Back in the day, I played the first Force Unleashed game. It was a simple Star Wars power fantasy. With a story that felt a little too bombastic to fit into Star Wars, TFU was a simple fun time with a bit of heart to go along with it.
TFU2 raises all that power up to eleven and leaves out any interest I might have had in story. As the clone of the first game’s protagonist tries to rediscover the plot of the first game, TFU tries to rediscover the fun of the first game. Does it succeed? Well, yes… but only in the same way the first game did.
The combat in TFU2 is the only step forward in the sequel. It’s a small step. Starkiller wields two lightsabers now, and while the difference is mostly cosmetic, it makes the melee combat feel smoother. That’s what has been done with the force powers as well. Everything is smoother, stronger, and more over-the-top. The rock-paper-scissors strategy against normal enemies works pretty well, as some are immune to force powers, some to ranged attacks, some to melee. It forces the player to use their whole arsenal, which is the entire point. This is less a skill-based precise combat and more target practice.
That’s not to say I didn’t die a few times, due to attrition or me picking the wrong way to approach a situation, but it didn’t really feel like I was improving at the game that much. Brute force still handles most situations.
The story is honestly skippable, even compared to the first game, which is saying something. I won’t go into more detail.
Between the lackluster story and the endless waves of troopers, the novelty of the crazed frenzy of combat soon wore off for me, and I ended my time with this game. But if a player was only looking for an authentic Star-Wars-feeling Jedi battle simulator, it would be hard to go wrong here.
Verdict: Only just over an hour played.
Kyle Adams 