Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Webdoc 3
Jan 24, 2008
By now, anyone with even a cursory understanding of the Star Wars mythology knows that the nefarious Darth Vader is the proud papa of rebellious twins Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. We know that he was once a nice enough guy, but the fear of losing his love prompted him to commit unforgivable acts of treason and murder. We also know that, try as he might, Vader was unable to convert his baby boy into a willing accomplice. Luke simply wasn't interested in the Sith family business.
But what if Darth Vader was just trying to find a replacement? What if, in fact, he already had a Jedi helper bee? And what if this person was you?
In the upcoming Star Wars video game The Force Unleashed, you'll take on the role of Darth Vader's secret apprentice. You'll study the ways of the Dark Side, wielding inconceivable amounts of destructive Force power as you aid your asthmatic master in his quest for redemption. And along the way, you'll witness the convergence of the most exciting new technology to grace video game software in years.
All this and more is revealed in the third official Force Unleashed webdoc, found exclusively on Yahoo! Video Games. Detailing how the team behind The Force Unleashed managed to combine three cutting-edge simulation technologies into one seamless experience, it delivers a compelling, behind-the-scenes look at the game's development.
Lucas Arts is keeping specific details about the plot tightly under wraps, but here's what we know so far. The game takes place in the roughly twenty-year interim between the end of Episode III and the start of Episode IV. Under the watchful eye of Emperor Palpatine and led by the iron hand of Darth Vader, the Empire has tightened its grip on the Republic and the few remaining Jedi have all but vanished. But unbeknownst to the Emperor, Vader isn't simply in it to bring order to the cosmos. He's got other plans.
That's where you come in. As Vader's undercover agent, you take on deadly, top-secret missions all across the famous galaxy far, far away. It's a tale of duplicity, as not even the Emperor knows about your actions, and at the moment, neither do we. More details about the game's intriguing story - as well as insight into what famous characters you might meet up with along the way - will hopefully be revealed in the coming months.
For now, we'll focus on the crux of this third-person action extravaganza: the gameplay, and the amazing technology that powers it.
Set for release on six platforms - the 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS and PSP - The Force Unleashed is all about being a badass Jedi. That means using powers like Force Push and Force Grip to toss stormtroopers around like dolls, electrifying objects and enemies with Force Lightning, or even cutting to the chase by slicing and dicing with your trusty lightsaber. If they did it in one of the movies, you'll be able to do it here.
That includes zipping through the air using a dash move and effortlessly blocking laser blasts with your lightsaber. You'll find depth in the form of upgrading both your Force abilities and standard talents like base damage and overall health. To that end, two different lightsaber styles thankfully keep the button-mashing to a minimum. A new combo system lets you combine powers to create devastating attacks. You might light up a bad guy with a torrent of lightning, then use Force Push to hurl him at others as an electrified cannonball. A quick sprint move infused with some force can turn you into a lethal battering ram. The more creative you can get, the more damage you can deal.
And trust us when we say you've never seen damage handled like this before. For The Force Unleashed, LucasArts crafted the most realistic interactive version of Star Wars to date. Using a combination of Havok physics, NaturalMotion's Euphoria tech and Pixelux's Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) engine, the development team has built a stunning simulation the likes of which has never been seen before in a video game.
Here's how it works. The underlying action is powered by Havok, which most gamers have experienced in one form or another as the cool, ragdoll physics in action games. Havok applies to most environmental objects like barrels or crates - but enemies, however, can be infused with Euphoria, a procedural animation technology that adds extra realism. Enemies will generate their own animations based on what's happening to them at any given time. That might mean grabbing on to a railing to avoid being jerked into the air, or trying to right themselves while dangling upside down. It's a little like instinct; no one action is pre-determined by the developers.
Then there's DMM, which imbues materials and substances with lifelike properties. In most video games, destructible objects break apart in very specific ways - they're essentially programmed to fall apart when struck enough times by the player. But with DMM, a wooden door will splinter differently if you hit it in different places and with different amounts of force, while a metal wall will merely buckle and bend. Things work the way they should rather than the way the designers purposely intended. For a more complete explanation, we again urge you to watch that webdoc, because it's awesome.
We watched this all come together (or more appropriately, come apart) over the course of a full gameplay demo. First we witnessed the Dark Jedi tearing up a Tie Fighter construction facility, at one point even using the imperial war machines themselves as massive projectile weapons. On the organic planet of Felucia, we fought off force-sensitive creatures by turning our lightsaber into a lightning rod, eventually defeating a huge albino Rancor using a God of War-like finishing move. We blasted through junk golems and even took down rogue Jedi Kazdan Paratus on the junk planet of Raxis Prime, witnessing new features like force and lightsaber "locking" during the ending boss battle. Very impressive stuff.
However, we should point out that only the 360 and PS3 versions are getting the technological trio treatment. The Wii, PSP and PS2 versions are being developed by Krome studios, while the DS is handled by Nspace. To make up for the lack of Euphoria and DMM, the Krome games will feature exclusive levels and the Wii version gets its very own 'Duel' mode, essentially a Jedi fighting game featuring nearly 30 characters from the Star Wars mythos.
There's been a great deal of speculation over exactly how the Wii version will operate; by virtue of the wireless Wiimote, fans have hoped that this would be a true lightsaber simulation. Well, it looks like you're have to put those Star Wars kid moves back in the closet, because that's not how the Wii works. You do use the remote and nunchuck to perform lightsaber swings, but it's not a one-to-one experience. You do not stand in front of your television and wield a lightsaber in first-person, hacking away at Wookies and blocking laser shots like a gifted swordsman. It's essentially the same game as the PS3 and 360 games, but utilizing common Wiimote gestures to swing the saber. Disheartening? Only if you had your heart set on a lightsaber simulation, because frankly, the Wii version looks and feels a lot like its more powerful brethren.
And that's saying a lot. Between its revolutionary marriage of cutting-edge technologies and its deliciously diabolical premise, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed seems destined to take the franchise in a seriously destructive new direction. Jedi training doesn't officially begin until the summer, but we'll certainly learn more about it in the coming months.