Aug 28 2008
Star Wars: The Force Restrained
The new game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is on its way bringing some pretty serious new technology to the next-gen consoles, as well as PSP and PS2. It looks to be a great storyline with tremendous potential to provide the fullness of the Star Wars experience through rich character development and WICKED SICK LIGHTSABER MOVEZORZ!#@$?!% lol jk
All kidding aside, the storyline of The Force Unleashed does look good, but here’s my problem, thus the title “Force Restrained”:
- LucasArts got its start on the PC. In fact, it used to be so much toward the PC that barely any games came out on consoles beyond the “Super Star Wars Turbo” or whatever that SNES game was. LucasArts really let down a lot of PC users by not making a version of this game for the PC. They came out with a comment that most computer’s in the average household could not handle the graphics found in The Force Unleashed. I can understand that, but then a suggestion was put out to have the ability to water down the graphics a little bit. If sheer power to support graphics are the issue, why is it on the PS2 and PSP, considering there are now PS2 emulators out for the computer in which you can download and play PS2 games for free. LucasArts received somewhere in the thousands of responses from really ticked off fans that took it a lot more serious than anything I’ve ever seen.
- Next-Gen Consoles….but only Wii gets multi-player. I’m very glad that LucasArts is making games for the consoles, that’s awesome. I’m a proud PS3 and Nintendo Wii owner, and I love both systems. LucasArts has totally slapped the next-gen console player in the face by restricting the multi-player option to “duel mode”…. WHAT THE!?!? This game is available on all systems, and all systems have the capability to play this game to its full potential. Why in the world would you restrict a potential epic classic in the ways of multi-player? The multi-player concept has been included since Jedi Knight as well as other games around that era, and a ton of fans viewed it as an absolutely essential element to this game for those who want to go beyond the Single-Player experience. There is a game coming out, and it’s called MAG(Massive Action Game) on PS3, and it supports over 200 players at the same time while not using as advanced graphics as Force Unleashed.
- Lightsaber movement restricted to basic moves, even on Wii. This is why the Wii needed to come out with Wii Sports Resort’s fencing feature, because they had to show LucasArts how to properly create a dueling style game utilizing the capabilities of the Wii remote.
- With all of these cutbacks, this game is looking more and more like a suped-up version of the Episode III video game.
I don’t know what happened to leadership and development in the higher ups of LucasArts, but whatever happened needs to change. This game had a ton of potential to be a phenomenal game that allowed you to do more things and have more options, not only just with the multi-player aspect.
I didn’t know about the multiplayer being Wii only for the SW game. I have a Wii, but that still is a shame.
I noticed you own both a PS3 and Wii just like I do. Have you been interested at all in getting a 360 too? If so, you should take a look at this Stacker 2 contest going on where you can win one (or another PS3 if you wanted). There are less than 250 entrants as of now, and all you need to do to enter is design a 6 Hour Power t-shirt (which is surprisingly easy to do online). If you win you’ll also get a copy of the game Rise of the Argonauts and a year’s supply of 6 Hour Power energy shots (which are terrific for gaming sessions). Check out the details here: http://www.brickfish.com/Entertainment/Stacker2?tab=overview
By the way, I hope you don’t mind me commenting on your blog. Shoot me an e-mail if you enter and I’d be happy to vote for your design. I work with 6HP, so let me know if you have any questions too. Good luck if you decide to enter.
Franklin Keane
http://www.6hrpower.com
Franklin6hrpower@gmail.com