LucasFilm Games was planning to emerge from the ashes of financial struggles with the release of 2008’sStar Wars: The Force Unleashed. Surely following the success ofKnights of the Old Republic, Jedi Academy, and Battlefront II(the original) the future looked bright for the company. It looked that way at first, until a rushed sequel later, and in 2012, Disney took over. Since thenStar Warsgames have been very hit-or-miss. The hits only make splashes not waves. Many games were scrapped, some sequels trashed, or put on hold for an uncertain amount of time.
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Naturally, when word spread about a re-release of a decently accepted member of theStar Warsgaming franchise it was only natural that fans of the series would feel a sense of intrigue. Surely, the Switch release ofStar Wars: The Force Unleashedcould indeed use some sprucing up. With a few polished graphics and a bit of tweaking, surely players would have a nice distraction while awaiting theKnights of the Old Republicreboot.
Sadly the new polished graphics of the Nintendo Wii port didn’t really do much for the soulless and expressionless voids that are beholden to the congregation ofcharacters in Force Unleashed.They are still dead as ever and on top of that not much has changed in the overall presentation. The PS3 presentation still seems to be superior when the two are compared.
Although the graphics do indeed run better as a whole on the Switch compared to the Wii, the game spaces are still relatively empty. Including the eyes of the character models. Although it wasn’t expected to be a primary focus of change in the re-release, some players did agree that a sign of life in the character models would have been a welcome addition.
6Story Inconsistencies
Not much can be changed in the story without a major overhaul to the game itself.Much of the plotremains to be incredibly dated. Part of this is due to what was once considered canon no longer canon since Disney’s acquisition.
Even if fans overlook this, the inconsistencies are many. A perfect example is the death of Shaak Ti, among other plot holes regarding the building of the rebel alliance.
5Misguided Quick Time
In the early 2000s quick-time reactions were quite commonplace. Games such asResident Evil 4andGod of Warutilized last-minute knee-jerk controller reactions to add to the panic and intensity of various moments or boss levels.Force Unleasheddid manage to add this to the gameplay. In some areas it made sense, and then there were others where it didn’t.
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In fact, some players made complaints about how overused and distracting it was to the gameplay. Not much changed regarding this in the Switch version. It was quite disappointing to not see a few tweaks in this regard.
4Linearity
One of the disappointing aspects of the original game was how linear it was. Again, seeing a major overhaul of this would have indeed been surprising, even if it was unlikely. Back during the game’s initial release in 2008, fans were quite surprised how following the fairly open worlds ofotherStar Warsgames,Unleashedwas so straightforward.
Open-world RPGs were becoming quite popular at the time, and it just seemed odd that LucasFilm Games didn’t go in that direction.
3Lightsaber Duels
Yes, the lightsaber mechanics are still incredibly dull. If just button mashing the “X” or “A” button delivers effective results without having to implement combos or level-ups, it makes for a weak experience regarding swordplay. Constantly hitting the same button obviously offers very little variation and enjoyment to a franchise that is known for epic duels. It was fine to play against minor characters withDevil May Cry-esquechaos. With lightsaber battles, however, there needs to be a lassoed feeling of control.
After allJedi masters are very disciplined and tactical.Sure, Sith masters are more inclined to chaotic dueling led by their emotions, but it has always felt like there was a lack of control in the controls. Starkiller being overpowered kind of helped balance this issue out, but in doing so, the “epic duels” still remain short and shallow. Seeing a polished combo or dueling system in this revamp would have been a welcome sight indeed. Unfortunately, it was yet another missed opportunity.
2Leveling Up
Leveling up, or earning and utilizing upgrades, make very little difference as you progress through the game. The basic stats that players start off with are quite effective and overpowered throughout the game and the upgrades do little in way of affecting any major changes within the stats. This defeats the point of having stat upgrades in the first place. Quite simply,Starkiller is incredibly overpowered. It is understandable that the Jedi/Sithhand-picked by Vaderand Palpatine would be a formidable foe. Especially since this character can (formerly) canonically lead quite an important uprising.
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Regarding gameplay, however, it did not work. It indeed makes sense for Starkiller to start out as a talented overachiever, but the gameplay should have been adjusted around the level of play to make it more enjoyable. More importantly, the threats should have increased in order to make the upgrades worthwhile to players. Sadly this was not the case, but it would have really made the time investment more enjoyable and worthwhile.
1Choice of Port
Naturally, it would make sense for Nintendo to use the Nintendo Wii port for the Switch. Being able to turn on and off the old Wii remote mechanics for the Switch’s joy-cons, has been one of the few positive takeaways from the re-release. However, even if the Wii graphics have been well-polished, many players familiar with Xbox 360 and PS3 ports were extremely disappointed in the overall presentation.
It is indeed, night and day. The characters were crisper but more blocky. The levels themselves were fairly empty in comparison. It is even more noticeable on a next-gen console. The fact that the environments have remained empty indeed ages the game. Regardless of the port that was chosen, a little more love needed to be shownregarding the overall presentation.
