Zombieville USA, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed get free, lite versions in the AppStore

Two popular iPhone games, Zombieville USA and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, got the free, lite versions in the AppStore. And while we see this as a good thing — now when every iPhone/iPod Touch user will be able to try these games out before spending some money — I must say I was disappointed with both titles. The problem is that both demo versions are super short. It takes about 5 minutes to complete the Star Wars demo level and even less for the Zombieville USA. However, I must be fair to add that both games seem quite entertaining and that I’ll probably push the button and acquire full versions. Still, even though we’re talking about “lite” versions, I did expect to see something that could be played for at least 15 minutes. This way it’s kinda ridiculous. Sure the idea is to make money and push free version downloaders into buying full-blown apps, but folks – give us just a little bit more (like 2 more levels) and we’ll love you even more. People who don’t want to buy your games, won’t buy them even if you provided 3 free levels, and showing some respect to the regular folks, which I believe are a majority of iPhone users, could be certainly beneficial in the long run.

Here’s a link to the free Zombieville USA version and here’s the link to free Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Press: THQ launches Star Wars Sound Board for iPhone

THQ Wireless has released Star Wars Sound Board, a Lucasfilm-licensed application that allows users to replay sound bites from the Star Wars series, they announced recently.

Quotes from characters such as Darth Vader, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and C-3PO are included, as well as sound effects including the Lightsaber, R2-D2’s beeps, Chewbacca’s growls, and TIE Fighters flying.

Star Wars Sound Board is available now from the App Store for $1.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (for iPhone)

It didn’t seem to be that tough a task to make an official Star Wars game that could deliver more thrills for iPhone owners than those free virtual lightsaber apps, yet THQ Wireless has misfired as badly with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed as George Lucas did with the last three installments of his sci-fi saga. Despite some nifty technical wizardry, this $7.99 download (reduced from its original $9.99) offers a mostly lifeless gaming experience.
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The Force Unleashed casts you as an aspiring apprentice to Darth Vader, who dispatches you to eliminate the remaining Jedi knights around the Empire. You can play through Story mode, which moves you from chapter to chapter to face new combatants (and unlock additional Force powers), or you can choose Survival mode, where you encounter an increasing number of enemies while you try to achieve a high score. You can opt for either normal or hard difficulty levels.

To compensate for the iPhone’s lack of physical buttons to control game play, The Force Unleashed makes use of the touch-screen interface, letting you enable your Force powers through a series of finger motions, such as a diagonal sweep to block an enemy’s fire and send it back against him. It’s a clever idea, though you find it quickly loses its charm as you make the same motions again and again.

Likewise, the graphics are pretty slick for a game that’s designed for a phone rather than a dedicated portable gaming system, but that doesn’t help much as you encounter the game play limitations. Instead of letting you move freely, using your lightsaber and Force powers on the run, you’re essentially rooted to one spot in each chapter as you dispatch wave after wave of foes.

Meters for your health and your Force powers are shown on the bottom of the screen; you can draw a circle to boost your health, though the game is fickle about recognizing a “proper” circular motion. If you need to exit the game in the middle of Story mode, the game does at least automatically save your spot for you.

Aside from the repetitive, dull game play, what’s most disappointing about The Force Unleashed is that there’s not much of the Star Wars experience infused into the app. Yes, you’re greeted with the familiar theme song and scrolling-text introduction, but you don’t even get to hear Darth Vader give you his instructions—you read his (and everyone else’s) words in text boxes. And being able to run around with a lightsaber really would be a more fun experience than being stuck in one spot and using the same Force powers over and over.

In other words, Star Wars fans with iPhones should do the ultimate Jedi Mind Trick on The Force Unleashed: avoid paying for this game.