Force Unleashed 2 Review

I'll admit that I was one of those people who really wanted to like Force Unleashed 1. Granted, I was ready for anything to make up for those crappy prequels (holy crap another prequel joke!!!!). Unfortunately, I found it extremely lacking. Level design was bad, saber combat felt like you were hitting enemies with a plastic replica, and throwing stuff around felt clumsy and ineffective. All it really had going for it was a good story (surprisingly) and... ugh... shocking people was fun. While Force Unleashed 2 isn't by any means a perfect game, it definitely improves on most of these issues.

My biggest beef with the original by far was combat. It started out fine at first, but then the game started throwing enemies at you that were stupid levels of resistant, both in how much damage they could take and what moves actually worked on them. I know that's how most games work, but when you play as a force wielding demi-god who can rip Star Destroyers out of the sky, I seriously doubt that you couldn't force lift someone with magnets in their boots. Also, and I don't know who told LucasArts otherwise, but fighting the same overpowered junk titan 20 times isn't fun. Running in circles shocking it to death is not my idea of a good time. Luckily, that is not a problem in the sequel. The game throws a lot more weaker enemies at you, that can still hold their own if you aren't careful, that you can tear through when you work effectively. Sure, there are some stronger enemies, but they aren't a pain to fight, especially when you go into force unleashed mode which is one of the coolest editions to the game. Basically, when the FU (lol that works so well) meter is full you can activate it and become a good deal more powerful. You become invincible with unlimited force and you can lift walkers off the ground and chuck em' across the room. Hell-Yes. Oh, also, there is limb severing and decapitation, so it doesn't feel like you're hitting your enemies with a toy. Major improvement. The game also throws in some basic combos and grabs. Nothing special, but they're kinda cool.

"Not shit, the combat is. Although, played up, my appearance was."

Most of the force powers are the same, but the addition is awesome. Along with all the others you now have the Jedi mind trick. This basically allows you to tell enemies to turn on their allies or, no I'm not lying, kill themselves. I honestly laughed my ass off the second a storm trooper jumped out a window yelling, "I regret nothing!" As is usual, all of these powers can be upgraded and become more effective. As for controlling force lifted objects, it has been improved.

Another big improvement is finding saber crystals. You could find them in the first one, but it was purely aesthetic. Now, the crystals have different effects which allow you to do everything from get more experience when you destroy objects in your environment to preserving more force. Other upgrades you can find in the environment permanently increase your force and health meter.

Oh... by the way, the star of the Monkey Island series is an unlockable skin. Watching Guybrush Threepwood deliver Starkiller's lines is hilarious.

The story is about on par with the first game, if not a little shorter, which is an issue. It is still good, though. The animation has been improved and everything looks a little better, especially the rain effects which are gorgeous. The game also doesn't have you revisit all the old locations which was just lazy. Sure, that means the game is a bit shorter, but that also means the shortness makes sense. To be honest, I consider the mere exclusion of a junk planet to be an improvement.

PLUS YOU DO THIS THING!!!! I bet he's thinking there will be a legion of Stormtroopers to break his fall. Also... Thanks IGN... I guess.

Overall, it's hard to really say what Force Unleashed 2 does wrong. It's really more about the fact that it just isn't a deep enough game to be great. It's a fun romp with a good story and lots of improvements, but it's probably too short to justify spending $60 on it. If you liked the first one for what it was then by all means go for it. If you didn't, all I'll do is tell you that this one is greatly improved. It even has some really epic boss fights and awesome free falling combat sections. Waiting until a price drop is probably your best bet, though.

8 out of 10 beheaded stormtroopers.