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PEL review: Force Unleashed

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Phoenix: A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, two lawyers and one… Larry, had nothing better to do so they had to review a video game based off a popular science fiction franchise.

Edgeworth: Actually Wright I have a lot of “better things to do”!

Larry: Come on Edgey! We HAVE to review this one!

Edgeworth: I fail to see what the big deal is with this game Larry.

Larry: It’s Star Wars The Force Unleashed man!

Edgeworth: … so what?

Larry: Star Wars The Force Unleashed!

Edgeworth: Which means?

Larry: It’s Star Wars The-

Phoenix: It’s perhaps one of the biggest “hyped” Star Wars games to date.

Edgeworth: I never really understood where all the “hype” came from…

Larry: And you call yourself a Star Wars fan?!

Edgeworth: … no I don’t actually.

Phoenix: The point is: we didn’t buy into all the “hype” surrounding this game.

Larry: I did!

Phoenix: Now were two questions on everyone’s mind when this game came out: Does it live up to the hype? And is it a good game?

Edgeworth: Well if it lived up to the hype, then wouldn’t that make it a good game?

Phoenix: Fair point. We to answer the questions: No, we personally feel it didn’t live up to the hype. At the same time we don’t think it’s a bad game.

Larry: You guys are losers! You have no idea what you’re talking about!

Phoenix: Yes Larry, WE’RE the losers…

Edgeworth: Fact is Larry: unlike you, we don’t buy into the fanservice.

Larry: What’s that meant to mean?!

Edgeworth: Unlike you we don’t buy anything LucasArts puts out and consider is “a masterpiece”.

Phoenix: But as we said, we don’t think it’s a bad game.

Edgeworth: Just not an amazing one.

Larry: Noobs…

Phoenix: Let’s just get into reviewing this game shall we?

Edgeworth: First things first: the story. I think this is what might have caused all the hype.

Phoenix: Indeed. The Force Unleashed takes place in-between the awful Revenge of the Sith and the great A New Hope movies.

Edgeworth: It’s purpose was to fill in some of the gaps between those two films.

Larry: And it did a good job of that!

Phoenix: Well… it kind of did… but I notice a few plot-holes and continuity errors, but I’m not going to get into that now.

Larry: The story focuses around the character Starkiller, the secret apprentice to Darth Vader. Let me give a bit of trivia on that name-

Edgeworth: We’re here to review the game! Not give out useless knowledge!

Larry: Hmph! Fine then! You’ll never know!

Edgeworth: It’s something you can probably find on a quick Wikipedia search anyway…

Phoenix: Getting back on track: Starkiller’s been given the order to kill any remaining Jedi in the galaxy, but by keeping as low a profile as he can.

Edgeworth: Yes because for whatever reason Darth Vader’s not allowed to have an apprentice, so nobody can find out about Starkiller.

Larry: The story’s awesome! It explains a lot of things about A New Hope!

Phoenix: The story’s… iffy in my opinion.

Edgeworth: I’m afraid I’ll have to agree.

Larry: WHAT?! B-b-b-but… with the… and the…

Edgeworth: Watch your mouth before you spoil it for anyone!

Phoenix: Well the story had it’s moments. It’s a good idea to try and fill in the gaps… but in all honesty it the story sounded a bit like a fanfic rather then an official Star Wars story.

Edgeworth: Couldn’t have put it better myself.

Larry: O-okay, I’ll give you that much, but the characters were good right?

Phoenix: Er…

Larry: Oh come on!

Edgeworth: Well some of the characters were okay. But some felt quite… er…

Larry: “Quite” what?! Spit it out Edgey!

Phoenix: Bland…

Larry: “Bland”?!

Phoenix: Sorry Larry, but some of them felt really one-dimensional to me.

Edgeworth: Me too.

Larry: You guys suck! The characters were great! Starkiller was so cool!

Phoenix: I thought Starkiller would be “so cool” after seeing him in Soul Calibur 4… but he turned out to be a bit…

Edgeworth: Boring at times.

Larry: Ey?!

Phoenix: Well some scenes showing his inner conflict were quite good. But he just seemed a bit bland and boring most of the time.

Edgeworth: Although, some of the dialogue between him and drunken Kota could be quite humourous.

Larry: Clearly you guys have no eye for quality!

Edgeworth: Clearly you’re just being a sheep and following the herd!

Larry: Okay, I’ll let not liking Starkiller go, but you have to admit, Juno Eclipse was a hottie.

Phoenix: …

Edgeworth: …

Larry: What?!

Phoenix: Juno was a bit… annoying quite honestly.

Larry: That’s does it! Screw you guys, I’m going home!

Phoenix: *force grabs Larry*

Larry: Hey! Let me go! Let me go!

Edgeworth: Let him go Wright. He adds nothing interesting to these reviews anyway.

Phoenix: Come on Larry. We want to discuss the positives as well as the negatives, and you’re the guy who notices those things.

Larry: Fine…

Phoenix: *let’s Larry go*

Larry: *falls face-first onto the floor* Ouch!

Edgeworth: How did you do that Wright?

Phoenix: The Force is strong within Defence Attorneys.

Larry: *getting up* So, what’s the final word on the story guys? 10?

Phoenix: 6.

Larry: 6?!

Phoenix: Well like we said, it’s a good idea but it sounds more like a fanfic then an official story.

Edgeworth: Also a few of the characters are bland and uninteresting.

Phoenix: However, despite it sounding like a fanfic it’s still a pretty okay story.

Edgeworth: And not all the characters are boring.

Larry: Fine whatever… this game’s all about the gameplay anyway.

Phoenix: Yes, the gameplay. This is what makes up for the story.

Larry: Now you’re talking!

Edgeworth: The game is a third-person action “beat ‘em up” game, with a couple of platformer elements.

Larry: It’s simple: Just run into a room and slice up anyone that isn’t you.

Phoenix: Exactly. It’s your standard run, jump, and slice action, slightly “beat ‘em up” style, game.

Edgeworth: Well, describing it like that makes it sound boring.

Phoenix: Well it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Every level follows more or less the same formula: get through the level and beat the boss at the end.

Larry: Although, there are some bonus tasks you can perform to get more points.

Phoenix: True, and on certain levels you might have to do something else. For example there’s a level were you have to keep the character Roahm Kota alive.

Edgeworth: There are a variety of different combinations moves you can pull off. As the game progresses and you get more points you can unlock more of these.

Phoenix: You can even level up your status, making yourself stronger, able to resist damage better, etc. Adding a bit of an RPG element to it.

Larry: You can even decide on your costume and Lightsaber colour!

Phoenix: Well… those are unlockables anyway. Lightsaber crystals and other unlockables are hidden all over the levels, giving you a reason to replay the game.

Edgeworth: On top of all that there are two endings to the game, giving you more reason to play through it again.

Phoenix: Okay, it’s simple, yet fun. Slice up and use the force on your enemies.

Larry: There are lots of different force abilities you can do. Such as force lightning, or a Lightsaber throw.

Edgeworth: And you can pick up objects with the force and throw them at your enemies.

Larry: Or throw your enemies into eachother! It’s so cool!

Phoenix: Okay, let’s not file a report here. Like we said, it’s fun, but there are a few problems.

Larry: Such as?

Phoenix: Well for one thing some of the levels drag on way too long. But there are a lot of save points along the way, so you can take breaks from the levels.

Edgeworth: Indeed, and I got stuck in quite a few of them.

Larry: That’s just because you suck at video games Edgey!

Edgeworth: My skill at video games had nothing to do with it!

Phoenix: Some of the bosses could be annoying as well.

Edgeworth: Not only that, but it was more or less the same strategy with all of them: Hit them with your Lightsaber till their health runs out.

Phoenix: At the end of each boss fight, or a fight against a slightly larger opponent you go into these little… er…

Larry: I like to call them “Action Trigger events” Nick.

Phoenix: If you must. In these events you see some short cinematics and you must hit the right button at the right time in order to make them continue and finish the fight.

Edgeworth: Some of the bigger enemies in the stages have these as well.

Larry: They’re so cool to watch.

Phoenix: Well the ones in the boss fights are, but the ones on the big stage enemies get really old after a while.

Edgeworth: It wouldn’t have killed them to have two or three different ones in there. But no, it’s the same one each time you kill a certain type of enemy.

Larry: You’ve got a point there… but the boss ones were still cool right?!

Phoenix: Sure.

Edgeworth: I suppose…

Larry: Yeah! It was so cool, at the start, when Starkiller beats the crap out of Kota and-

Phoenix: Anyway, for gameplay I’ll give it an 8. Sure the levels can be a bit long, but at least you’ve got a lot to do in them. Boss fights are a bit simple, but the “Action Triggers” are fun to watch.

Larry: It has some good replay value too.

Phoenix: Indeed it does, though I think only the die-hard fans will go back and look for all the unlockables.

Larry: It’s no easy task, let me tell ya…

Edgeworth: The fact that there are two endings might get some casual fans interested as well.

Larry: Okay, that’s enough on gameplay, how about graphics?

Phoenix: The graphics… are… hmm…

Edgeworth: They hover just above average, but just below great.

Phoenix: Yeah, this game doesn’t really have a “wow factor”.

Larry: It still looks good though right.

Phoenix: Yes, but there’s nothing amazing about it.

Edgeworth: Well there’s a good variety in the stages.

Larry: Yup, each world is a wide open 3D area for you to explore.

Phoenix: Er… no, it’s just a straight line to the finish…

Edgeworth: But he’s right about it being good 3D, the camera controls really well.

Phoenix: But doesn’t camera control come under gameplay?

Edgeworth: I think it falls into both categories.

Larry: Well what they’re trying to say is that it looks good, but we just can’t say it looks amazing.

Phoenix: Exactly.

Edgeworth: I’ve seen much better on the Xbox 360.

Phoenix: I’ll give them this though: It does feel “Star Wars-esc”.

Larry: Absolutely.

Edgeworth: I’d give it a nice 7. Not a very high 7, but it’s still a fair score.

Larry: Music?

Phoenix: Well the music was pretty decent.

Edgeworth: Yes. It was also very “Star Wars-esc”.

Phoenix: Not a lot we can say here. It fits the game well.

Edgeworth: 8?

Phoenix: 8.

Larry: 10!

Edgeworth: We’ll ignore that and move on.

Phoenix: Now the voice acting.

Edgeworth: As boring as Starkiller may be, I did like his voice.

Phoenix: Yeah, I liked a lot of the voices. The only one I had any problem with was-

Larry: Please don’t say my Juno!

Phoenix: Well it was only annoying because she was talking in your ear all the time.

Larry: *Throws force lightning at Phoenix*

Phoenix: *Fires force lightning back at Larry*

*Phoenix and Larry’s force lightning bolts lock together, the two of them press Y at the instructed times*

Edgeworth: *ahem*

Phoenix: Oh right *steps back to dodge lightning*

Edgeworth: I don’t even want to know how you two learnt to do that…

Phoenix: Anyway, as we were saying, yes the voice acting is quite good.

Edgeworth: I particularly like Kota’s voice, especially when he was drunk.

Phoenix: And they got Matt Sloan from the popular YouTube series “Chad Vader” to do the voice of Darth Vader in this game.

Larry: Chad Vader? I love that series! They better hurry up and bring out more or else I’m going to complain!

Phoenix: He also did Vader’s voice in Soul Calibur 4.

Edgeworth: Was that necessary Wright?

Phoenix: Just a bit of trivia for the fans Edgeworth.

Edgeworth: Fine whatever… Larry, do you want to do the summery? You’re the Star Wars expert here.

Larry: *on computer* Do you mind?! I’m complaining on Blamesociety’s videos for not being new Chad Vader!

Pheonix: *sigh*

Edgeworth: Fine, I’ll do it…
- Story: 6
Pro: A pretty good story. Fills the gap nicely.
Con: Sounds more like a fanfic and there are some plot-holes. Some characters are a bit bland.

- Gameplay: 8
Pro: Simple, but a lot of fun. Good replay value too.
Con: Incredibly long levels. Boss fights are a bit too simple.

- Graphics: 7.
Pro: Looks good.
Con: Doesn’t look great.

- Music: 8
Pro: Some good tracks. Suits the game.
Con: No big ones, just not all to our tastes.

- Voice acting: 7
Pro: Voices suit the characters quite well.
Con: Juno.

- Overall score: 7
A pretty good Star Wars game that’s worth looking into. Something that the fans will really like. It’s not quite as good as Battlefront or the Lego games, but it’s still good.

Larry: Screw this Morning Radio Mysteries junk! I want Chad Vader!

Phoenix: *holds hand infront of Larry* I won’t complain when Blamesociety try something different.

Larry: I won’t complain when Blamesociety try something different.

Phoenix: It’s their channel; they can do whatever they want.

Larry: It’s their channel; they can do whatever they want.

Phoenix: I’ll find something better to do with my life.

Larry: I’ll find something better to do with my life.

Edgeworth: … May the Force be with you Wright… I suppose…
I know I said I'd do the Fable II review first, but I'm having trouble with that one and this one was just easier to do.

Inspired by Psyguy's 1019 reviews, which are far superior to mine.

You can find the original 1019 reviews that inspired this here: [link]

Also make sure to check out Psyguy's site there's lots of cool and funny stuff on there: [link]
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Hexidextrous's avatar
The Force Unleashed is a black abomination to Star Wars! Starkiller is such an OP Mary-Sue too, and he does so many things that don't even make sense with the series' own logic, let alone real world logic. And he's so uncomfortably wedged into the series simply so that a "Level-Up" system can be in place, since the first level has you wrecking the enemy with Vader alone.


And there's more than that. Like characters doing stuff totally not possible even with The Force.
-Like that one Boss Fight against that Jedi guy who can create Living Golems out of scrap using the Force, for his "Junk Titans" THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT! It doesn't matter how experienced of a Jedi he is, the Force is not capable of creating living statues.
-Or that part where Starkiller makes an entire Star Destroyer crash to the ground with the Force. THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT! I can understand Yoda lifting Luke's X-Wing, but an entire Star Destroyer? It would take an Army of Jedi to do that, not just a single apprentice.
-And how about that part where he crumples some sort of Advanced AT-ST (which also doesn't make sense to be there), like a Soda Can. Not even Vader or Yoda could do that, and they're like Force Experts! And this "Noob" of an apprentice can already do things like this?

Forget the Mitochlorians thing in Episode 1, this is really screwing up the Force big time!

And then there's things like these Jedi-Proof Stormtroopers and such in the game. This clashes so much with already established material in the series. Why weren't these Jedi-Proof Stormtroopers in Episode 4-6 then? Just a cheap way to balance the game that makes no sense.

Also that part where Darth Vader brings him back from the dead SOMEHOW and then he goes against the Empire was so out of place. Then at the end, when he almost kills Vader and Palpatine, Vader is shown without his mask, even though it was already established that he can't survive long without it on.

And it conflicts so many things already in the series, and has so much stuff that would have an impact on Episode 4, but yet they act like it never happened.


And the sequel was so dumb. Vader seriously thinks it is a good idea to clone this Mega-Powerful Dark Side Jedi who just wrecked a boatload of their forces, and he thinks that this time will be different for some reason? Like how is that going to backfire on him? And if the Dark Side still has cloning, then why don't they just create an army of Vaders or backup Palpatines or something like that?

Honestly, this game was a betrayal to the series. This is the real worst thing to happen to Star Wars, NOT THE PREQUELS!

I'd give it a 3 out of 10.