Star Wars: The Force Unleashed [PS3]

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has long held promises of grand technology that would help bring the Star Wars universe, and indeed the Force, to gamers like we've never seen before. I'd seen the game a number of times at various presentations, but without having actually played the game myself, I was always wondering whether the technology would hold up and offer gamers something more than a tech demo. After playing through a few levels of The Force Unleashed last week, it appears that LucasArts may indeed deliver on its promise and give us a new look at the Force like we've never experienced.

Though Vader's secret apprentice will serve as your persona throughout the bulk of the game, you begin The Force Unleashed as the Sith Lord himself on a mission to Kashyyyk in search of a rogue Jedi. At this point in the Star Wars timeline, situated between episodes III and IV, Vader has taken it upon himself to scour the universe and wipe out the remaining Jedi, and his prey at the start of the game has taken up residence on the Wookiee home world.

Vader is a badass, and a badass never runs. Indeed, Vader's assault through the treetop huts and bridges of Kashyyyk is slow and paced, with him walking confidently as his cape blows behind him, but also incredibly deadly. Though Vader's lightsaber makes quick work of the Wookiee soldiers, it's his Force powers that make him unstoppable. Lifting enemies into the air with a Force grab is immensely rewarding and offers you plenty of options. You can toss enemies off the side of a bridge to the ground below, slam them into a tree or other object, or toss them into other furry soldiers. Or should you wish to make an example of a particular Wookiee, you can lift him up, impale him with your lightsaber, and then throw his body into whatever happens to be the nearest and hardest object.

From the start, it's immediately evident that the control setup is put together in a way that allows you work with both your lightsaber and Force powers in a very smooth and cohesive manner. Two face buttons work your saber with quick and heavy attacks, while another unleashes a Force push, which is an incredibly effective way of finishing off a lightsaber combo. The right trigger makes use of the Force grab (releasing it then uses Force push), while the left trigger acts as a modifier for Force powers. For example, holding the left trigger while enacting a Force push will unleash an area push, shoving everything around you away from you, while using the left trigger with a lightsaber attack button will perform a lightsaber throw.

The cool bit about the lightsaber combat system is that while you can quickly mash on buttons to dispose of an enemy, steady and timed presses will reward you with better combos. It's an interesting system that isn't apparent at the start, but once you start experimenting with it, you'll wind up finishing off enemies with a few more twists and slashes from your trusty saber.

Running (or, that is, walking) around Kashyyyk and killing everyone in sight gives you a good glimpse at the euphoria and DMM technology in the game. Throwing a Wookiee into a large tree will crack and splinter it, with successive tosses of hapless furballs eventually break the mass free from its roots and topple it over, which takes out anything that happens to be below it. Boxes, barricades and other bits of cover can be Force grabbed or pushed and tossed out of the way.