Well, last week saw the release of the hotly-anticipated new Star Wars game, The Force Unleashed.

I promptly picked it up for the Nintendo Wii, and had been looked forward to it. I’d also picked up the novelisation (as it turns out, a good move, since sections of the story have been cut or replaced in the Wii version of the game). While not boasting the next-gen graphics or physics engine of the 360 and PS3 versions, the Nintendo version at least finally offers us the chance to control a lightsaber with the wiimote, and get a pretty fair approximation for the next-gen version of the game.

Speaking more generally (spoilers ahoy), I can’t help but be dissappointed.   To be honest, it first went wrong when I read the novelisation.  The idea of Vader having his own apprentice was interesting (especially since it was a direct contradiction of the rule of 2).   I liked the character of Proxy and the idea that Vader had an unwitting hand in starting the rebel alliance is interesting, although it does paint a picture that most of the would-be rebels (ok, Bail Organa has a good reason for wanting to keep his head down and Leia off of Vader’s radar) spent a fair chunk of the dark times not doing much to combat the Empire.   Of course, perhaps I should just take the events of the game as the first time the rebellion became official and overt.

Sadly what annoyed me were just some of the really odd bits.  The Star Destroyer sequence is probably being debated to death, so I’ll just say it struck me as too fanfic-y, but the whole issue of Starkiller’s death and rebirth is really left far too vague for something that’s actually quite a big plot point.  I mean, Vader stabs him right through the chest, smashes him off a few walls, and then spaces him.  Frankly, I’ve seen it both in the novel and the game, and I’m still unsure how he could’ve possibly survived.

As for the game itself, its deeply flawed.   As a Star Wars fan, I’m always going to get a good amount of enjoyment running around hacking up Storm Troopers with a lightsaber.  And there’s no doubt that the implementation of the force in this game is a lot of fun (pushing with the nunchuck etc).  I can’t wait to play the next-gen version in that aspect.

However, in other areas, the game is really let down.  Again, most of these are common complaints.  The camera’s awful.  If you’re mobbed by enemies (frequently the case), then the on-screen action becomes a hopeless jumble, and you’re frequently being shot from somewhere off-screen with no clear idea where.   In one-on-one boss fights, similarly, keeping track of the boss is difficult.

The basic gameplay is also another issue.  While offing Storm Troopers Jedi-style is a lot of fun for me, even I can’t fail to notice that the gameplay consists of running in a straight line, killing wave-after-wave of enemies.   There’s a definitely repetative feel to it.

Controlling the lightsaber with the wiimote I’ve also found a mixed bag.  I love the lightsaber noises coming from the wiimote’s speaker, but I frequently find myself flailing the wiimote around in the vague hope that whoever’s infront of me will die from it.   I don’t really feel in proper control of the onscreen action, and the idea of me investing in any of the “do a 3-hit combo then press C” type powers just seems laughable at the moment.    I remain unconvinced as to how good the Wiimote actually is in action games.

One plus however, is that the Wii version doesn’t contain the infamous (and previously mentioned) Star Destroyer sequence.   As well as pushing believability, its my understanding that its a hellishly frustrating and buggy part of the next-gen version of the game.  Glad I dodged that bullet at least.

I recently replayed Jedi Knight 2 on my PC and to be honest, it beat the pants off of this.   However, if they sort out the camera issues, and make the gameplay a lot less linear, The Force Unleashed 2 could be something pretty special.  As I say, the way they implemented the Force is fun, and I’m intrigued to see what the PC version ends up like.