I don't know about anybody else, but I have been waiting for this game since February last year. I've clung to every preview, trailer, gameplay video , and anything else ign, gametrailers, or lucasarts.com has spit out. Now that it's out, and I've beaten both endings, does it live up to the hype?
Gameplay:
Force:
The whole point of TFU was, well, to unleash the force. You do so with your force powers, Force Push, Grip, Lightning, Repulse, lightning shield (which I found ridiculous and useless), and saber throw. While all these powers (save for Lightning Shield) were extremely powerful, some or just plain better than others. Near the end of the game, there are too many powerful enemies you can't pick up with grip, or when you do pick someone up, you're hit with some attack that stuns you so you can't throw them around. Also, those same enemies that are too big to be picked up aren't terribly affected by push, which renders the power kind of useless by the time you're facing lots of purge troopers. It's still good for shoving troopers to the ground or over ledges, but it hardly does any damage unless they're throw hard into a wall. I found myself using force lightning way too much, especially against Purge Troopers (they're droids). I'd shock them until my force ran out, run around till it recharged, and then go back for some more. Another point that bothered me was the absence of one too many force power favorites. I can understand the limitations of the PS3 and Xbox 360 controllers, but that doesn't mean you couldn't find some way to switch a power through a button. My personal favorite from Jedi Knight 2 Jedi Outcast, was force pull. Nothing felt better than force jumping over a squad of stormies and yanking ‘em in the air so high they fell to their deaths. Mind trick is completely absent, as well as force heal or life drain or something like that. Still, I suppose that leaves something to be expected from the inevitable sequel.
Combat:
TFU essentially plays like a hack and slash. You're given a health bar, and a force power meter, as you run around with a camera that floats over you (but not exactly over your shoulder) and you swing your saber and force powers to slaughter ever tangible thing in your way. Force regenerates slowly once you haven't used it for a few seconds, and health is regained by defeating enemies. This is one of my biggest problems with the game. Any respected star wars fan knows that bacta is the galaxies medical miracle, and either a medkit with bacta or force heal should do the trick. Instead, glowing green balls come out of dead enemies, whether it be droid, vehicle or trooper, and replenish your health.
Combos can contain only saber attacks, or end it with a force push or lightning infused saber slash. Force powers like grip can also combine the use of push and lightning. Once an enemy is in the air, you can throw him away like a rag doll, either by using force push or flicking the stick in the direction you want to throw him, and letting go of the grip button, or you can zap him with lightning, and use your newly created lightning bomb against his allies. While this is amazing fun at the beginning of the game, once you start getting swamped with enemies on turrets, with repeaters, or Purge Troopers, it becomes insanely difficult to do this properly. You're either barraged to the brink of death, since Starkiller just isn't able to block any blaster bolts with efficiency, or you're stunned and you drop your target. I eventually gave up and favored shocking people and then attacking them with my saber while they were stunned.
Still, I found the lightsaber combo system to be detrimental to the overall game, though necessary with the camera given. TFU has third person camera, though it is not over the shoulder, like in the jedi knight games. Because of this, the game favors an auto lock system for your force powers, where a bracket shows which enemy or object your powers will be directed at, and your saber combo moves in the direction you move your stick. This means you aren't forced to commit to one enemy with your combo, but it's still restrictive because if you're stunned during your combo, you can't reach the powerful, damage-dealing finale. Also, you're unable to move quickly while attacking, so you become a sitting duck. I much prefer the third person over the shoulder camera from Jedi Knight 2 Jedi Outcast, because it gave you a good view of everything, but allowed you to direct your powers and attacks where you wanted. Because of that, it also had a lightsaber style system, where your swings changed based on the direction you moved in, but your movement was not hindered. Hopefully TFU will use this system in the next game, but I highly doubt it.
