George Lucas is not going to make any more Star Wars movies! The LucasArts bigwig and creator of said franchise has decided to abandon the motion-picture bandwagon in favour of the smaller screen and, of course, videogames. And why the hell not? Unless you’re a 60-year-old politician, sitting in the House of Commons moaning how this new art of gaming is destroying children’s minds, getting involved with the fast-paced nature of the biz is a good move.

To be blunt, The Force Unleashed is a rather risky project. Stumbling across a casual Star Wars fan is a rare deed so trying to add a whole new narrative into the universe is a tall order to try and fill – especially when it concerns the leap from suited up Darth Vader to Sith rule throughout the galaxy. Currently the story, as expected, is being kept under wraps. We know Vader has hired a secret apprentice and that said trainee is being sent to carry out his list of evil. Anyone who cares about the narrative has just got a sudden urge to uncover the truth!

Without doubt snippets of the tale will be intelligently revealed at regular intervals, but for the time-being LucasArts was happy to show-off the first footage outside of its own studio. Keen to underline that the foundation of the project is to ‘kick ass with the Force’, every power in-game has been ramped up to near-ludicrous levels. Popular favourites like Force Push now send enemies flying miles backward and the always pleasing Force Lightning is akin to a Mediterranean storm. Each ability will improve the more you use it so by Unleashed’s end you should be a downright badass.

It’s only fair to mention that the snippet we were privy to was extremely early but the promise is certainly there. Such environments like a Tie Fighter construction facility, Felucia – which appeared in Revenge Of The Sith – and a giant junkyard littered with memorabilia such as Star Destroyers are immersed enough in Star Wars lore to be interesting without even considering the gameplay side of things. While we’re on that very topic, proceedings do look good, but slightly sketchy. Resembling the likes of Jedi Knight in the sense that a third-person camera view takes centre stage, the core goings-on do seem very similar to what has come before. Lightsaber combat doesn’t seem to be exceptionally different and from what we saw, a lot of time is going to be spent running through hordes of enemies. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that approach – and at this point we’ve literally seen the bare minimum – but hopefully the opportunity to explore the surroundings somewhat will be present.

What is rather notable is the two-prong attack from the Euphoria and Digital Molecular Matter engines. Adversaries desperately hold onto nearby objects as you try and throw them backward, doors break depending on how you attack them rather than being pre-programmed to do so and mushrooms even sway back and forth appropriately. Sure these things aren’t enough to ensure a stellar experience, but as a piece of technology it’s very impressive and carries heaps of potential.

At this point, The Force Unleashed really could go either way. The foundations we were given access to have every chance of blossoming into something special, but a more prominent and extended session is needed before some firm opinions can be formed. We look forward to uncovering more in the very near future.

Simon Miller