Star Wars : The Force Unleashed 2

[stoobie]

I doubt anyone is interested but I thought I would put some impressions down for this.

The game mechanics are mucho improved over the first one, you do really feel like a super powered awesome jedi. The force grab and throw are a lot better and easier to control and flashy combos are really easy to pull off. Of course the graphics and cutscenes are really well done, although the guy who plays Starkiller seems to have gotten a lot worse at acting. The set pieces are great - although they mostly involve falling down something and some of the bosses are good.

Now the bad - it is seriously short. Really short. I'm not sure how many levels there are but you basically escape Kamino where you have been cloned, rescue the blind Jedi from the first game and then go back to Kamino to kill Vader. The story is that weak. A lot of the previews showed Boba Fett and Yoda, but Boba Fett only ever appears in cutscenes and the ending (copying what he does in Empire and setting up Force Unleashed 3) and the Yoda level basically involves landing on Dagobah, walking up to Yoda, having a quick chat and then thats it. Cack.

If anyone cares about the story - it ends with

Vader captured by Starkiller and the blind guy in Junos spaceship - she is alive also. They hyperspace away and then you see Boba Fett detaching from a Star Destroyer and following them

Expect number 3 to arrive to finish off the story. Or most probably DLC

[Manicm]

I was thinking of picking this up today, but looking at your review, it looks a little weak? i did play the demo and the thought of running round with twin sabers as fun. I really can't remember the last time i played a great starwars game, looks like i will be waiting a while longer.

[stoobie]

I was thinking of picking this up today, but looking at your review, it looks a little weak?

It is fun - the force powers are all pretty cool - its just so short and the story is pointless. I would wait til it comes down in price before buying it.

[Jimboxy]

The thing that always bothers me about these types of star wars games set in between movies is that you already know the outcome.

Clearly at some point Starkiller (worst.jedi.name.ever) is going to die, Vader will be fine, everyone will forget about the jedi until Luke comes along yadda yadda yadda.

[illdog]

everyone will forget about the jedi until Luke comes along yadda yadda yadda.

I think you meant Yoda Yoda Yoda.

Yes i did.

[Cyberpunk]

I'll put my impressions up, seeing as I think I'm one of two that's played it here. I got the Pc version cheap. A friend won it at a raffle, but his Pc wasn't man enough to run it. So he offered it to me for £15.

First off, it looks really nice. The game graphics are much improved over the first one, with no slowdown at all. And the cut scenes are of cinematic quality. The game feels great to play, and the Xbox360 controller is seamlessly implemented on the Pc with this game. And when you've upgraded your force powers, you can be a serious bad-ass. At times it can be a really good hack-and slash game. That's the good stuff.

The bad stuff? The game is incredibly short, at around 7 hours gameplay, augmented by a challenge mode. And it's very repetitive. I heard that Lucasarts halved the number of bad guy types to fight, so you're fighting the same things all the time, with few boss charectors. Most annoying are the Sith Warriors. There are two types. One kind use force powers only, and are immune to force attacks. The other use Sabres only, and are good at Sabre blocking. Then there are a few combat droids, and two types of Walkers. Oh, and lets not forget the Stormtroopers formerly known as Clonetroopers. Within the first hour, you've fought everything there is to fight.

The story revolves around whether Starkiller is a clone, or not, and he has this deep mental conflict as to whether he is real or a copy. And he wants to find his long lost love from the first game. The much vaulted inclusion of Yoda was a joke. You land your ship on Dagoba, run through the forest fighting no-one. The Yoda appears in a cut scene, and you enter the Dark Cave, where you glimpse the future. Then you run back to your ship fighting no-one, and fly away. Boba Fett makes a cut scene appearance too, and the final fight against Darth Vader is just plain annoying.

And finally, because I was playing the Pc version, of course, it was broken. Two thirds into the game, there's a hanger. In order to progress, a battery must be removed from a cannon, by the force, and inserted somewhere else. (I'm being deliberately vague in case you want to pick it up.) The pc version wouldn't let this happen, and I had to redo the whole level, dragging a battery from somewhere else as I went. This is why my Raptr says I've put more than 8 hours into it. An hour of it was redoing that level.

If you must play it, I'd recommend renting it. But the first one is much better to play, if not as good looking.

[illdog]

I kinda wanna try this but its still pretty expensive.

Anybody got a 360 version they'd be willing to lend out?

You'll get it back sharpish, i promise, unlike my copy of Sega Megadrive Ultimate Collection and Split/Second.

[stoobie]

You can lend my copy if you like - pm me your address and I will send it over.

[illdog]

If thats cool i will. To the PM's!

[Sly Reflex]

You'll get it back sharpish, i promise, unlike my copy of Sega Megadrive Ultimate Collection and Split/Second.

Bang your addres and I'll get S/S sent back. Was waiting until after xmas because of a Royal Mail blunder. Fucking Royal Mail.

[illdog]

Pretty much agree with what Cyberpunk said, its nice and fluid and fun enough to play but its not without its problems. The enemies really are repetative and fighting the big droids with the shields gets old quick. I found all the boss fights a bit dull, too much time spent having to dodge and wait for attacks and not enough time spent kicking ass.

And it sure is short, i pissed through it in three play sessions on Normal. Glad i borrowed, cheers Stoobert. I bought the Endor DLC as it was only 80 points so i give that a go next.

[TopGunKnacker]

Sega Megadrive Ultimate Collection

faaaarkin hell ive still got that havent i! pm me your address bro, i must right the wrongs of yesteryear

[illdog]

I finished my Unleashed difficulty run on Sunday. It wasnt too bad actually, my Starkiller was near maxed out so the first few levels were a doddle but after Dagobah the difficulty really ramps up. It reminded me of a less difficult COD Veteran run, wheras you seem to get so far only to die an infinite anount of times on a certain section or set piece. It never feels impossible and that's what drives you onwards.

Unfortunately the higher difficulty does nothing but show how bad the camera can be sometimes, how unresponsive the buttons can be (the X+A combo sometimes needs a written request) and how much the game slows down (even if only for a second) when you really dont want it to, like on a delicate jump or the finish touch to a combo, so instead of raining lightsaber death your just stood there ready to be raped.

I cant for the life of me get the achievement for using every move in the game. Ive gone through all online lists at least twice and nothing, so fuck it. And the challenges can fuck off on that same boat.