Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2 - ROQ Review

"Unleashed" October 26th for the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360, Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2 is here, but is it one with the force? Or has it fallen to the dark side? Lets break it down and see if this game holds its own in the vast world that is the Star Wars mythos.


Story
About 7 months after the events of the first Force Unleashed, Star Killer, the story's main protagonist finds himself imprisoned by the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Having visions of what occurred in the first game, Vader explains to Star Killer that he is a clone of his original self and that these visions are not his life but of the original Star Killer's memories. The visions being a flaw of the cloning process and a sign of the emotions that lead Star Killer to betray his master. Sensing Vader no longer finds him useful, Star Killer flees his master's attempt to end his life, and begins his journey to find Juno Eclipse, his love interest from the first game .

Star Killer travels to Cato Neimoidia to free his ally and Jedi Master Rahm Kota from execution. After freeing Kota, the two set out to find Juno and bring down the Galactic Empire once and for all. Darth Vader, seeking to lure Star Killer back to him, hires Boba Fett to track down and retrieve Juno Eclipse before Star Killer can reach her. Star Killer and Rohm Kota follow Boba Fett back to Kamino where Darth Vader awaits his arrival.

The climax draws near as Star Killer makes his way through the cloning facility in search of his love. Finding Juno in the hands of Vader, Star Killer gives in to his masters will, causing Juno to attack Vader and getting hurt in the process. Believing Juno to be dead, Star Killer attacks his master ultimately defeating Vader and being left with a choice. This is where the game splits into two endings. One being the choice of letting Lord Vader live(Light Side) and the other ending his master's life(Dark Side).

Gameplay
If you've played the original title in the Force Unleashed series, you know whats in store for your second helping of Star Killer's journey. SW:TFU2 is a third person action adventure and platformer. The levels are set up in almost linear paths, getting from one end of a corridor to the next to complete a segment of the game. An incentive to kill every enemy and explore the levels is the inclusion of a leveling system for your force powers and crystals to customize and enhance your Light Saber.

With constant combat of Storm troopers, Sith masters, Mechs, and the occasional boss encounter, your progress through the story is at slow but steady pace. Unfortunately, these encounters quickly become repetitive and boring. Also, in my case, I ran into segments where the difficulty spiked due to frustratingly overwhelming odds, forcing me to find ways to trick the AI. Several small puzzle sequences are littered throughout the game to break up the pace, but are simplistic and also become an annoyance that needlessly hinders progress.

The combat is slightly improved from the first game, as Star Killer now wields dual Light Sabers, making his movements from target to target more fluid. Star Killer also has several grapple moves and force powers such as force push, force lightning, and force pulse. A new addition to the force powers is the Mind trick. Using the force to over come the weak minded, you can send an enemy to commit suicide or have him fight for you for a short period of time.

Presentation
Although the cut scenes are something to marvel at, the game itself has its issues. With a camera that follows your character from behind, it sometimes has trouble keeping up with the action. Clipping is sometimes an issue, and in one particular sequence I was trapped in a room due to the game not registering I had defeated all the enemies in the room. The Force Unleashed 2 tries to go for a more epic feel with set pieces that explode and enemies large in scale, but falls short due to lack of detail in the destruction or character models repeating with little variants.

Again, I cant say enough about the pre-rendered cut scenes. They look fantastic! These are used in the advertising of the game more often than actual gameplay, and you can see here why.


Verdict
In conclusion, Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2 is an ambitious attempt at a well executed sequel, but falls short in almost every aspect. Most notably both of the games endings don't seem to fit well within cannon of the original saga. Trust me, you'll notice when you beat this game. Even Yoda's small and almost insultingly short cameo on Dagobah isn't enough to save this disappointment. This coming from a huge Star Wars fan and someone who throughly enjoyed the first game. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 is sadly a
Low Rental but may be worth picking up for the most die hard of Star Wars fans.