Following the critical and commercial hit of “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed,” LucasArts immediately worked on a sequel. Set after six months after the first game and a year before “A New Hope,” Darth Vader travels to Kamino. The place where clone troopers were made. Vader creates a wave of clones from the DNA of his late apprentice, Starkiller. Once he finally made the perfect replacement, Starkiller regains his old memories and escapes Kamino to find his love interest, Juno Eclipse.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II was officially released in 2010 (same year Red Dead Redemption came out) on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Unlike the first the game, this one earned mixed reviews and commercially underperformed. After Disney bought the rights to Star Wars in 2012, plans for a third game were permanently scrapped. Anyway, I have a few reasons why I wanna review the second game. Mark your calendar.
- Darth Maul has his own series on Disney Plus. Intended to stream on April 6, 2026.
- Pedro Pascal will reprise his role as Mando in “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” Coming in May 22, 2026.
- Ryan Gosling will headline “Starfighter.” Not a 100% adaptation of the video game. It’s actually a stand alone film set after “The Rise of Skywalker.” Starfighter will be released on May 27, 2027
- “Galactic Racer” is coming sometime in 2026.
- “Fate of the Old Republic” is currently in development. Casey Hudson stated the game will be finished before 2030.
It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are listed. This game is no longer canon. I’m only covering the PS3/Xbox 360 version. Don’t expect multiple reviews on other consoles.
Light Side & Dark Side Aspects
Light Side: Sam Witwer reprises his role as Starkiller and he did a fantastic job for his performance.
Gameplay/Mechanics retain core elements from the first game influenced by “God of War” and “Devil May Cry.” Here’s the new stuff.
New Stuff
- Combat is revamped. Dual Wield a pair of lightsabers. Slice your enemies using neat combo attacks.
- In addition to combat, enemy limbs can be cut. Meaning, a lightsaber’s not a cop’s nightstick. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.
- Mind Trick temporary turns an enemy into an ally.
- When your Force Rage meter fully loads upon mowing down enemies, your strength and powers are enhanced for a limited time.
John Williams score from the films are retained.
Sound Design from the films are also retained.
Random Thought: My favorite boss battle is the one with a Kaiju-sized Rancor.
During the final boss battle, Vader utters out, “I will break you.” Bane also said it in “The Dark Knight Rises.” It’s funny because Christopher Nolan stated Bane’s based on Vader.
Yoda makes a brief appearance when Starkiller arrives at Dagobah.
A non-canon DLC level involving Starkiller arriving in Endor hunting down Leia Organa.
Dark Side: Unlike the first game, the sequel’s short. Why? Because its 5 hours long. It lacks further levels. Unfortunately, replaying solely for the Dark Side Ending didn’t help. LucasArts had production problems while making the game. McMuscles provided an in-depth analysis video on YouTube.
Light Side Ending with Boba Fett following Starkiller. This was supposed to set up a third game. Sadly, it never came into fruition as a result of Disney obtaining full access discarding previous books, games, comics etc.
I know Starkiller has flashes of memories of his previous life, but all he talks about his Juno. In other words, nag and nag. OG Starkiller didn’t constantly complain. He followed Vader’s orders.
Starkiller coming back as a clone predates Palpatine’s return in Rise of Skywalker. EGADS! The worst Star Wars film of all time was inspired by this lackluster game!
Unlike the first game, Vader didn’t get his armor damaged.
Somehow, Vader shoots Force Lightning. He never zapped anybody in the films.
The Final Verdict: D, FOR DEMOTION!
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II unfortunately ended on a whimper. A darn shame a third game didn’t happen. This is why we can’t have nice things. Anyway, which Star Wars game should I review next? Please leave a comment.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 