February 13, 2017
Review: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (mobile)

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I like the Force Unleashed, the effort put into it to make it a substantial part of the Star Wars universe. Lucasfilm wanted to get it out there on all the platforms, so even though it was getting a little late for this sort of thing in 2008, a game with that name was released on Java phones. There was another version on more advanced phones, including iOS, but it’s gone from that app store now, gosh darn it.

This one is a static 2D affair, with an admittedly unique control scheme. Your character Starkiller stands stationary on all the levels, while enemies (mostly Stormtroopers) steadily enter the screen to shoot at you. All actions in the game are taken by drawing patterns using the phone’s keypad (the layout of which is very hard to replicate on another platform such as a PC due to the patterns being spatially oriented, without some finagling to rearrange your inputs). The screenshot shows some of the join-the-dots shapes that you have to draw with your nine-button grid.

These patterns start to build up thick and fast, so even on easy mode fast fingers are required to see you through. It’s a game well suited to its original hardware but is a struggle in emulation. Still, it feels good to become a numpad wizard, even if the game ultimately lacks variety. Once I got the hang of it, I clocked the thing in 20 minutes. For a mobile game it’s a decent experiment and can become an interesting study in juggling objectives—building force power in stages, dealing with enemies, the occasional contextual obstacle—as the rush of troopers doesn’t diminish even in boss fights.

The plot of the Force Unleashed game has predictably been sliced back beyond the bare essentials. Kota actually dies after your first encounter, there’s no PROXY, no Rakdos, the faked-death twist is very much glossed over. The cutscenes use attractive pixel art portraits; much more pleasing than the real game’s uncanny soulless 3D faces, and the brief dialogue sections do their job nicely with a touch of personality, but understandably fail to deliver on character arcs. Overall it’s actually decent for a mobile game, but really the only way you can play it is to remap a numpad, unless you can remap your brain more successfully than me.

12:00pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwu2IO2N8R
Filed under: star wars star wars the force unleashed mobile review 
August 12, 2016
[Review] Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PSP)

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I’ve played the big boy version of this before, but wanted to try out its little brother for a few reasons. One, the sequel burned me and made me yearn for the greater variety of the original game; two, I do find it interesting to see alternate takes on things I enjoyed; three, Wookieepedia had some details indicating that there was extra content in this version; four, it’s by Krome Studios, the famous Australian developer.

To address each of these points… it was good to return to this setting; seeing Rahm Kota in Elite Forces and reading some designer notes and the tie-in comic reminded me of the care and design work that went into this project. It’s a real successful attempt to tell a new Star Wars story that feels authentic but with a slight reimagining of what bombastic Force powers would make an exciting video game.

In terms of this being an alternate take, it does present value as a separate game to the HD version. Instead of a cut-down port, this game (released on PSP, PS2, and Wii) reworks a lot of stuff and is practically a new experience because of it. The way some of your abilities work, the unlock system, collectibles, are familiar but fresh. (Confusingly, the buttons for lightning and push are swapped compared to its counterpart.) Levels too have new layouts, and enemies sometimes require different strategies. By the end of the game my favoured technique was the Force Choke followed by pummel, which auto-flings physics objects at the gripped target., including other nearby enemies.

This slightly dinkier version doesn’t use the same advanced physics engine as the main game, so physics interactions aren’t as smooth. But there’s still a decent amount of stuff to fling around, and if anything it’s less trivial to simply throw objects around to obliterate dudes, forcing you to think a bit more about handling groups of enemies.

In terms of new content I was pleased by the differences. True, some things were cut, such as the medical frigate level and the Sarlacc in the return to Felucia, as well as some other setpieces I remembered. But Krome’s additions were very welcome: several interludes in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant involving fights with simulations of wacky ancient Sith, a new level on Bespin rescuing Garm bel Iblis (who was previously only a cutscene character), and new characters including some diverse gangs of pirates and scoundrels, even an evil Gungan! Also apparently unique to the PSP version is a scenario mode that sees you replaying classic events such as the battle at Jabba’s sail barge (with a more intense Boba Fett fight), or Anakin and Obi-Wan’s duel on Mustafar, as well as an Order 66 wave-survival mode and a Jedi duel mode. Good value!

To my last point, I’ve never actually played anything by Krome before, but it’s good to support local development, right? Except I bought this second hand from the US, so it’s not really supporting them much… er, moving on.

I really enjoyed this; a revisit but with a whole new game experience. The definitive story would be some synthesis of bits from both versions, which I gather is what the novel is maybe? In any case, the PSP version specifically represents a great 3D action game on handheld and if not an equivalent experience to the HD one than a comparable one at least. Plus the character models are lower-detail so you actually get less of an uncanny valley effect during cutscenes!

12:01pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwu2Ac5AvU
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: star wars star wars the force unleashed psp krome studios review 
August 7, 2016
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, low-res pixel style! Playing this game again, I’ve come to appreciate the group dynamic is has going on. Especially in the Krome Studios version where you can pan around the Rogue Shadow between missions and see them...

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, low-res pixel style!

Playing this game again, I’ve come to appreciate the group dynamic is has going on. Especially in the Krome Studios version where you can pan around the Rogue Shadow between missions and see them all hanging out.

Garen Malek/Starkiller/the Secret Apprentice, PROXY, Juno Eclipse, Rahm Kota

12:00pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwu2ANOtCI
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: star wars star wars the force unleashed pixel art 
August 1, 2016

Star Wars: The Original Trilogy, low-res pixel style!

Inspired by me playing some Star Wars games, I drew up the cast of good guys for each movie of the trilogy, plus a bonus all-villain pic. Star Wars is pretty cool.

A New Hope: Luke Skywalker (farmboy), Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2

The Empire Strikes Back: Luke Skywalker (pilot), Yoda, Han Solo, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, Lando Calrissian

Return of the Jedi: Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight), Wicket, Han Solo, Leia Organa (Ewok village), Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, Lando Calrissian

Villains: Darth Vader, The Emperor, Grand Moff Tarkin, Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett

5:06pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwu2A6bRBG
(Notes: 4)
  
Filed under: star wars the empire strikes back return of the jedi pixel art 
July 31, 2016
[Review] Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (DS)

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Star Wars, nothing but Star Wars… Battlefront games are usually third- or first-person shooters, but this DS conversion by n-Space is, well, you can see in the screenshot. I gather that the “proper” version of this game on PSP has a ton of customisation and stuff, but this one is much more streamlined. Or to put it another way, so simplistic as to be dull a lot of the time. There are four classes to choose from, as well as the bonus Jedi class, so at least you have options, but combat is generally very easy.

You’re either moving from room to room blowing up small groups of enemies, or just mowing down incoming waves. Spaceship levels break it up but are even more mindless, with only X and Y axis movement, and even worse are the turret sections or speeder bike-type bits. Boss fights are also spammable with the right class. Multiplayer is a focus of these games, and that mode has potential as a party game, but I didn’t have any human opponents and the Wi-fi connection is gone.

So the gameplay is no great shakes, but I still liked the game. The campaign mode has an enjoyable story spanning the whole saga and beyond, with chapters set in the Clone Wars, the original trilogy, and the OG EU New Republic era. You get to interact with major characters from the movie, as well as Rahm Kota from off of the Force Unleashed, which pleased me. I liked the plot, a tale of two Jedi clone brothers who choose different paths and end up clashing over many years, and your character X2 has a nice arc over the events.

Experimenting with the different classes and weapons was pretty cool, and once you unlock your Jedi powers I had fun using them in addition to the other classes. The gameplay works at least, even if it’s a little shaky at times. But overall the game feels very “Star Wars”, whatever that means. But maybe the PSP version would be a better way to experience the game and story… who knows!

12:00pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwu2A2sa3K
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: star wars star wars battlefront elite squadron n-space ds review 
January 23, 2016
[Review] Lego Star Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles (iOS)

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Lego Star Wars kicked off the Lego games, and it’s still one of the best. It even seems to have become its own sub-franchise, with several runs of short animated movies. This is a game based on one of those movie series, or tying into it somehow, I don’t know it’s confusing what they’re doing with these cross-media initiatives.

I was eager to see if this attempt went anywhere towards capturing that addictive gameplay of the other Lego games. There was a previous Yoda Chronicles game for iOS but it got boring quickly because of its half-assed execution on simplistic strategy gameplay. Turns out this one uses no more ass but at least switches up what you’re doing between levels.

There’s very basic autorunning 3D combat levels, quite basic free-falling levels, boringly basic space combat levels… I began to get a picture of who this game is for. Small children with no standards. Of course, they also want to make it simple so it can run in web browsers. It’s just that the game is not really very fun to play and so imprecise.

Half the time you don’t know when your attacks are going to land, or if you’re going to be hurt by falling into a bridge. And if you do, then there’s very little impact communicated. The level ends when you collect enough holocrons, which in this interpretation of the universe are strewn around everywhere, the most common object in the galaxy. Handfuls just fall out of crates. But this end can come at any time, resulting in a feeling of anticlimax.

To cut a long story short, this game is nothing like Traveller’s Tales’s (now that’s a confusing possessive) Lego games. It’s a quick and dirty cash-in for a mediocre kids’ cartoon series. Happy belated Life Day!

12:00pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwu20OH49L
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: lego star wars the new yoda chronicles lego star wars ios review 
November 7, 2015
[Review] Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (PS3)

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I enjoyed the hectic action of the first Force Unleashed. Being able to throw around crates and Stormtroopers alike had a fun sandbox-like feel, combined with collectibles, unlocks, and a mix of traversal and combat. It was a good game. The sequel seems to have been streamlined a lot, but also feels very rushed: shorter and with less variety.

The first thing I noticed was how pretty the game looks. They’ve done a fantastic job gussying up them graphics. The cutscenes aren’t full of hideous creepy doll faces anymore! The levels also look much cleaner, and that applies to the UI as well. So in terms of looks it’s a real step forward. Unfortunately the game really only has three distinct environments (Kamino, Cato Nemoidia, and the Rebel ship), compared to the six or so of its predecessor.

With fewer locations comes fewer enemy types. You don’t get the scavengers and junk constructs of Raxus Prime, the Felucian natives and Rancors, Wookiees, nor do you have climactic Jedi battles with Force struggles. In comparison, the final fight with Vader is quite boring. There are a few new robots and things, but the combat isn’t as varied. Another contributing factor is that it feels like different enemies must be tackled in specific ways, unlike the freedom of the first game; I also feel like there’s less big open rooms to play around in.

I mentioned the streamlining. The upgrade system is much simpler, without separate categories and lots of unlocks. There’s a bit more customisation available for lightsaber crystals since you have two of them now, which is nice. The menus are also a bit easier to navigate. These are all pretty much improvements, which is why I’m so disappointed they fumbled the whole “content” side of the game.

To draw another unfavourable comparison, this game either removes characters or reduces them down to bit parts. Kota is present but quite one-note, Proxy is basically a cameo, any other Rebels are nowhere to be seen, nor is the Emperor. There’s only one new secondary character introduced. Boba Fett and Yoda appear briefly in cutscenes, have a couple of lines, and have no bearing on the plot. As for Juno, *sigh*, well she’s gone from being a character to someone whose name the male protagonist can shout lots of times while she’s been kidnapped or being threatened, or being apparently killed. It’s very distressing and shallow. Starkiller himself has some struggle over whether he’s a clone or not, when it’s obvious that he is, and there are no real twists or progression. Two steps back on the story front.

I don’t know what else I can say. That paragraph really depressed me. There’s a challenge mode now, so you can try to do ten specific things quickly. You can now use Jedi mind tricks, to turn your enemies against each other or make them jump off a bridge. That’s a very neat addition. But the game is such a whiff; if it only combined its advancements to the engine and presentation with the scope of the previous game, and advanced the story, it could have been really great. Instead I’m not even sure it’s worth your time; just play the first one and be done with it. It feels like half a game, especially because the ending leaves threads dangling on purpose as a sequel hook that was never picked up. And Starkiller is just so angsty white boy. Get over yourself, dude.

12:00pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwu1xbMd6W
Filed under: star wars the force unleashed ii lucasarts ps3 review star wars 
June 25, 2015
[Review] Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3)

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I think I wanted to get this game after Disney said it wasn’t canon anymore. After playing it myself, there were some parts that I decided shouldn’t be canon either, like Darth Vader being responsible for starting the Rebellion vicariously. But it’s still interesting when they want to fill in parts of the story through the medium of video games, and there’s obviously a lot of design effort put into this project, with new characters and locations that fit right in, as well as the use of music.

Force Unleashed is set several years before Episode IV; you meet Princess Leia as part of the plot, as well as other more minor players from the films like Mon Mothma and Bail Organa (who shows up briefly at the end of Episode III), as well as obviously Darth Vader and the Emperor. I always like sources like this that are set around the time of the original Trilogy, but made after the prequels so they can insert lots of references to them. You do get all the lovely original trilogy Imperial visual design in the ships and installations though.

The game is about Vader’s so-called secret apprentice, Starkiller, who he’s training in order to one day overthrow the Emperor. Or maybe he was lying about that, there’s a few twists and turns so it’s not clear. Starkiller is the blandest of bland protagonists, coupled with a generic love interest in a bland blond pilot. His robot sidekick is cool, though. As the game progresses he supposedly is conflicted about his motives, but it’s not explored as fully as it could have been. At the end there’s a token choice with two endings; one leads into the next game and one interestingly leads to a series of DLC missions where you kill Luke and Leia and Han, etc. I was playing the basic game without extra scenarios, but it was still a fine, complete story.

Speaking of which, the different versions do have a number of extra levels and things; whether you’re playing on the HD consoles, Wii, DS, PSP, or even the N-Gage. The HD versions are the lead versions though, with the most fully realised physics engine; this is the main draw of the game and the most fun thing about it: throwing around debris and Stormtroopers with your Force powers, bouncing them off each other and plunging them off cliffs. Between this and your double jump and air dash, it turns into a fun sandbox-style traversal experience at times, although it’s quite linear and there are also a fair number of corridors.

As I said the environments look good with Imperial bases, jungle planets, and the scrapyard planet (Garbage World comes to mind for you Red Dwarf novel fans) (look out for easter eggs in the scrap, like a Clone Wars drop ship or a wrecked sandcrawler). Unfortunately the latter half of the game has you going back through the same environments—not backtracking mind you, there’s new level designs—while I was hoping for more new sights. But there’s reason to scour these places, as collectibles will help you unlock upgrades for your stats and Force powers, a nice addictive little system.

Combat is the main focus of the game though with your abilities giving you many ways to fry groups of enemies: lightning, violent Force Pushes to send them hurtling into walls, different saber comboes. Having a range of abilities makes you feel powerful but in a new play session I had to take a minute or two to remember all the controls. My preferred method of dealing with tougher enemies as I went on was to buff up my bar for Force power and just hold down the lightning button to drain their health. Maybe a bit cheap but it does get kinda brutal at times. Some of the boss battles too took many retries but you learn the tricks, that’s what it’s about after all.

So I did have some complaints, and the cutscene models were firmly in the uncanny valley, but it was lots of fun and felt appropriately Star Wars-y. From what I’ve heard the sequel improves on the formula so it’s on my wishlist now. I did feel a bit sore when I found out about the later release which included the DLC (and another extra non-DLC level), but it’s all extra stuff and the core of this game was enough. Plus you get to crash a Star Destroyer, cool!

12:00pm  |   URL: https://tmblr.co/ZpvIwu1n_gL7l
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: review star wars star wars: the force unleashed lucasarts ps3 
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