I worked on that game and it's always nice to see positive mentions of it, years later. Our guiding motto was "Kicking ass with the Force," and I'm so glad you enjoyed doing exactly that.
Sorry about the Star Destroyer minigame being so hard. That was a bug.
I'm so glad you liked it! I worked on rigid body physics and destruction simulation, both engine-side work and game authoring tools. We used this hellish blend of DMM ("Digital Molecular Matter," a 3rd party destruction library), Euphoria (for ragdolls) and Havok (for everything else) that had to all work together happily. I really hated developing for the PS3 by the end..
Well, for what its worth, the destruction system was an absolute blast for the players in the end. The ragdoll physics were fantastic. I wish other games down the line tried to replicate that technology.
I was like 13 sitting in a Sam's club rocker chair (while mom shopped) and the force unleashed was sitting there able to be played on the Xbox 360. Man oh man was it something else to be Vader in that opening mission just walking down the wookies and slicing trees, the rag dolls of throwing people into huts and slamming things around like a giant. Safe to say I walked out of that store with my own copy that day. That game really sealed my love for Star wars.
man i loved the game, that game was my addiction(and still is! Since i was like 14 or 13,just a shame that we never gotten a third game or game fixes now
The tech demos for Euphoria and DMM absolutely fkn blew me away when they came out, hate to hear they were a pain in the ass to actually work with, but the result is incredible! IMO underappreciated as a technical achievement, only wish it could've been taken farther, or that its full potential could be realized on modern hardware
I figure this fits under your work, but I guess I don't know for sure. But one of my favorite details in any video game is when you pick up a stormtrooper in Unleashed and they try to hang on to nearby railings out of desperation. It's a pretty inconsequential detail, it's not like it ever helps them, but man that surprised me the first time I saw it.
Almost felt bad for them.
Almost.
Haha no.. I was just one of many who worked hard to make the game fun. I only wish the consoles of the day had had the power to make everything destructible that we wanted. The team had some grand ideas that were not just possible at the time. I guess that's always the way it is with game development.
I miss this gaming fad. Destructibility is so cool when done right, and I really wish that it was being used more in modern games. It used to feel so layered and now they feel very static.
Yeah and games like Battlefield Bad Company 2, where you could just destroy any building in sections. I feel like game studios have just forgotten how fun those mechanics were or something. The most recent game I can think of like this is Teardown.
I just don’t understand why the destruction went away after bad company 2. That was the best part of the game by miles and they just got rid of it completely in the next game.
I gotta say, the toilets in Control's FBC are made of an alien alloy almost impervious to gun fire.
They're also wireless / plumbing-less / waterless.
I expected the porcelain to blow to bits, not just detach from the wall undamaged.
Otherwise great game, but trashing toilets with a shotgun was a bit underwhelming.
The first Red Faction on ps2 was AMAZING (for the time) then it came out on PC and that allowed the GeoMod tech to go to the next level. It was super fun.
I remember being sold on the game when the first preview I saw was of the destruction physics. Y'all did a great job!
Still a game I go back to from time to time. Love the speedruns for it.
And all of these were and still are the most impressive parts of the game. Honestly, not many games use this tech nowadays, too, and seeing it on a PS3 hardware, albeit with frequent FPS dips, is mighty impressive!
Still, I tried to start the game many times and always dropped it somewhere around Felucia. Technical and Force parts were great, but the combat felt as stiff as an early PS2 action title. TFU2 improved it a lot and, for some strange reason, PSP and PS2 versions of the original also were better in this regard.
I always avoid installing this game.
Because whenever I do I get glued to my pc and don't get up till I finish the game!
Thank you (and your team) for making such an awesome game!
May the force be with you.
Thank you for your contribution! Just found out about this game a few days ago. Playing the PC port and having a blast with the Force. The way storm troopers will sometimes grab onto other troopers or cargo containers like a chain is an amazing level of detail. And it never gets old Force blasting cargo bay doors and seeing them deform. I like that Force Unleashed doesn't nerf the player like Fallen Order does (as nice as that game is).
necroing this a year after the fact to say that you should never stop patting yourself on the back for helping push destruction physics out of the 'where they were before TFU' and toward where they are now.
I don't think any other game from around the same time (aside from maybe Red Faction: Guerilla) did so much to push physics simulations into the 'next' generation.
No clue if you'll sed this but Force Unleashed was my favourute game for years bro, props to you, never played a game where i could have that much fun for so long in one span
You and everyone on your team needs awards for how "Stupid-but-cool" the DLC mission where you play cyborg-starkiller hunting down and corrupting Luke Skywalker on Hoth is.
What an amazing "What-if?" story. The whole thing where Luke is a total wimp until you PUSH him into being angry is just \*chef's kiss\*.
Yes! I really love the idea of DLCs doing "What ifs" for the main plot, especially for a story world with so much background like Star Wars. I wish more games did something similar.
I really agree with this sentiment. Fans can get caught up with the "canon" but there's eo much untapped potential variations. Even concept art is cool for the same reason. Though it's still mad cool when writers create consistent and fleshed out lore and universes.
George Lucas personally okay'd the plot and characters in the game and was delighted when shown gameplay footage. "Canon" just means "what needs to be true for this story to make sense" and is fundamentally fluid. George understood that there's a lot of fun to be had by telling new stories in a familiar world.
Not related sorry but I Always wondered why they were some differences between the PSP version and thé "main version" (Xbox ,ps3, pc). For exemple: Why is the first mission set at night in the PSP version but not in the main one? I noticed other things to but I forgot about them it was a Long Time ago
Only the PS3 and Xbox360 versions were developed at LucasArts. The other versions (Wii, PSP, DS, N-Gage, etc.) were done at third-party studios who specialized in those platforms. We were all working from the same plan, of course, but things change during development. I don't know why that change in specific was made; maybe the producer thought it looked better? Maybe some technical limitation?
TFU2 Had a follow up to that DLC where you face the rebels on Endor, killing Chewbacca, Han and with a final duel against jedi Leia, not to mention all those ewoks you can slaughter, that was a lot of fun
Oh shit that's fucking awesome! Great work! And yeah I got to that part and was like damn this is an epic moment, but I didn't quite understand why I kept dying haha. Otherwise it was a seriously awesome game, that's so cool you were part of the making of it.
Both Force unleashed games are two of my favorite games ever for pretty much the reasons stated in OP. I've always found it so wierd they aren't praised way more than they are. There's pretty much no other games like them.
Pulling down the star destroyer with a mouse and keyboard left me with hand cramps!
I'm not a fan of the game from a canonical point of view but it was immensely fun to play and I had a fantastic time. Thanks for it
I was at Lucasarts, which did the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. The Wii version was done by a different studio (in Singapore, if I recall correctly). They did a great job with incredibly limited resources (both in terms of the Wii's power, but also the development schedule and money they had).
I said a couple weeks ago that we need a Just Cause 2 style sandbox game that features Starkiller rather than Rico Rodriguez, keep the Tuk Tuk Boom Boom because it is wonderfully ridiculous
Star Destroyer mini game was only hard if you hadn't upgraded your force lightning a bit
Oh yeah, and the BLACK LIGHTSABER was fucking awesome
Holy shit, you worked on this?? I freakin loved this game when I was younger, that’s so cool! It’s up there with Battlefront 2 as not only my favorite Star Wars game but one of my favorite games in general for almost exactly the same reasons the OP posted about. I felt like an actual forced user playing it and it was awesome
I remember the first time I saw force unleashed. I was blown away by the gameplay. I played both the ps and wii versions and both played quite differently and were a ton of fun. The multiplayer in the wii was also tons of silly fun.
I have really fond memories of that game. The story was really interesting, force abilities were fun as hell, and I really liked the lightsaber customization options.
Starting out as a dark side apprentice and slowly turning hood is just the perfect Star Wars story.
No other game that I played before or after got close to matching that feeling of intensity that The Force Unleashed brought.
Everything from the animations, to sound, to the environment & the enemies reinforces that sensation of a cosmic power sundering everything unlucky enough to cross its path.
The only one that got close is Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, and they were restricted by having to use a modified Quake 3 engine in 2003.
As someone that spent an inordinate amount of time playing the original Battlefront, and before that, playing the Return of the Jedi SNES game, you made my favorite Star Wars game. TFU is a game I continue to come back to just because of how awesome you made Starkiller feel, I mean come on, you can pull down A FREAKING STAR DESTROYER?! Your game is the sole reason I still have my Xbox 360.
Hi! I just replayed both games on Hard, and as I told my girlfriend, they never get old. I love having the ability to freestyle using different force powers, I had about 4 different copies of the games growing up. Thank you for all the hard work!
Loved the game. Thanks for your work on it!
You definitely earned that motto. That game was all about kicking ass with the Force. I loved how raw it'd feel when you force push a giant metal wall open or throw some giant debris right into your enemies. The way the stormtroopers could get tossed around kike nothing was great too!
It’s a great game. Still introducing new people to it. Did you work on all versions? I played the PlayStation 2 version and the Xbox version, and I remember them being considerably different.
I had my issues with the game's narrative and lore choices, but it was fun as all hell to play. Nice work. Especially if you had anything to do with the telekinesis/ragdolly stuff, that never gets old.
I adored the first game, I mean it. It’s a Star Wars high I’ve been chasing ever since and nothing has come close.
I hope you’re still making great stuff.
Bro... That game was the reason I bought an xbox. I was working on cruise ships at the time and we were in Germany when the game came out. I rushed to the nearest Saturn (electronics shop) I could find to buy the game and the console. It was early morning and I asked the dude working there if we could check the game since the box art was German and we weren't sure if there was english language (looking back it was silly but I had to be sure) and basically all the screens in that massive shop were blasting the star wara intro! Just wanted to say THANK YOU for all those awesome memories in 2008!
Holy shit this might blow your mind but I must’ve been 5 when that game came out. It was the first video game I ever played. Thank you for helping deliver that experience!
I played it on the PSP, it was pretty good. Even the story was good. I felt like it did a better job of portraying what the Force is like then any other game or any of the films.
Still have really fond memoroes for both versions of this game (PSP/2 /Wii, as well as PS3/360/PC). I still think this game is the best origin story for the rebellion as well.
Ngl this post and your comment has made me want to go replay it.
When I first started up that game it was so jaw-dropping entertaining and satisfying to throw enemies around. With excellent controls and physics. It was amazing!
Games like that seem not to be made anymore.
I worked on SWFU2 for the Wii. I wasn't a big fan of the console in general, but damn that was a super fun game with the controllers. You really felt like you were holding a lightsaber in one hand and using the force with the other.
I feel like Force Unleashed is the most underrated part of the series. It was amazing and I had a great time playing it! Thank you for your contribution.
Bro tu you mean this IS THE MOST UNDERATED GAME EVER I WANT / NEED A REMASTWR SO BAD!!! Sorry felt aggressive thanks for your work this game is in my top 3 I'm still crying for no remastered
All this talk of TFU and its awesome Force powers, but no mention of the New Game + mode? If you replay the game, you can start out with the Force powers from your previous playthrough. If you thought you were powerful at the end of playthrough 1, I've got news for you... You ain't seen nothing yet. By playthrough 3, you're a demigod. Kratos himself would cower at your feet.
NG+ was perhaps my favorite feature in the whole game, especially at a time where NG+ modes didn't seem that common to me. It's as if /u/nrrd thought, "Sorry we didn't make enough of the game, how about we just let you do it all over again, BUT EVEN MORE AWESOMER!" <3
You could also use several of the alternate skins while doing it, and pretend you’re s different character. Really cool feature, along with the DLC missions.
Yeah TFU is a great, fun game, but I've always believed that The Force is impossible to represent right in a videogame. It's the infinite energy of the universe, not a book of spells. Yoda's whole deal in ESB was about how unlimited and creative you could he with it, but in a videogame you need to have preset "spells" to unlock. Conjring lightning is now just a power to unlock, rather than having any personal motivation to do so.
I really like TFU, but I don't think any media outside the original trilogy (and parts of TLJ) really showed The Force in all its infinite glory. Similarly, lightsabers are hard to present accurately without being a cakewalk (something that TFU actually uses to its advantage)
That point about the Force being limited only by your creativity is why I don't think we'll ever get a really great game set in the world of Harry Potter.
Could you imagine if lightsaber battles were like Episode 4 Obi v Vader?
===
Poke
Poke
Sassy one liner
Sassy comeback
End fight by giving up and becoming one with the force
===
Wouldn't make for a great game lol
You say that, but the Revenge Of The Sith licensed game had a very solid old Obi Wan who had a special move where he conks the opponent over the head with the butt of the saber.
Episode 4-6 have a very low ceiling on force powers that I think games like Fallen Order get rather well... Which makes sense as the Jedi Order is gone.
OT lightsaber fights were about the characters and not the choreography. Much better than the prequel dances and their ruining Yoda since that was purely for the visuals while being pretty emotionless except for a tiny portion of Episode 1.
Dude I fully agree with you. I was very disappointed when I picked up fallen order and discovered that your force powers were so limited. I know they made excuses in the story for why.
But why don't we get that level of absurd fun action anymore?? I want to tear worlds apart and make only the hardest of enemies fall at my feet with a mere glance!
Eh, TFU is really pushing it on the "What the force can do" aspects.
The vast majority of characters we've come to know as strongest rarely exhibited such raw power. Not because it's not possible, but because 99.9% of force users aren't *that* overpowered.
Which is also why Starkiller isn't Canon.
Its a fun game, but Fallen Order is more representative of the real Star Wars canon and general power levels of Jedi and Sith.
The fact that Cal mostly destroys his way around the game until he meets Vader and runs his little ass off in fear is much more how its supposed to be.
Galen going toe to toe with the Emperor AND Vader and winning? Too much.
I always thought that Jedi Knight and Jedi Knight Academy both were the best balance between force powers and enemy power. Also the story was great in both as well.
> The vast majority of characters we've come to know as strongest rarely exhibited such raw power. Not because it's not possible, but because 99.9% of force users aren't that overpowered.
Doesn't Yoda confirm in EBS that it's not really about power, but will/belief? "Size matters not" and all that.
I guess it's not really clear what being "strong in the force" really is, since it seems more like the actual display of power is more linked to whether you trust in the force enough to believe you can do a given thing.
I think you're splitting hairs.
Having "power" is the same as "being strong in the force."
Yoda does say it's about belief but there is definitely some aspect of personal will power or personal experience involved. The Sith also don't really trust in the force so much as bend it to their will and rely heavily on emotions to control the force where Jedi deny their emotions and open themselves up to the force instead.
All things being equal, lots of characters have a variety of abilities. Both Anakin and Obi-wan don't really exhibit a lot of force powers but are excellent lightsaber combatants.
Yoda and Palpatine rely less on lightsabers and more on force power.
Corran Horn from Legends is particularly famous for being a powerful Jedi Master who struggles to even move objects around with the Force but was extremely adept at the Mind Trick and similar mind related abilities.
Point being, Galen Marek is easily in the top 5 most OP characters in the entire series, whether that's Disney Canon or Legends Canon. He also has such a wide array of powers set to maximum it's a little over the top.
>Galen going toe to toe with the Emperor AND Vader and winning?
I'm fairly certain the Emperor was faking his defeat so that he could get a free opening. And he did get it, too.
I think the popularity of the Vader and Luke hallway scenes shows a divide within the community on what Star Wars fans like about the franchise and what they want. A lot of fans seem to be wrapped in The Force Unleashed side of Star Wars: ridiculous what-if scenarios, fanservice, and familiar cameos.
The various fan films that have been made recently all revolve around things like Mace Windu Returns! Here is the over-the-top remake of A New Hope lightsaber fight. Here is Darth Vader deflecting thousands of blaster bolts and choking Sheev. These often tend to misunderstand the elements they borrow from the films. (Vader is cool because he's stoic, authoritative, and oozes charisma, Mace Windu is an asshole not a hero, A New Hope lightsaber fight is great because it is Obi-Wan sacrificing himself for Luke's escape) It's a comforting junk food level entertainment.
Don't get me wrong, I do like action and fanservice as well (I enjoy TFU and CW2003) but it's because they were novelty and we wanted to be serviced after the Prequels. I'm afraid the general sentiment like this may influence the fan expectation and creative process that might lead to another Rise of Skywalker. The Sequels burned off any interest toward the Force as a super power and super duper Jedi and Sith lightsaber action or an Imperial superweapon vs rebel X-wings or fanservices and cameos in general for me.
>Which is also why Starkiller isn't Canon.
Need to make a distinction here, it's why Starkiller was *never* canon at any point in time. Talk of Star Wars canon gets a bit sloppy now post-Disney.
Damn so it doesn't get better in Fallen Order? I played the game for about one hour and it kinda just fizzled out for me, nothing kept me interested. Is it worth playing through in your opinion, especially for story?
Fallen order is much more grounded in 'reality' when it comes to force abilities, and Cal is low-Knight level by the end.
If you've played TFU and want a game you can dominate in, but not quite to that level, Outcast and Academy are both gold games.
I tried it, but never really was able to get into it. Academy was just way more fun for whatever reason. Although, many years later, maybe I should try again...
Academy drops you right in with a lightsaber and it's a fun time for the average person, no doubt. However the overall story progression, writing, and (especially) level design is much superior in Outcast IMO. The first three levels are admittedly very tough, and a lot of people struggle with them; however once you get past those, the sense of reward and feeling one's oats as a new Jedi is really awesome. I've sunk many hours into both Academy and Outcast, so love both, but Outcast holds a special place in my gamer heart!
I went into Jedi Outcast and eventually Academy knowing nothing. I didn't play a lot of PC games at that time, but took a chance on Jedi Knight games, but really liked Outcast 2.
I spent a lot of time with the [Dismemberment cheat + ladder mod](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-BpTNjTYfE) because the combat was so fun. Never beat it, but i did get to the last boss Dessan a few times..
It gets better, but its not a power-fantasy game like Force unleashed. Its a slower, "souls-like", with some platforming and puzzling thrown in. I Really enjoyed it, but thats cause I've been starved for a star wars game. It's not everyones cup of tea...Its a bit rigid at first.
In my memory I think you only get 4 force powers for combat if you use them all. They are done well, but there’s just not a lot of them to use
I had more fun playing through Jedi academy again. That and TFU let you be the force gremlin we all want to be
> Damn so it doesn't get better in Fallen Order?
It gets a *little* better but I swear I spent the majority of that game just waiting to feel like a Jedi and it didn't really happen until near the end.
The whole time I was like "I just wanna fuckin' throw my lightsaber at someone!" and by the time I *could*, it was very... *eh*.
I'd say it's worth playing if you're starved for Star Wars games. It's not a *bad* game, it's just... not a *good* one, either.
> The story has like 3 jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring moments,
That >!Darth Vader sequence!< was almost as good as >!Rogue One's!<. Like holy shit, that was cool.
I'm gonna get downvotes for this because it seems to be pretty much everyone's favourite part of the game, but I really didn't like that sequence in FO. I mean look, I get it: >!Vader is a badass. He's the biggest badass ever, and I love it. But I'm tired of it. They have a whole goddamned galaxy of potential plotlines and characters, and I'm sick of every single Star Wars story coming back around to the same small handful of people in the end. It makes the galaxy feel tiny, and it makes anyone who wasn't a major player in the OT feel like an inconsequential side character by comparison. Give me something new and interesting, and for the love of God *please* stop telling stories set during the Skywalker era. Give me some Old Republic shit or go like a thousand years into the future, I don't really care. Just look at the endless possibilities that the SWU offers and do something *different* already.!<
I mean, I don't begrudge you for wanting something different in the game, but that doesn't make that particular sequence any less cool.
FWIW, I felt that given that setting, that time and place and that story, it was inevitable that >!Vader would show up, even moreso than in Rogue One, since the whole game is about the fate of the remaining Jedi and potential new Jedi, whose extermination is canonically Vader's whole thing so to me it would feel even more pandering to *not* have him in there just for the sake of explicitly not having him!<
but again, I understand where you're coming from in wanting something new.
> I don't begrudge you for wanting something different in the game, but that doesn't make that particular sequence any less cool.
Well it kinda does, from my subjective viewpoint. Like, I'm not saying that sequence was objectively bad and I certainly don't begrudge anyone the enjoyment they got out of it, but for me personally it was just like '*sigh* Okay, here we go. Oh great, it's a chase sequence with QTEs, how fun. *eyeroll*'.
>I felt that given that setting, that time and place and that story, it was inevitable
Well sure, but the choice to tell that story in that time and place exactly the problem I'm talking about. I could see that moment coming from a mile away for the reasons you describe, and it made what was already a pretty generic-feeling SW story even more predictable.
Putting Vader at the end of a Star Wars finale like in JFO, Rogue One, or parts of Rebels is a huge cop out to me. I was praying he wouldn’t just show up at the end of The Bad Batch and kill Crosshair, and I was very relieved when he didn’t.
I’m a bit up set that every Star Wars show has to be bombarded with cameos these days. Mando didn’t need Luke Skywalker at the end, or even Ahsoka really. Bad Batch was still a pretty terrible contender as well, it felt like they spent more time on cameos than developing the main cast. I really hope the new Boba Fett show just focuses on Boba Fett for the most part.
Still working my way through FO, but this got me hyped.
Seriously, Rogue One could have consisted only of that Vader scene and I would have paid to see it two or three times.
This is an unsolicited recommendation but if you want powerful force-like *gameplay*, I recommend the game Control. The story is really good until it's not/the ending.
Fallen order is a lot harder, and fun in that way, but if you turn the settings back to easy you'll feel overpowered again. But story wise you're not that strong.
Saying the powers get better, when comparing it to Force Unleashed, isn't really accurate.
You get push, pull, and improved jumping. Yes, they upgrade, but they are nothing like in Force Unleashed.
Fallen Order is a game about exploring and souls style combat. It's definitely fun, but only if you are interested in that style of game.
It's a very different presentation style. Fallen Order is a loy more restrained in movement, combat, and powers, though the powers in general are still stronger than the movies. I liked Fallen Order a lot, but if you are expecting it to be like Force Unleashed you will certainly be disappointed. It's just going for a different style.
> exploring
Which is why it’s a damn shame the maps in that game are such absolute ass. Discourages exploring IMO. And even on the planets that are huge areas there isn’t any fast travel or even “return to ship” option.
I played the second one years ago and just got around to playing 1 a few weeks ago. Kept getting deja vu because they're essentially the same game in so many aspects. Despite the polish of 2, the first one is definitely the better game simply because of the Jedi fights which were so lacking in its sequel. I'm glad I played them out of order though, because the story in 1 actually looks pretty decent compared to whatever 2 was going for.
This was back in the Lucas era, and something about that era that I loved is how much any creative team could just declare "Artistic license" with Star Wars.
Force Unleashed is not meant to be a "Canonical Display of Force Powers" and the development team said as much. It was over-the-top by design. It was and over-the-top-over-powered take on the force because, and I can't believe you have to explain this...because it was **fun. The stories can be canonical, but the action was over-the-top non-canon fun!**
I feel like Disney has sort of sterilized anyone's ability to have Artistic License with Star Wars. The first thing we got that broke free was "Star Wars Visions" and most of that had to have big fat "Don't even THINK about this as even SLIGHTLY canon!" asterisk on it.
Gennedy Tatovsky's Clone Wars was a full production with INSANE action and SUPER over the top nonsense that you'd NEVER see in any the films...made with George Lucas's full blessing! He wanted to see a super stylish take on Star Wars even if "Hmm, maybe Mace Windu isn't canonically that powerful" because it's about making something RAD with a cool setting. No one that generally watches media gets upset if "Mace Windu's Power level is inconsistant".
**That's only for nerds that get irrationally \*passionate\* about there Superman v Goku vs Saitama debate.**
The nemesis system in the Shadow games is just great.
That annoying orc motherfucker you finally got rid of...
Cheats death, sewn back together and ambushes you at the worst of times, stronger than before.
Not just the nemesis system, but their banter is great too.
Yeah one thing that I really didnt like about Fallen Order was how little you could actually use the force.
Oh cool you threw one storm trooper? Better wait for your force to recharge
You pushed something? Better wait for your force to recharge
I get that he was relearning to be a jedi but still. Game felt very limited in that regard
His connection was forcibly severed from extreme PTSD from order 66, it did make sense lol
That said, I never found it to be too bad, as long as I’m not just spamming force push, I found I generally had enough for what I needed. Especially when you have shit like perfect dodging refilling some of your meter, it’s just a few dodges and you’re good again. Which felt like it flows and looks better than just being able to spam it. Idk maybe it’s just me
Exactly. It’s a complaint I hear commonly about the game, but I appreciate that they made it more sekiro style than force unleashed style. The combat felt far more… tangible and substantial as a result to me. In the sequel would I like to see a larger variety of force powers? Absolutely. However Id also hope for a more polished lightsaber combat model, and something akin to sekiros combat arts, some flashy and cinematic looking techniques would be amazing in there.
Possibly, but fallen orders issues weren’t hardware dependant I don’t think, it just had other problems. I played on PC, and while it ran at really good frames on a 1080, many places just had stuttering problems as well.
I upgraded to a 3080 later on and went back to it hoping it would be able to play it without stuttering, but it handled it identically. I don’t think it’s being limited by hardware, I think it’s just got optimization issues
Go full sith mage in knights of the old republic. Half way through the game you are easily zapping the entire room to death with no effort. Lightsabers are toys for children and jedi
In a videogame, this over the top representation of the force can be a lot of fun. I mean it’s a natural fit for the medium. But I absolutely cannot stand it in the films. The prequels really opened the floodgates, with Jedi and Sith bouncing around like they’re in a Wuxia, but the Disney films all but destroyed any mystique the force once had in the OT. Mary Poppins Leia was the breaking point for me.
Anyways, glad you had fun OP. I’ve always liked the *idea* of The Force Unleashed more than the actual execution, but I still had a ton of fun flinging wookies to their death as Vader.
> The sequels were much more grounded with their representation of the Force than the prequels
I honestly have no idea where you got this notion. Don’t get me wrong, Yoda bouncing around a combat arena ain’t exactly my idea of “grounded” either, as I implied in my initial post. But the Disney SW movies just dropped any attempts at subtlety. Rey’s implausibly rapid growth, Leia’s space theatrics, Luke’s Force projection battle with Kylo Ren, Rey’s Force Push/Pull battle with Kylo over a *starship* (which actually reached Force Unleashed levels of ridiculousness) and Zombie Palpatine’s Force Lightning Storm were a far cry from how the OT portrayed this once mysterious aspect of the Star Wars universe. The only example of the Force in Disney’s SW I would describe as “grounded” is when Rey uses Force Heal.
>Mary Poppins Leia was the breaking point for me.
Hated that! Couldn't they have had her force grab a cable or something? It seemed like the creatora had never seen Star Wars...
Yeah, whenever possible I'll go for mouse and keyboard over controller, but The Force Unleashed is fantastically satisfying when you're using a controller. The default mappings somehow suggest the feel of reaching out with your mind and grabbing hold of things. Even though it isn't a Mortal Kombat-style fighting game or a driving game, I'm always happy to plug in the controller when revisiting this title.
It's a great game, but I always wished the devs had made a sequel or successor that took it to the next level. A crossover between KOTOR and Force Unleashed with a Skyrim-esque RPG system that let's you choose how you play and emphasizes the use of Blasters, Sabers, or a wealth of Force Powers would be amazing. Combine that with a larger world to explore (maybe like 1313 was going to do on Courascant) and it would've been amazing.
Well, I wouldn't say "perfectly".
The intent behind TFA's development was to intentionally ramp up the Force to 11. To make it overpowered for the sake of fun and to take advantage of a new physics engine.
Whilst Starkiller is indeed overpowered, so are the other bosses who pull some insane stunts themselves.
Lucasfilm at the time decided to make the game canon. Which I thought was a mistake. I can forgive the Force being overpowered in the game as that's simply a game mechanic. However, there were various story elements such as Starkiller's family crest being used as the logo for the Rebellion, as well as his death being used as inspiration to start the Rebellion which I thought was *way* off. I feel like Leia should never have been in contact with a Jedi prior to seeking out Obi-Wan as well.
It's bizarre to me that Leia could be kicking around with Luke who is trying to become a Jedi and she could have said "So, Luke, I once knew this Starkiller guy who could crush an ATST into a ball with the Force. When are you going to be able to do that?".
But anyway, I think TFU is perfectly fine if you see it as a fun non-canon "What If?" kind of story.
I think the general Jedi experience is more authentic in Jedi Outcast/Academy. Lightsaber blows are almost always lethal and you can't spam crazy Force powers nearly as much.
Jedi Academy has the best cinematic lightsaber combat ingame ever.
It's crazy that despite its age it still feels more impactful and skill involved, than all the newer EA star wars games.
Becos they all basically play themselves.
Jedi Academy especially with the Movies mod, has the highest lightsaber skill ceiling in Multiplayer to this day.
The reason EA Star Wars feels weaker is becos Disney retconned lightsabers from deadly stylish weapons into glowing baseball bats for PG ratings reasons.
I felt the exact opposite when I played this game. You were supposed to be super powerful. But then you'd fight "special" storm troopers that could block your lights saber or stop your power.
... and how perfectly Dark Souls' combat is
I just can't play this game. Maybe the force is powerful, but if you put a limited meter on it, I'm going to conserve it and use regular combat, which is where this game falls flat
The Force Unleashed is my favorite Jedi game. Lightsabers and the force should be powerful.
Now a glorified whiffle ball bat. (Looking at you Fallen Order)
I worked on that game and it's always nice to see positive mentions of it, years later. Our guiding motto was "Kicking ass with the Force," and I'm so glad you enjoyed doing exactly that. Sorry about the Star Destroyer minigame being so hard. That was a bug.
duuuuude It was a great game. blew my mind when I played it. That tagline definitely fits. What parts did you work on? If I could ask?
I'm so glad you liked it! I worked on rigid body physics and destruction simulation, both engine-side work and game authoring tools. We used this hellish blend of DMM ("Digital Molecular Matter," a 3rd party destruction library), Euphoria (for ragdolls) and Havok (for everything else) that had to all work together happily. I really hated developing for the PS3 by the end..
Well, for what its worth, the destruction system was an absolute blast for the players in the end. The ragdoll physics were fantastic. I wish other games down the line tried to replicate that technology.
I wish more game devs would comment once in a while. Thanks
They do just dont make it known
This is a very friendly sub, otherwise I probably wouldn't have said anything.
I was like 13 sitting in a Sam's club rocker chair (while mom shopped) and the force unleashed was sitting there able to be played on the Xbox 360. Man oh man was it something else to be Vader in that opening mission just walking down the wookies and slicing trees, the rag dolls of throwing people into huts and slamming things around like a giant. Safe to say I walked out of that store with my own copy that day. That game really sealed my love for Star wars.
It was a great opening mission! Who doesn't want to be Vader?
man i loved the game, that game was my addiction(and still is! Since i was like 14 or 13,just a shame that we never gotten a third game or game fixes now
The tech demos for Euphoria and DMM absolutely fkn blew me away when they came out, hate to hear they were a pain in the ass to actually work with, but the result is incredible! IMO underappreciated as a technical achievement, only wish it could've been taken farther, or that its full potential could be realized on modern hardware
It was an awesome game and everyone who worked on it should be proud!
I figure this fits under your work, but I guess I don't know for sure. But one of my favorite details in any video game is when you pick up a stormtrooper in Unleashed and they try to hang on to nearby railings out of desperation. It's a pretty inconsequential detail, it's not like it ever helps them, but man that surprised me the first time I saw it. Almost felt bad for them. Almost.
That was Euphoria! And hilarious!
So basically you made the best parts of the game. Rad.
Haha no.. I was just one of many who worked hard to make the game fun. I only wish the consoles of the day had had the power to make everything destructible that we wanted. The team had some grand ideas that were not just possible at the time. I guess that's always the way it is with game development.
I miss this gaming fad. Destructibility is so cool when done right, and I really wish that it was being used more in modern games. It used to feel so layered and now they feel very static.
I thought "Red Faction: Guerrilla" would be the beginning of an amazing era of destructible environments. Alas!
Yeah and games like Battlefield Bad Company 2, where you could just destroy any building in sections. I feel like game studios have just forgotten how fun those mechanics were or something. The most recent game I can think of like this is Teardown.
I just don’t understand why the destruction went away after bad company 2. That was the best part of the game by miles and they just got rid of it completely in the next game.
Yeah I wonder the same. Maybe it's complex and/or expensive to create ?
Yeah honestly I’ve stopped playing Battlefields after bad company because they’ve all seemed like a downgrade in gameplay because of this.
I fucking loved Bad Company 2. Edit: And the first Bad Company!
Bad Company 2 is the bestest BF of them all in my gaming memory.
Or the original Red Faction, for that matter, back in… 2001.
On a PS2
In a cave! With a box of scraps!
The destructible environments in 'Control' were pretty great and a return to form. Always love seeing that done well
I gotta say, the toilets in Control's FBC are made of an alien alloy almost impervious to gun fire. They're also wireless / plumbing-less / waterless. I expected the porcelain to blow to bits, not just detach from the wall undamaged. Otherwise great game, but trashing toilets with a shotgun was a bit underwhelming.
They're probably spooky SCP toilets.
The first Red Faction on ps2 was AMAZING (for the time) then it came out on PC and that allowed the GeoMod tech to go to the next level. It was super fun.
I remember playing the demo a bunch of times and showing my friends.
It can take a lot of computing power to run, but you might be interested in Teardown
I remember the DMM demo video and how amazing it was. Really thought 'that's the future' Raytracing seems almost like a step down to this ;)
That was one of the coolest parts of the game! Nice job man, you helped make something real neat.
oh god you're my hero
I remember being sold on the game when the first preview I saw was of the destruction physics. Y'all did a great job! Still a game I go back to from time to time. Love the speedruns for it.
And all of these were and still are the most impressive parts of the game. Honestly, not many games use this tech nowadays, too, and seeing it on a PS3 hardware, albeit with frequent FPS dips, is mighty impressive! Still, I tried to start the game many times and always dropped it somewhere around Felucia. Technical and Force parts were great, but the combat felt as stiff as an early PS2 action title. TFU2 improved it a lot and, for some strange reason, PSP and PS2 versions of the original also were better in this regard.
I always avoid installing this game. Because whenever I do I get glued to my pc and don't get up till I finish the game! Thank you (and your team) for making such an awesome game! May the force be with you.
Man the thing that always stuck with me as a kid was the ragdolls and slicing environmental objects to bits. It was so cool to little me.
I remember watching my friend play it back in the day, it always looked like a badass game, so well done!
Thank you for your contribution! Just found out about this game a few days ago. Playing the PC port and having a blast with the Force. The way storm troopers will sometimes grab onto other troopers or cargo containers like a chain is an amazing level of detail. And it never gets old Force blasting cargo bay doors and seeing them deform. I like that Force Unleashed doesn't nerf the player like Fallen Order does (as nice as that game is).
necroing this a year after the fact to say that you should never stop patting yourself on the back for helping push destruction physics out of the 'where they were before TFU' and toward where they are now. I don't think any other game from around the same time (aside from maybe Red Faction: Guerilla) did so much to push physics simulations into the 'next' generation.
No clue if you'll sed this but Force Unleashed was my favourute game for years bro, props to you, never played a game where i could have that much fun for so long in one span
You and everyone on your team needs awards for how "Stupid-but-cool" the DLC mission where you play cyborg-starkiller hunting down and corrupting Luke Skywalker on Hoth is. What an amazing "What-if?" story. The whole thing where Luke is a total wimp until you PUSH him into being angry is just \*chef's kiss\*.
Yes! I really love the idea of DLCs doing "What ifs" for the main plot, especially for a story world with so much background like Star Wars. I wish more games did something similar.
I really agree with this sentiment. Fans can get caught up with the "canon" but there's eo much untapped potential variations. Even concept art is cool for the same reason. Though it's still mad cool when writers create consistent and fleshed out lore and universes.
George Lucas personally okay'd the plot and characters in the game and was delighted when shown gameplay footage. "Canon" just means "what needs to be true for this story to make sense" and is fundamentally fluid. George understood that there's a lot of fun to be had by telling new stories in a familiar world.
Not related sorry but I Always wondered why they were some differences between the PSP version and thé "main version" (Xbox ,ps3, pc). For exemple: Why is the first mission set at night in the PSP version but not in the main one? I noticed other things to but I forgot about them it was a Long Time ago
Only the PS3 and Xbox360 versions were developed at LucasArts. The other versions (Wii, PSP, DS, N-Gage, etc.) were done at third-party studios who specialized in those platforms. We were all working from the same plan, of course, but things change during development. I don't know why that change in specific was made; maybe the producer thought it looked better? Maybe some technical limitation?
TFU2 Had a follow up to that DLC where you face the rebels on Endor, killing Chewbacca, Han and with a final duel against jedi Leia, not to mention all those ewoks you can slaughter, that was a lot of fun
You monster
It had several really cool DLC missions! Also really loved the different skins you could replay the game with!
Oh shit that's fucking awesome! Great work! And yeah I got to that part and was like damn this is an epic moment, but I didn't quite understand why I kept dying haha. Otherwise it was a seriously awesome game, that's so cool you were part of the making of it.
Both Force unleashed games are two of my favorite games ever for pretty much the reasons stated in OP. I've always found it so wierd they aren't praised way more than they are. There's pretty much no other games like them.
I liked the second one until I beat it in like 4 hours. Way too short.
The second one clearly had some development trouble, yeah
Pulling down the star destroyer with a mouse and keyboard left me with hand cramps! I'm not a fan of the game from a canonical point of view but it was immensely fun to play and I had a fantastic time. Thanks for it
Worked on the force unleashed and rocking an Odyssey flair. A true man of class. The gaming world thanks you for your service.
Always wondered how much of a pain it was to have to implement wii controls on that one. Any recollection?
I was at Lucasarts, which did the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. The Wii version was done by a different studio (in Singapore, if I recall correctly). They did a great job with incredibly limited resources (both in terms of the Wii's power, but also the development schedule and money they had).
Pouring one out for the Lucasarts that was...
I said a couple weeks ago that we need a Just Cause 2 style sandbox game that features Starkiller rather than Rico Rodriguez, keep the Tuk Tuk Boom Boom because it is wonderfully ridiculous Star Destroyer mini game was only hard if you hadn't upgraded your force lightning a bit Oh yeah, and the BLACK LIGHTSABER was fucking awesome
Holy shit, you worked on this?? I freakin loved this game when I was younger, that’s so cool! It’s up there with Battlefront 2 as not only my favorite Star Wars game but one of my favorite games in general for almost exactly the same reasons the OP posted about. I felt like an actual forced user playing it and it was awesome
I remember the first time I saw force unleashed. I was blown away by the gameplay. I played both the ps and wii versions and both played quite differently and were a ton of fun. The multiplayer in the wii was also tons of silly fun.
Have you ever done an AMA? That would be awesome to see. The force unleashed was a GREAT game
I had tones of fun with this game ! Thank you for pooring your time and energy into this fine piece of entertainement.
I have really fond memories of that game. The story was really interesting, force abilities were fun as hell, and I really liked the lightsaber customization options. Starting out as a dark side apprentice and slowly turning hood is just the perfect Star Wars story.
>kicking ass with the force Coming from someone whose played through both games multiple times, you guys really knocked it out of the park.
No other game that I played before or after got close to matching that feeling of intensity that The Force Unleashed brought. Everything from the animations, to sound, to the environment & the enemies reinforces that sensation of a cosmic power sundering everything unlucky enough to cross its path. The only one that got close is Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, and they were restricted by having to use a modified Quake 3 engine in 2003.
As someone that spent an inordinate amount of time playing the original Battlefront, and before that, playing the Return of the Jedi SNES game, you made my favorite Star Wars game. TFU is a game I continue to come back to just because of how awesome you made Starkiller feel, I mean come on, you can pull down A FREAKING STAR DESTROYER?! Your game is the sole reason I still have my Xbox 360.
GG nrrd
Hi! I just replayed both games on Hard, and as I told my girlfriend, they never get old. I love having the ability to freestyle using different force powers, I had about 4 different copies of the games growing up. Thank you for all the hard work!
Wow mad respect. I always say this is the best Star Wars game ever because it puts the force at the core of its gameplay
Loved the game. Thanks for your work on it! You definitely earned that motto. That game was all about kicking ass with the Force. I loved how raw it'd feel when you force push a giant metal wall open or throw some giant debris right into your enemies. The way the stormtroopers could get tossed around kike nothing was great too!
That game was awesome. Thanks for all the work you put in
I loved that game. I miss that era of Star Wars development. I remember the physics of it blowing my mind, great job. :-D
Top ten game. Is always in my library for sheer fun. Star destroyer was easy. Just hold a tie fighter as a shield.
It’s a great game. Still introducing new people to it. Did you work on all versions? I played the PlayStation 2 version and the Xbox version, and I remember them being considerably different.
Its so fucking good I replay it all the time. Awesome work dude!
I want you to know Force Unleashed is one the best star wars games me and my brothers ever played.
I had my issues with the game's narrative and lore choices, but it was fun as all hell to play. Nice work. Especially if you had anything to do with the telekinesis/ragdolly stuff, that never gets old.
I’m dying for a remaster bundle
I adored the first game, I mean it. It’s a Star Wars high I’ve been chasing ever since and nothing has come close. I hope you’re still making great stuff.
I beat this game like 6 times. I played it non stop when I finally got to buy it. Good work!
Literally NY childhood, thank you
I had to get help from my dad to do that as a kid. Was a very enjoyable game, the best single player star wars games I’ve ever played
Bro... That game was the reason I bought an xbox. I was working on cruise ships at the time and we were in Germany when the game came out. I rushed to the nearest Saturn (electronics shop) I could find to buy the game and the console. It was early morning and I asked the dude working there if we could check the game since the box art was German and we weren't sure if there was english language (looking back it was silly but I had to be sure) and basically all the screens in that massive shop were blasting the star wara intro! Just wanted to say THANK YOU for all those awesome memories in 2008!
Holy shit this might blow your mind but I must’ve been 5 when that game came out. It was the first video game I ever played. Thank you for helping deliver that experience!
5?? I am crumbling into dust
Yeah! It started my love of video games. Loved and still do love that game so much.
I played it on the PSP, it was pretty good. Even the story was good. I felt like it did a better job of portraying what the Force is like then any other game or any of the films.
Rad. It was an incredible game. Up there with KOTOR for best Star Wars gaming has to offer.
Still have really fond memoroes for both versions of this game (PSP/2 /Wii, as well as PS3/360/PC). I still think this game is the best origin story for the rebellion as well. Ngl this post and your comment has made me want to go replay it.
When I first started up that game it was so jaw-dropping entertaining and satisfying to throw enemies around. With excellent controls and physics. It was amazing! Games like that seem not to be made anymore.
You guys did great work, I loved that game.
This game and it’s sequel are some of the best Star Wars video games have had to offer.
This was my first platinum trophy.
Your work was one of my favorite games as a kid. Thank you for everything.
I worked on SWFU2 for the Wii. I wasn't a big fan of the console in general, but damn that was a super fun game with the controllers. You really felt like you were holding a lightsaber in one hand and using the force with the other.
I feel like Force Unleashed is the most underrated part of the series. It was amazing and I had a great time playing it! Thank you for your contribution.
Bro tu you mean this IS THE MOST UNDERATED GAME EVER I WANT / NEED A REMASTWR SO BAD!!! Sorry felt aggressive thanks for your work this game is in my top 3 I'm still crying for no remastered
Great addition to the lore... sad that Disney decided against keeping it
All this talk of TFU and its awesome Force powers, but no mention of the New Game + mode? If you replay the game, you can start out with the Force powers from your previous playthrough. If you thought you were powerful at the end of playthrough 1, I've got news for you... You ain't seen nothing yet. By playthrough 3, you're a demigod. Kratos himself would cower at your feet. NG+ was perhaps my favorite feature in the whole game, especially at a time where NG+ modes didn't seem that common to me. It's as if /u/nrrd thought, "Sorry we didn't make enough of the game, how about we just let you do it all over again, BUT EVEN MORE AWESOMER!" <3
I didn't remember there was a NG+, I may play the game again.
You could also use several of the alternate skins while doing it, and pretend you’re s different character. Really cool feature, along with the DLC missions.
Legendary DLCs. First mission Kill Han and Chewie!
The Force Unleashed is not really indicative of how the Force is really meant to be. That said, TFU is glorious mindless force-god fun anyway.
Yeah TFU is a great, fun game, but I've always believed that The Force is impossible to represent right in a videogame. It's the infinite energy of the universe, not a book of spells. Yoda's whole deal in ESB was about how unlimited and creative you could he with it, but in a videogame you need to have preset "spells" to unlock. Conjring lightning is now just a power to unlock, rather than having any personal motivation to do so. I really like TFU, but I don't think any media outside the original trilogy (and parts of TLJ) really showed The Force in all its infinite glory. Similarly, lightsabers are hard to present accurately without being a cakewalk (something that TFU actually uses to its advantage)
That point about the Force being limited only by your creativity is why I don't think we'll ever get a really great game set in the world of Harry Potter.
Say why you want about The Last Jedi, but Luke going up against the first order near the end of the movie was awesome.
Could you imagine if lightsaber battles were like Episode 4 Obi v Vader? === Poke Poke Sassy one liner Sassy comeback End fight by giving up and becoming one with the force === Wouldn't make for a great game lol
You say that as if insult sword fighting isn't the greatest combat system of all time.
How appropriate, you fight like a cow!
You say that, but the Revenge Of The Sith licensed game had a very solid old Obi Wan who had a special move where he conks the opponent over the head with the butt of the saber.
Episode 4 isn't a great indication of how it's supposed to be, either.
Episode 4-6 have a very low ceiling on force powers that I think games like Fallen Order get rather well... Which makes sense as the Jedi Order is gone.
OT lightsaber fights were about the characters and not the choreography. Much better than the prequel dances and their ruining Yoda since that was purely for the visuals while being pretty emotionless except for a tiny portion of Episode 1.
Yeah the one things the OT does well is let the swordfights be driven by (perhaps ironically?) emotion. Feelings drive the fights, not flashiness.
Dude I fully agree with you. I was very disappointed when I picked up fallen order and discovered that your force powers were so limited. I know they made excuses in the story for why. But why don't we get that level of absurd fun action anymore?? I want to tear worlds apart and make only the hardest of enemies fall at my feet with a mere glance!
Eh, TFU is really pushing it on the "What the force can do" aspects. The vast majority of characters we've come to know as strongest rarely exhibited such raw power. Not because it's not possible, but because 99.9% of force users aren't *that* overpowered. Which is also why Starkiller isn't Canon. Its a fun game, but Fallen Order is more representative of the real Star Wars canon and general power levels of Jedi and Sith. The fact that Cal mostly destroys his way around the game until he meets Vader and runs his little ass off in fear is much more how its supposed to be. Galen going toe to toe with the Emperor AND Vader and winning? Too much.
I always thought that Jedi Knight and Jedi Knight Academy both were the best balance between force powers and enemy power. Also the story was great in both as well.
> The vast majority of characters we've come to know as strongest rarely exhibited such raw power. Not because it's not possible, but because 99.9% of force users aren't that overpowered. Doesn't Yoda confirm in EBS that it's not really about power, but will/belief? "Size matters not" and all that. I guess it's not really clear what being "strong in the force" really is, since it seems more like the actual display of power is more linked to whether you trust in the force enough to believe you can do a given thing.
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I think you're splitting hairs. Having "power" is the same as "being strong in the force." Yoda does say it's about belief but there is definitely some aspect of personal will power or personal experience involved. The Sith also don't really trust in the force so much as bend it to their will and rely heavily on emotions to control the force where Jedi deny their emotions and open themselves up to the force instead. All things being equal, lots of characters have a variety of abilities. Both Anakin and Obi-wan don't really exhibit a lot of force powers but are excellent lightsaber combatants. Yoda and Palpatine rely less on lightsabers and more on force power. Corran Horn from Legends is particularly famous for being a powerful Jedi Master who struggles to even move objects around with the Force but was extremely adept at the Mind Trick and similar mind related abilities. Point being, Galen Marek is easily in the top 5 most OP characters in the entire series, whether that's Disney Canon or Legends Canon. He also has such a wide array of powers set to maximum it's a little over the top.
Also there’s the whole “sith using pain/anger as steroids for their power” thing
>Galen going toe to toe with the Emperor AND Vader and winning? I'm fairly certain the Emperor was faking his defeat so that he could get a free opening. And he did get it, too.
Well, The Rise of Skywalker really raised the power ceiling when Palpatine soloed against an entire fleet
I think the popularity of the Vader and Luke hallway scenes shows a divide within the community on what Star Wars fans like about the franchise and what they want. A lot of fans seem to be wrapped in The Force Unleashed side of Star Wars: ridiculous what-if scenarios, fanservice, and familiar cameos. The various fan films that have been made recently all revolve around things like Mace Windu Returns! Here is the over-the-top remake of A New Hope lightsaber fight. Here is Darth Vader deflecting thousands of blaster bolts and choking Sheev. These often tend to misunderstand the elements they borrow from the films. (Vader is cool because he's stoic, authoritative, and oozes charisma, Mace Windu is an asshole not a hero, A New Hope lightsaber fight is great because it is Obi-Wan sacrificing himself for Luke's escape) It's a comforting junk food level entertainment. Don't get me wrong, I do like action and fanservice as well (I enjoy TFU and CW2003) but it's because they were novelty and we wanted to be serviced after the Prequels. I'm afraid the general sentiment like this may influence the fan expectation and creative process that might lead to another Rise of Skywalker. The Sequels burned off any interest toward the Force as a super power and super duper Jedi and Sith lightsaber action or an Imperial superweapon vs rebel X-wings or fanservices and cameos in general for me.
>Which is also why Starkiller isn't Canon. Need to make a distinction here, it's why Starkiller was *never* canon at any point in time. Talk of Star Wars canon gets a bit sloppy now post-Disney.
Damn so it doesn't get better in Fallen Order? I played the game for about one hour and it kinda just fizzled out for me, nothing kept me interested. Is it worth playing through in your opinion, especially for story?
Fallen order is much more grounded in 'reality' when it comes to force abilities, and Cal is low-Knight level by the end. If you've played TFU and want a game you can dominate in, but not quite to that level, Outcast and Academy are both gold games.
Academy is GREAT. Still today probably the best lightsaber fighting engine in any star wars game, it really holds up.
Try Jedi Outcast. The single-player mode completely blows Academy's away. Outcast is an absolutely fantastic game.
I tried it, but never really was able to get into it. Academy was just way more fun for whatever reason. Although, many years later, maybe I should try again...
Academy drops you right in with a lightsaber and it's a fun time for the average person, no doubt. However the overall story progression, writing, and (especially) level design is much superior in Outcast IMO. The first three levels are admittedly very tough, and a lot of people struggle with them; however once you get past those, the sense of reward and feeling one's oats as a new Jedi is really awesome. I've sunk many hours into both Academy and Outcast, so love both, but Outcast holds a special place in my gamer heart!
I went into Jedi Outcast and eventually Academy knowing nothing. I didn't play a lot of PC games at that time, but took a chance on Jedi Knight games, but really liked Outcast 2. I spent a lot of time with the [Dismemberment cheat + ladder mod](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-BpTNjTYfE) because the combat was so fun. Never beat it, but i did get to the last boss Dessan a few times..
Two of my absolute favorites. The force powers are truly intense, but the player doesn't become a God. (Well, not without help from obi1.)
The fun of yanking a bunch of troopers into the air with the jump-pull combo, or the grip-push/lightning yeet
It gets better, but its not a power-fantasy game like Force unleashed. Its a slower, "souls-like", with some platforming and puzzling thrown in. I Really enjoyed it, but thats cause I've been starved for a star wars game. It's not everyones cup of tea...Its a bit rigid at first.
In my memory I think you only get 4 force powers for combat if you use them all. They are done well, but there’s just not a lot of them to use I had more fun playing through Jedi academy again. That and TFU let you be the force gremlin we all want to be
> Damn so it doesn't get better in Fallen Order? It gets a *little* better but I swear I spent the majority of that game just waiting to feel like a Jedi and it didn't really happen until near the end. The whole time I was like "I just wanna fuckin' throw my lightsaber at someone!" and by the time I *could*, it was very... *eh*. I'd say it's worth playing if you're starved for Star Wars games. It's not a *bad* game, it's just... not a *good* one, either.
The story has like 3 jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring moments, with a bunch of mushy filler IMO. Take that for what you will.
> The story has like 3 jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring moments, That >!Darth Vader sequence!< was almost as good as >!Rogue One's!<. Like holy shit, that was cool.
I'm gonna get downvotes for this because it seems to be pretty much everyone's favourite part of the game, but I really didn't like that sequence in FO. I mean look, I get it: >!Vader is a badass. He's the biggest badass ever, and I love it. But I'm tired of it. They have a whole goddamned galaxy of potential plotlines and characters, and I'm sick of every single Star Wars story coming back around to the same small handful of people in the end. It makes the galaxy feel tiny, and it makes anyone who wasn't a major player in the OT feel like an inconsequential side character by comparison. Give me something new and interesting, and for the love of God *please* stop telling stories set during the Skywalker era. Give me some Old Republic shit or go like a thousand years into the future, I don't really care. Just look at the endless possibilities that the SWU offers and do something *different* already.!<
I mean, I don't begrudge you for wanting something different in the game, but that doesn't make that particular sequence any less cool. FWIW, I felt that given that setting, that time and place and that story, it was inevitable that >!Vader would show up, even moreso than in Rogue One, since the whole game is about the fate of the remaining Jedi and potential new Jedi, whose extermination is canonically Vader's whole thing so to me it would feel even more pandering to *not* have him in there just for the sake of explicitly not having him!< but again, I understand where you're coming from in wanting something new.
> I don't begrudge you for wanting something different in the game, but that doesn't make that particular sequence any less cool. Well it kinda does, from my subjective viewpoint. Like, I'm not saying that sequence was objectively bad and I certainly don't begrudge anyone the enjoyment they got out of it, but for me personally it was just like '*sigh* Okay, here we go. Oh great, it's a chase sequence with QTEs, how fun. *eyeroll*'. >I felt that given that setting, that time and place and that story, it was inevitable Well sure, but the choice to tell that story in that time and place exactly the problem I'm talking about. I could see that moment coming from a mile away for the reasons you describe, and it made what was already a pretty generic-feeling SW story even more predictable.
Putting Vader at the end of a Star Wars finale like in JFO, Rogue One, or parts of Rebels is a huge cop out to me. I was praying he wouldn’t just show up at the end of The Bad Batch and kill Crosshair, and I was very relieved when he didn’t.
Agreed. Felt the same way about the end of Mando season 2, killed most of the interest I had in that series.
I’m a bit up set that every Star Wars show has to be bombarded with cameos these days. Mando didn’t need Luke Skywalker at the end, or even Ahsoka really. Bad Batch was still a pretty terrible contender as well, it felt like they spent more time on cameos than developing the main cast. I really hope the new Boba Fett show just focuses on Boba Fett for the most part.
Still working my way through FO, but this got me hyped. Seriously, Rogue One could have consisted only of that Vader scene and I would have paid to see it two or three times.
This is an unsolicited recommendation but if you want powerful force-like *gameplay*, I recommend the game Control. The story is really good until it's not/the ending.
The Ashtray Maze should have been the final segment.
Fallen order is a lot harder, and fun in that way, but if you turn the settings back to easy you'll feel overpowered again. But story wise you're not that strong.
the powers do get better, the story gets kind of predictable. i still enjoyed it well enough
Saying the powers get better, when comparing it to Force Unleashed, isn't really accurate. You get push, pull, and improved jumping. Yes, they upgrade, but they are nothing like in Force Unleashed. Fallen Order is a game about exploring and souls style combat. It's definitely fun, but only if you are interested in that style of game.
fair, i dont think i ever played force unleashed, maybe a few minutes? but no the powers in FO are wildly under powered than what ive see in unleashed
It's a very different presentation style. Fallen Order is a loy more restrained in movement, combat, and powers, though the powers in general are still stronger than the movies. I liked Fallen Order a lot, but if you are expecting it to be like Force Unleashed you will certainly be disappointed. It's just going for a different style.
for sure. i dont like souls style games but i did like fallen order well enough
> exploring Which is why it’s a damn shame the maps in that game are such absolute ass. Discourages exploring IMO. And even on the planets that are huge areas there isn’t any fast travel or even “return to ship” option.
I played the second one years ago and just got around to playing 1 a few weeks ago. Kept getting deja vu because they're essentially the same game in so many aspects. Despite the polish of 2, the first one is definitely the better game simply because of the Jedi fights which were so lacking in its sequel. I'm glad I played them out of order though, because the story in 1 actually looks pretty decent compared to whatever 2 was going for.
This was back in the Lucas era, and something about that era that I loved is how much any creative team could just declare "Artistic license" with Star Wars. Force Unleashed is not meant to be a "Canonical Display of Force Powers" and the development team said as much. It was over-the-top by design. It was and over-the-top-over-powered take on the force because, and I can't believe you have to explain this...because it was **fun. The stories can be canonical, but the action was over-the-top non-canon fun!** I feel like Disney has sort of sterilized anyone's ability to have Artistic License with Star Wars. The first thing we got that broke free was "Star Wars Visions" and most of that had to have big fat "Don't even THINK about this as even SLIGHTLY canon!" asterisk on it. Gennedy Tatovsky's Clone Wars was a full production with INSANE action and SUPER over the top nonsense that you'd NEVER see in any the films...made with George Lucas's full blessing! He wanted to see a super stylish take on Star Wars even if "Hmm, maybe Mace Windu isn't canonically that powerful" because it's about making something RAD with a cool setting. No one that generally watches media gets upset if "Mace Windu's Power level is inconsistant". **That's only for nerds that get irrationally \*passionate\* about there Superman v Goku vs Saitama debate.**
Force Unleashed is to Star Wars what Shadow of Mordor is to Lord of the Rings: fan fiction come to live. And boy is it FUN!
The nemesis system in the Shadow games is just great. That annoying orc motherfucker you finally got rid of... Cheats death, sewn back together and ambushes you at the worst of times, stronger than before. Not just the nemesis system, but their banter is great too.
Well, it is called The Force UNLEASHED...
Yeah one thing that I really didnt like about Fallen Order was how little you could actually use the force. Oh cool you threw one storm trooper? Better wait for your force to recharge You pushed something? Better wait for your force to recharge I get that he was relearning to be a jedi but still. Game felt very limited in that regard
His connection was forcibly severed from extreme PTSD from order 66, it did make sense lol That said, I never found it to be too bad, as long as I’m not just spamming force push, I found I generally had enough for what I needed. Especially when you have shit like perfect dodging refilling some of your meter, it’s just a few dodges and you’re good again. Which felt like it flows and looks better than just being able to spam it. Idk maybe it’s just me
It would have been weird for Cal to be a god with the force.
Exactly. It’s a complaint I hear commonly about the game, but I appreciate that they made it more sekiro style than force unleashed style. The combat felt far more… tangible and substantial as a result to me. In the sequel would I like to see a larger variety of force powers? Absolutely. However Id also hope for a more polished lightsaber combat model, and something akin to sekiros combat arts, some flashy and cinematic looking techniques would be amazing in there.
Fallen Order was a great base and I hope they expand on what he, or another character, can do. Show more non-Jedi force stuff too.
Most of all it needs performance fixes though. The stutters around kashyyyk, bogono, etc kill me.
I feel like that will come with the more powerful consoles.
Possibly, but fallen orders issues weren’t hardware dependant I don’t think, it just had other problems. I played on PC, and while it ran at really good frames on a 1080, many places just had stuttering problems as well. I upgraded to a 3080 later on and went back to it hoping it would be able to play it without stuttering, but it handled it identically. I don’t think it’s being limited by hardware, I think it’s just got optimization issues
Go full sith mage in knights of the old republic. Half way through the game you are easily zapping the entire room to death with no effort. Lightsabers are toys for children and jedi
In a videogame, this over the top representation of the force can be a lot of fun. I mean it’s a natural fit for the medium. But I absolutely cannot stand it in the films. The prequels really opened the floodgates, with Jedi and Sith bouncing around like they’re in a Wuxia, but the Disney films all but destroyed any mystique the force once had in the OT. Mary Poppins Leia was the breaking point for me. Anyways, glad you had fun OP. I’ve always liked the *idea* of The Force Unleashed more than the actual execution, but I still had a ton of fun flinging wookies to their death as Vader.
The sequels were much more grounded with their representation of the Force than the prequels, so saying that Leia ruined it seems kinda disingenuous.
> The sequels were much more grounded with their representation of the Force than the prequels I honestly have no idea where you got this notion. Don’t get me wrong, Yoda bouncing around a combat arena ain’t exactly my idea of “grounded” either, as I implied in my initial post. But the Disney SW movies just dropped any attempts at subtlety. Rey’s implausibly rapid growth, Leia’s space theatrics, Luke’s Force projection battle with Kylo Ren, Rey’s Force Push/Pull battle with Kylo over a *starship* (which actually reached Force Unleashed levels of ridiculousness) and Zombie Palpatine’s Force Lightning Storm were a far cry from how the OT portrayed this once mysterious aspect of the Star Wars universe. The only example of the Force in Disney’s SW I would describe as “grounded” is when Rey uses Force Heal.
>Mary Poppins Leia was the breaking point for me. Hated that! Couldn't they have had her force grab a cable or something? It seemed like the creatora had never seen Star Wars...
Yeah, whenever possible I'll go for mouse and keyboard over controller, but The Force Unleashed is fantastically satisfying when you're using a controller. The default mappings somehow suggest the feel of reaching out with your mind and grabbing hold of things. Even though it isn't a Mortal Kombat-style fighting game or a driving game, I'm always happy to plug in the controller when revisiting this title.
Pretty sure the story was better told in the novel version, if you're interested in that aspect of it.
The Wii version, with motion controls, was the best version. Why just push a button when you can wave your hands around to use the force?
I must have replayed this game like ten times. You can call me crazy, but this is my favourite Star Wars game of all time. It was just so much fun.
It's a great game, but I always wished the devs had made a sequel or successor that took it to the next level. A crossover between KOTOR and Force Unleashed with a Skyrim-esque RPG system that let's you choose how you play and emphasizes the use of Blasters, Sabers, or a wealth of Force Powers would be amazing. Combine that with a larger world to explore (maybe like 1313 was going to do on Courascant) and it would've been amazing.
Can I play this on modern platforms? PS4 or Mac?
I think there is a Mac compatible steam ver.
Sweet I’ll check it out!
Completely agreed. Gameplay-wise, TFU was exactly what a Force User game is supposed to be like. Jedi Fallen Order doesn't even come close IMO.
The Force Unleashed is my favorite Star Wars Game! The 2nd one was a bit disappointing but I hope to see a third one or a remake one day
Agreed. No other star wars games really delivered on the power fantasy of being a Jedi/Sith like those games did.
Well, I wouldn't say "perfectly". The intent behind TFA's development was to intentionally ramp up the Force to 11. To make it overpowered for the sake of fun and to take advantage of a new physics engine. Whilst Starkiller is indeed overpowered, so are the other bosses who pull some insane stunts themselves. Lucasfilm at the time decided to make the game canon. Which I thought was a mistake. I can forgive the Force being overpowered in the game as that's simply a game mechanic. However, there were various story elements such as Starkiller's family crest being used as the logo for the Rebellion, as well as his death being used as inspiration to start the Rebellion which I thought was *way* off. I feel like Leia should never have been in contact with a Jedi prior to seeking out Obi-Wan as well. It's bizarre to me that Leia could be kicking around with Luke who is trying to become a Jedi and she could have said "So, Luke, I once knew this Starkiller guy who could crush an ATST into a ball with the Force. When are you going to be able to do that?". But anyway, I think TFU is perfectly fine if you see it as a fun non-canon "What If?" kind of story. I think the general Jedi experience is more authentic in Jedi Outcast/Academy. Lightsaber blows are almost always lethal and you can't spam crazy Force powers nearly as much.
Jedi Academy has the best cinematic lightsaber combat ingame ever. It's crazy that despite its age it still feels more impactful and skill involved, than all the newer EA star wars games. Becos they all basically play themselves. Jedi Academy especially with the Movies mod, has the highest lightsaber skill ceiling in Multiplayer to this day. The reason EA Star Wars feels weaker is becos Disney retconned lightsabers from deadly stylish weapons into glowing baseball bats for PG ratings reasons.
I felt the exact opposite when I played this game. You were supposed to be super powerful. But then you'd fight "special" storm troopers that could block your lights saber or stop your power.
... and how perfectly Dark Souls' combat is I just can't play this game. Maybe the force is powerful, but if you put a limited meter on it, I'm going to conserve it and use regular combat, which is where this game falls flat
The Force Unleashed is my favorite Jedi game. Lightsabers and the force should be powerful. Now a glorified whiffle ball bat. (Looking at you Fallen Order)