Nintendo Wii Review: The Force is Unleashed

Last July I managed to get my hands on a Nintendo Wii for my girlfriend’s birthday gift. We both love it, but I must confess that I got a little bored with it after a while-primarily because we played the same games over and over.

I can only bowl so many times…

Now, if you’ve read any other stuff in my blog, you know that I’m a ridiculous over-the-top Star Wars junkie. You can’t look in any direction in my office without encountering some sort of Star Wars toy
, book, comic, or statue.

So when I heard that LucasArts and Krome Studios were releasing the new Star Wars game, The Force Unleashed, for the Wii… well, let’s just say I got a tad bit excited.

I awaited its release in the same way that Ralphie yearned for that Red Rider B-B gun in “A Christmas
Story.” And my girlfriend, being the cool person that she is, noticed. In a surprise maneuver, she purchased not only the game, but also lightsaber attachments for the Wii controllers.

And now my arms hurt-in a good way. This game does not disappoint.

The story is quite intriguing and slides comfortably into the Star Wars continuity. You play Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. In a gambit to overthrow the Emperor, you are sent on training missions to not only gain strength in the Dark Side of the Force, but also to destroy the few rogue Jedi left alive after Order 66 wiped them out at the end of the Clone Wars. On the way you travel all across the Star Wars universe and battle many different creatures and machines-including a Star Destroyer. And, as with all morality plays, you come to a crossroads and have to decide between turning to the side of light or brandishing the powers of evil.

While the Wii doesn’t sport the same graphics quality as the Playstation 3 and the X-Box 360, the innovative gameplay makes for quite an immersive experience.

Though movement of the player (i.e. running, walking, and turning) are controlled via the thumb stick on the Wii nunchuck, the rest of the game is almost all physical. You control your lightsaber like… well, a lightsaber. You swing the controller, the lightsaber acts accordingly.

Want to slam bad guys against a wall? Simply push forward with your arm; the nunchuck transmits this movement to the Wii and enemies go flying-as well as crates, broken glass, explosives, and whatever else is in your path. Want to shoot lightning? Simply hit a button.

The sheer delight of destruction reigns supreme in this game. Things blow up-a lot of things. Glass shards fly everywhere. Huge metal beams get ripped from walls (and hopefully thrown to pummel bad guys). Electricity arcs between destroyed computer conduits. It’s quite impressive.

There are three physics engines employed by the game:

The Havok Engine: Controls the movement of objects.

The Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) Engine: Regulates which substances an object is made of (i.e. metal, rock, plant, glass, etc.).

The Euphoria Engine: Ascertains how enemies interact with the environment. This is particularly interesting in that it means that no enemy will act the same way twice. Their actions are contingent on the destruction you choose to wreak around them.

One of the downsides of the Wii is that it is not graphically advanced enough to utilize all of these engines to their greatest effect. But that’s where the unique control systems of the Wii come to play-as well as a bonus.

A mode exclusive to the Wii is the Two-player Duel. Wanna open up a can of whoop-ass on a buddy? This is a pretty good way to do it without really coming to fisticuffs.

This mode is made even more fun if you have a lightsaber atttachment for your Wii controller.

In my case, the “lightsabers” are actually Wii Glo Swords from Nintendo. Apparently LucasArts is developing a lightsaber attachment of their own that will be more true to the designs seen in the films-but a release date has yet to be announced.

The Wii controller clicks into a slot on the sword. While a bit top-heavy, due to the location of the three AA batteries needed to power the LED illuminated “blade,” they still add another level of immersion to the gaming experience. Thanks to the tiny speaker in the Wii controller, they sound real as well. The controller also vibrates in sync with the actions performed on screen.

Plus they also look way-cool if you’re drunk and messing around with your camera:

One complaint I have about The Force Unleashed experience is the in-game camera. Perspective is everything when you’re in a lightsaber duel and it simply maneuvers too slow; this can result in your character being attacked without you knowing what’s happening. The Wii controls take a bit of practice to get used to; it would help if you could always see what was going on.

It would be nice if this game somehow integrated with the Wii Fit to incorporate balance into the mix. Or if Nintendo and the various software companies could come up with another controller that you put in your pocket that would emulate walking and running. That way you could truly get a workout
.

But ya know… This is one of the more entertaining experiences I’ve had while destroying evil minions of the Galactic Empire.

May the Force Be With You. Or is it… May the Wii Be With You? Either way, you’re in for something special.

Source: Inventor Spot

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Wii Review: Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels

Wii Screenshot

In Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels, you become immersed in a plot by the Separatist forces to kidnap Jabba the Hutt’s son. Attempting to avoid any image of the events leading to Jabba actually having a son, you play as Obi-Wan, Anakin and Anakin’s young Padawn Ahsoka Tano while battling against the likes of General Greivous, Count Dooku and — yes, another secret apprentice — Asajj Ventress.

I’m thinking someone at LucasArts decided everyone in the known universe needed an apprentice. Next they’ll all get magic rings.

Lightsaber Duels is a lighthearted and well-produced game that provides some fun to casual gamers, but it falls far short of delivering on the potential of a Star Wars-based fight game.

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels – Pros and Cons

Pros

* The campaign mode takes you through the story with some nice cut scenes.
* Occasional lightsaber clashes with the enemy provide the opportunity to exchange witty quips
* The best two-out-of-three matches provide their own mini-cut scenes and you sometimes move from one battlefield to another
* A very kid-friendly and family-oriented fight game

Cons

* The controls can be quite unwieldy and unresponsive at times
* Lacks the strategy and challenge found in other fight games

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels – Gameplay

The gameplay of Lightsaber Duels is relatively simple to master. You have five basic lightsaber attacks executed by moving the Wii remote left, right, up, down or straight ahead. You can block by hitting the B button, jump or roll by hitting the A button, and move with the thumbstick on the nunchuk. You can also execute force powers with the nunchuk similar to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, though much more simplified.

In addition to multiplayer matchups and single player fights, you can also play through a campaign mode that takes you through the story of Lightsaber Duels or play in a challenge mode where you are asked to achieve certain goals like defeating Obi-Won without using the force.

Lightsaber Duels Review – Falling Short of Expectations

The ideal audience for Lightsaber Duels is not the person who has played through every version of Virtua Fighter and who couldn’t wait to get their hands on Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe.

If you are really into fight games, you will be sorely disappointed with the game.

It’s also not for the person waiting to see a sword fighting game that really makes great use of the Wii’s controls, or a game with high challenge level.

True fight game fans will quickly become frustrated with unresponsive controls and tactics that pretty much just boil down to spamming combo after combo while largely ignoring all force powers other than force strike.

Lightsaber Duels Review – A Teen-sized Fight Game

But Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels is not without merit. Aimed squarely at the teen market, the game can be a great choice for the pre-teen and the early-teen.

The mini-games in the lightsaber clashes, for example, might frustrate the hardcore fight game enthusiast, with the sometimes-unresponsive controls being a major annoyance, but a younger audience might well be too entranced with the witty banter to acknowledge the mini-game’s sore points.

And somewhere between the cut scenes, light-hearted dialogue and lightsaber clashes, there’s something a little magical going on for the Star Wars fan — it’s just unfortunate that the magic cannot overcome the game’s deficits for the rest of us.

Verdict:

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels Review

More of a family game than a true fighting game, Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels can be split between its intended audience, which it does a fair job of pleasing, and those who anticipated it delivering some cool lightsaber-fightng action, who will be sorely disappointed in the game. As such, I’ve split the difference between the 80 I would give it for the early and pre-teen and the 64 I would give it for anyone else.

Wii Box Image

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars Nintendo Wii – Review

Following on from the cartoon movie and now the related TV series, players finally get the chance to challenge each other to the Lightsaber Duels of this game’s sub-title.

Based on the story between Episode II and III of the new trilogy, you’re thrown deep into the battle between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy.

HOW DOES IT HANDLE? Who needs a blaster when in your hands the Wii-remote becomes a Lightsaber wielded by a hero to defeat evil.

Or if you prefer, you can take on the guise of one of the villainous characters such as General Grievous, although there aren’t that many recognisable choices.

For decades now, young boys and big men have dreamt of having a Lightsaber and have used every manner of object to imitate that famous weapon.

Here that dream comes to life with reasonable accuracy through a mixture of levels where you fight one-on-one or hack at objects or scenery.

But while it is very fulfilling for the first half an hour, it soon gets boring and repetitive.

The moves are all very similar and there are occasions when your swings do not react as well or as quickly to the action on the screen.

This leaves you prone to being swiped and hurt by your rival.

SCREEN GRAB OR SCREEN DRAB? Graphically this is a real let-down.

With its heritage chiefly in the cartoon variation rather than the live action films, it looks very childish. The maker’s previous title The Force Unleashed was a visual masterpiece but this is so dumbed down compared to that you can only assume it’s been aimed firmly at a younger market.

Which makes its 12+ certificate surprising and personally I think it’s rated too high for the age groups likely to enjoy it the most.

HOW LONG TILL I’M BORED? This should have been the game Star Wars fans were waiting for and dreaming of ever since the original movies.

It is such a missed opportunity but perhaps it’s just LucasArts practice run for a more fully-fledged Lightsaber battler for adults only.

There’s certainly plenty of room for improvement and lots of lessons to be learned but if you can find it cheap enough in the Christmas sales, younger teens might get a Jedi night or two’s worth of excitement with their mates.

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Screenshot - 5 - Wii Box

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Will the wii edition of The Force Unleashed use the same engine and AI as the xbox 360 or animations?

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Why is the duel mode for “star wars force unleashed” only on wii?

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