Gamer’s Review: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

In 2004, a year before “Revenge of the Sith” opened worldwide, LucasArts pitched an idea on their next big game. The development team sketched concept art of a man using The Force pushing a Stormtrooper and pulling a Star Destroyer without breaking a sweat. The team presented a test video of the man’s force powers described as “Kicking someone’s ass with The Force.”Thus, “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” was convinced.

The staff craft a story set between Revenge of the Sith and “A New Hope.” Darth Vader’ hunts down Jedi under Emperor Palpatine’s Order 66. Just as the Sith Lord’s about to annihilate a Jedi, a little boy snatches Vader’s lightsaber with The Force. Seeing the boy’s true potential, Vader kills his father and stormtroopers. He takes the kid as his secret apprentice. A few years later, the boy grows up to become Starkiller. Vader sends him on missions to hunt down Jedi before they plan on overthrowing Palpatine.

Released in 2008, (same year The Clone Wars movie and TV show came out) the game earned praise from critics, fans and gamers alike. Plus, it was a commercial hit. A sequel was released in 2010. When Disney bought George Lucas’ franchise, plans for a third game were scrapped. Anyway, I have a few reasons why I wanna review one of my favorite Star Wars games. Mark your calendar.

Pedro Pascal will reprise his role as Mando in “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” Coming in May 22, 2026
Ryan Gosling will headline “Starfighter.” It’s not a 100% adaptation of the video game. It’s set five years after “The Rise of Skywalker.” It’ll be released on May 28, 2027. Around the same time “A New Hope” will turn 50 next year.
Two games, “Galactic Racer” & “Zero Company” will be released sometime around 2026.
“Fate of the Old Republic” is currently in development. Casey Hudson mentioned the game will be completed before 2030.
Darth Maul is getting his own animated Disney Plus series. Streaming on April 6, 2026.

It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are mentioned. This game along with its sequel are no longer canon. I’m only reviewing the PS3/Xbox 360. Which is the actual version developed by LucasArts. For more in-depth analysis on different versions like the PS2 and Nintendo Wii, check out Flandrew’s YouTube video, “Comparing Every Version of The Force Unleashed.”

Sam Witwer did an excellent job for his performance as Starkiller.

Graphics are impressive, most impressive.

Gameplay/Mechanics

Presented as a third-person action-adventure game with hack and slash/platform elements, you played as Starkiller fighting his way through enemies and hopping on hard to each places.
Combat’s the meat and potatoes. Taking inspiration from hack and slash games like “Devil May Cry”and “God of War.”
Awesome one-on-one Boss Fights. Whenever a boss’ health is close to zero, a quick-time-event ensues. Press the right button to finish off your opponent.
Enemy Variety of stormtroopers, rebel soldiers, robots, creatures etc.
Holding a button to charge up Force Push (like Goku’s Kamehameha or Vegeta’s Galick Gun) on enemies will send them flying in the air. Use it to break sealed doors.
Obtaining a Holocron gives you 10,000 force points, lightsaber crystals to change the color of a blade, costumes and Force/Talent Spheres.
Level up by slaying enemies and collecting a Holocron worth 10,000 force points. Spend them on upgrades.
Red glowing power-ups provide temporary boosts. For example, unlimited energy or as Palpatine once said, “UNLIMITED POWER!”

John Williams score is retained.

Sound Design from the films are also retained.

Playing as Darth Vader in the tutorial level is a nice addition. He’s like Jason Voorhees mowing down Wookiees. I want a Darth Vader solo game where you hunt down the Rebel Alliance.

Random Thought: I got The Force Unleashed as a Christmas present in 2008.

Starkiller’s chemistry with his master, Vader, love interest, Juno Eclipse and robot training buddy, PROXY serves as the main highlight.

Character Development involving Starkiller. As the game progresses, he develops a soft spot for the Rebel Alliance.

Before the final level in the Death Star begins, Juno utters out, “I have a bad feeling about this.” A recurring phrase from the series.

It took me 6 hours to beat the main story. Replayed it to unlock the evil ending. 6 times two equals 12 hours. Afterwards explore every nook and cranny looking for every single Holocron racking up to 25 hours. Not too shabby.

The Ultimate Sith Edition contain every piece of DLC.

Character Skins including Darth Maul, Jango Fett, Anakin Skywalker & Plo Koon.
Three levels in The Jedi Temple and two non-canon (Pre-Disney purchase) missions on Tatooine and Hoth where you fight Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Luke Skywalker.

Not a single enemy gets their limbs chopped off. What’s the point of wielding a lightsaber if you don’t chop ‘em like a katana. Jedi: Fallen Order had the same issue.

Starkiller miraculously survives his injuries and thrown outta the window in the vaccum of space by Vader. Doesn’t make any logical sense. Oh dear, this predates Leia who unrealistically survives in space.

The Final Verdict: B, FOR BREATHTAKING!

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed still holds up. Without EA’s “Jedi Fallen Order,” its sequel and upcoming third game, they would’ve never existed. If you wanna replay one of my favorite Star Wars games, it’s a must play.