February 21, 2008 - Star
Wars and videogames; the two practically go hand-in-hand with one
another. For just about as long as we've been playing our favorite
virtual creations there have been titles inspired by the world crafted
by George Lucas. 2008 is no different thanks to The Force Unleashed, a
game that LucasArts is touting as one of those rarest of releases that
pushes the envelope of our industry. It makes use of different types of
technology to bring the far away galaxy to life in a way that would
make any Star Wars fan proud. I recently got my first look at the game
in action and came away impressed, most impressed.

Okay, so maybe I wasn't "most impressed" but I couldn't resist the
chance at paying homage to Star Wars dialogue. Nevertheless, the demo
of TFU showed serious potential. As anyone who has seen IGN's videos
knows, the action is all about utilizing The Force. Whether that means
ripping a beam off of the wall and putting it in the path of a passing
TIE Fighter or pulling stormtroopers off of their feet and electrifying
them with Force Lightning, it's all possible in The Force Unleashed.

The Force Powers are all fine and good, we've seen those in games
before. It's the technology of The Force Unleashed that has so many
people's heads turning to see what the fuss is about. NaturalMotion's
Euphoria engine powers all of the physics in the game. So when you toss
an object off into the distance and see it hit against a wall, a box,
another wall, and then fall and break into a million pieces, it's
euphoria that makes it look good. Is it better looking than the
havok-driven physics that we've been seeing for years? That's tough to
answer. The first time you see a body get mangled in the environment it
doesn't seem all that special, but it's the second and third time that
you play through that exact same section that you start to understand
what euphoria is about. Will it blow your mind? Probably not. Is it
impressive? You betcha.

The same goes for Pixelux's Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) which makes
steel bend like steel. It's tough to really appreciate metal behaving
as it should, but once you get a little creative with ripping off a few
of the dozens of metal doors that you'll stumble across in the Star
Wars universe you'll see why it's a step in the right direction. It's
the little details that make a game great, rather than good, and DMM
and euphoria are certainly pieces to the puzzle.


Owned.


Of course everything in The Force Unleashed isn't based around those
two technologies. There's still plenty of lightsaber wielding to be had
for those that enjoy that barbaric form of combat (I jest, who doesn't
like whoopin' ass with a lightsaber?). Being that you're playing as
Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" it's fair to say that the young Sith
is a skilled swordsman.

While the demo LucasArts showed at their studio didn't showcase a new
feature nor did it shed light on any multiplayer details, I was still
happy to get my initial first-hand look at The Force Unleashed out of
the way. There's certainly still a lot of tuning to be done to smooth
things out a bit more, but there's no doubt that Star Wars fanatics
will have an entirely new immersive storyline to wrap themselves up in
once August rolls around.

For a more in-depth look at Star Wars: The Force Unleashed be sure to check out the rest of IGN's preview coverage.