonist named "Starkiller", a powerful Force user trained as Darth Vader's secret apprentice, who is tasked with hunting down Jedi survivors of the Great Jedi Purge while trying to keep his existence a secret. However, after he is tasked with planting the seeds of what would become the Rebel Alliance, which Vader plans to take advantage of to overthrow the Emperor, Starkiller begins to question his own morality and to slowly redeem himself. Following The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, the game became part of the non-canonical Star Wars Expanded Universe (also known as Star Wars Legends), and an alternative origin for the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Civil War was given in other forms of Star Wars media, such as Star Wars Rebels.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its story, voice acting, physics, art and soundtrack, but criticism for its linear gameplay and technical issues. The game was a bestseller in the United States and Australia, with over one million copies sold its debut month. As of February 2010[update], the game had sold over seven million copies, and was the fastest-selling Star Wars video game of its time.[6] A sequel, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, was released in October 2010.[7]

The Force Unleashed is a third-person action game in which the player's character's weapons are the Force and a lightsaber.[8] Developers treated the main character's lightsaber like another Force power, and wanted to ensure "something visceral and cool" happened with each button-push.[8] The game has a combo system for stringing lightsaber attacks and for combining lightsaber attacks with Force powers.[8] Experience points earned by killing enemies and finding artifacts can be used to increase Starkiller's powers and traits.[9] The gameplay is intended to be easy to learn; the development team included "horrible" gamers to help ensure the game's accessibility.[10] Players can casually run and gun through the game, but the game rewards those who take a stealthy, more tactical approach.[10] The game includes enemies that are easy to overcome; game difficulty arises from presenting these enemies in large numbers that can wear down the player's character.[11] Additionally, enemies learn from the player's character's attacks; using the same attack on different characters can sometimes lead to the player's character doing less damage.[12] The enemies, which number over 50, have various strengths and weaknesses; developers faced the difficulty of effectively placing them throughout the game's varied environments.[11] Players must also carefully manage their automatically-regenerating Force energy when using exceptionally strong Force abilities, as overuse of them can drop the Force meter below zero to a negative level, incurring Force debt that disables all Force powers for a period of time until the auto-regeneration removes the debt; the more Force debt incurred, the longer the player will be without Force abilities.

The Force Unleashed has different features across platforms. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, powered by the Ronin engine, utilize high-definition graphics and advanced dynamic destruction effects. These versions also support downloadable content in the form of two expansions that expand upon the game's plot.[citation needed] The Nintendo versions use motion controls to implement Starkiller's attacks, with the Wii version using the Wii Remote to execute lightsaber attacks and the Nunchuk to wield Force powers,[13] while the Nintendo DS version utilizes the touchscreen to execute attacks, where single actions can be executed by tapping a certain region of the screen (with each region corresponding to a particular action, such as jumping or Force pushing), while more advanced attacks can be performed by dragging the stylus across neighboring regions of the screen.[14]

The PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions are identical in content to the Wii version, which is different than the PS3 and Xbox 360 version. Since these versions don't support or use downloadable content, they exclusively intersperse certain levels with three of the five Jedi trials that Starkiller completes at the Jedi temple in Coruscant to further hone his abilities, which are all included in a DLC pack for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.[15] The PSP version also exclusively features five additional "historical" bonus levels that re-enact pivotal scenes and duels throughout the Star Wars saga,[16] as well as special scenarios that can be played with as different Star Wars characters who have the same abilities in the standard single-player mode. The Nintendo DS version utilizes 3-D graphics like all other major versions, but lacks voice acting.

The Wii and handheld versions support multiplayer. Two players duel against each other as famous Jedi and Sith in the Star Wars saga in the Wii version,[13] while the handheld versions utilize wireless multiplayer for a four-player battle mode.[17][16]

The Switch version is a port of the Wii version, with an option to use button controls instead of motion controls. These optional motion controls are available in both the Single Player and Dual Modes. The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller is also supported.

Shortly into the Galactic Empire's rule, Imperial spies locate a Jedi survivor of the Great Purge named Kento Marek on Kashyyyk. Darth Vader arrives as the planet is invaded and eliminates any Wookiee resistance between him and the fugitive Jedi. Reaching Kento's home,[18][19] Vader easily defeats him in a lightsaber duel but senses someone far more powerful nearby. Initially believing it to be Kento's Jedi Master, Vader prepares to execute the defiant Jedi until his lightsaber is suddenly force pulled from his hand by Kento's son Galen. Sensing the boy's strong connection to the Force, Vader proceeds to kill Kento and an Imperial squadron after they try to execute Galen and secretly takes him as his apprentice with only a select few knowing of his existence.

Years later, an adult Galen (given the alias "Starkiller") completes his Sith training. He's sent by Vader to eliminate several Jedi survivors across the galaxy in preparation for assassinating the Emperor so that the duo can rule the galaxy together. Starkiller travels aboard his personal ship, the Rogue Shadow, alongside training droid PROXY (who is programmed to try and kill Starkiller) and Imperial pilot Juno Eclipse.[20] Starkiller's targets include Rahm Kota, a Clone Wars veteran and leader of a militia;[d] Kazdan Paratus, insane after years of isolation on Raxus Prime;[e] and Shaak Ti, who's hiding on Felucia. Two of these three Jedi masters, Kota and Ti, inform Starkiller that they have foreseen that soon Vader will no longer be his master before he finishes them. After the latter's death, Starkiller returns to Vader once more, but the Emperor arrives, his spies having uncovered Starkiller's existence. To prove his loyalty to the Emperor, Vader appears to kill his apprentice by stabbing him and hurling him through space.

Unbeknownst to the Emperor, Vader has Starkiller recovered and resuscitated. Vader sends Starkiller to foster a rebellion among the Empire's enemies, hoping to distract the Emperor's spies for Vader to overthrow him. Starkiller rescues Juno, who had been arrested and branded a traitor to the Empire, and escapes with her and PROXY. Looking for allies to aid his mission, Starkiller finds an alive Kota on Cloud City, rendered blind from Starkiller's earlier victory over him and reduced to alcoholism, and rescues him from Imperial forces.

The group travels to Kashyyyk to locate Kota's contact, senator Bail Organa. Starkiller discovers his old home and meets his father's spirit, who expresses remorse for Starkiller's upbringing under Vader.[f] To gain Bail's trust, Starkiller rescues his captive daughter Princess Leia Organa, and liberates the enslaved Wookiees at her request. Starkiller learns from Kota that Bail went missing on Felucia, after searching for Shaak Ti in the hope that she would rescue Leia. Starkiller travels to Felucia to find Bail, discovering that he'd been captured by Shaak Ti's former apprentice Maris Brood, who succumbed to the Dark Side after her master's death. Starkiller defeats Brood but spares her life, and convinces Bail to join the rebellion.

To convince more dissidents to do the same, Vader suggests that Starkiller attack a Star Destroyer facility on Raxus Prime to show that the Empire is vulnerable. Juno learns that Starkiller is still serving Vader and chastises him, but agrees to keep silent. On Raxus Prime, Starkiller is attacked by PROXY, who attempts to fulfill his programming by killing him, but Starkiller defeats him, destroys the facility, and pulls a falling Star Destroyer out of the sky using the Force.[g] Bail meets with fellow senators Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis on Corellia to formally organize a rebellion, only for Vader to arrive and arrest them and Kota. After overpowering Starkiller, Vader reveals that he was merely a tool to lure out the Empire's enemies, and had never intended to use him to overthrow the Emperor. Starkiller escapes after PROXY sacrifices himself by attacking Vader.

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