Force Unleashed: It hangs in the balance

I know this game is already considered old news by most die-hard Star Wars fans, but I thought it was worth writing about. I picked up my copy for the x-box 360 the day of it's released and went home and played it that night after work. Even after all the hype, I wasn't really sure what to expect, but here is what I found after about two hours of playing.

Upon starting the game, you realize that graphics are pretty stunning. That's apparent when you start to move around the brilliant (yet often small) 3d environments. Colors are bright and vibrant, shading and shadows are almost dead on, and of course, lighting. The physics engine was also impressive, as you got to watch Wookies, stormtroopers, and other enemies get hurdled in different directions. One of my favorite things to do was smash a window and watch all the helpless soldiers get dragged out into an unforgiving void. All of these elements were above average, and lived up to the hype.

Gameplay is fun, yet gets pretty repetitive pretty fast. While throwing around enemies, frying them with lightning, and beating them to an alien pulp with a lightsaber is fun, it doesn't offer a variety of different things to do. There is hardly any dialogue between characters (except for cut scenes that help progress the story) and as far as puzzle solving goes, there is none. The only puzzle for me was "How the hell am I supposed to get past all those guys WITH GUNS when i'm stuck with this glow-stick?" I think a third installment of Knights of the Old Republic would've been a better choice.

Overall, beating the crap out of the bad guys using nothing but the force is a good way to unwind from a long day at the office, but isn't for those looking to get into a real in-depth RPG or Puzzle game. Those of you who were expecting those sort of elements will be disappointed in this game. If you take it for what it is, it's fun. 7.5 out of ten.