So I rented The Force Unleashed a few days ago and beat probably an hour ago. I have come to think that it is a special kind of game that despite some lousy gameplay mechanics and design choices, the story makes up for the crap and creates a better over all package. Another game I feel that falls into this category is Lost Odyssey, just to give you some perspective.

Lets bring up some examples of stupid game design. First of all, the camera, BOY DOES IT SUCK. I haven't heard anyone praise it, so I'll guess everyone agrees with that. And added to the stupid camera, you have a stupid targeting system. Bad camera + bad targeting system = baaaad times. More issues arise in the boss fights, a lot of them are so trial and error until you find out the one set of moves that will work. Boss fights usually included me yelling swears and waking up my roommate. Especially in the last few fights with Vader and the Emperor.

More issues arise in the use of the Force. It goes from "I AM THE MOST POWERFUL FUCKING JEDI/SITH LOOK AT ME PULL DOWN THIS MOTHERFUCKING STAR DESTROYER" to "I can't pick up that Storm Trooper... WHY THE HELL NOT?!" I mean, really there are some parts of the game where you are by far the strongest thing EVER, stronger than Yoda, Vader, Emperor, Obi Wan EVERYONE. Could Yoda pull down a Star Destroyer? Hell no, that midget could barely hold a chunk of metal from crushing Anakin and Obi Wan. Then some upgraded Storm Trooper defies all logic and brushes off the force like a bit of dandruff. Makes NOOOOOO SENSE.

Though you can call those crappy screw ups a... disturbance in the force (had to) I still stay the story is the saving grace. I'm not gonna go into the "Well you see you play as Vader's secret apprentice" because quite honestly, everyone knows that already. The things that I found amazing about the game is just how much it actually tied the two trilogies together. Starkiller being the creator of the Rebel Alliance? Darth Vader actually being the reason the Alliance was created? Holy crap. Vader's betrayal before the last level was just amazing because it jetted him to a high point of "which side is he really on?" Of course he helped the Emperor and said that he had just been using Starkiller, but did he really NOT intend Starkiller to rise up? Just thinking about little things like that makes the game's story awesome.

From what I've seen it's a common thought that this game's story would be a better fit for a movie than the "first" three are. It has action, LOTS of action, betrayal, drama, romance, and tons of fan service. For me the story completely made up for all the short comings of the game itself. Different people will definitely take different things away from the game. If they're not a Star Wars fan it will be an average action game, but if they are a Star Wars fan they could take away one of the best stories to be featured in the main time line (Episode I-VI)