My Impressions Of The Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo

For a good 10-12 minutes, the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed demo tantalizes even the most self-respecting Star Wars fan with the immersion it offers up on a very slickly produced plate.

When I say “immersion,” I don’t mean the kind where you get inside The Secret Apprentice’s head (though the character has far more personality in the few moments he’s allowed than I’d ever reasonably expect), but am really referring to the sense of control I have over the violent proceedings.

For instance, I can take out an AT-ST by picking up the stormtroopers surrounding it and throwing them into it with the Force. I can charge an object with Force lightning and throw it at someone - shocking them. And I can lift a hapless militia member off the ground, impale him with my lightsaber, and then force push him into a cluster of his friends. The number of environmental objects that the player can interact with and the sheer volume of kill methods available make it a feast of options that has prompted me to play the same 10-12 minute demo over and over and over again.

Conventional wisdom (and I’m sure Skip will disagree with me) says that Star Wars games tend to be bad. I mean, we all remember Hoar, right? However, TFU really gives me a sense of being an integral part of the story and somehow manages to be as entertaining to play as the early X-Wing and TIE Fighter games. I’ve seen it described as a mashup of a traditional Star Wars game and the criminally underappreciated Psi-Ops; not only is that accurate, it’s a good thing, too.

I don’t normally touch on video games here, and certainly not to gush about them, but I’m starting to get pretty sold on this being a wise investment of my Xbox dollars. Has anyone else played The Force Unleashed demo? What do you think?