Review: “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2” - Aren't You a Little Short for a Sequel?

When I was a kid, I was saving up my proof of purchases from buying Star Wars action figures to send away for the ultra-cool Boba Fett figure with rocket-firing backpack. Six to eight weeks after sending of the proof of purchases and money for shipping and handling, my little white box arrived in the mail. With Christmas-like enthusiasm, I opened the box right there at the mailbox. Opening the plastic, I removed the bounty hunter and attempted to fire the backpack missile, nothing happened. I grew up a little that day. Since that day, my relationship with the Star Wars franchise has seen it's share of highs and lows.

“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2” is the follow up to the 2008 video game hit from LucasArts. The new story follows a person who is told that he is the clone of Starkiller from the original game. Players take control of “Clonekiller” as he escapes from Darth Vader and the cloning facilities on Kamino. Clonekiller then sets out on a quest to find former Imperial Pilot Juno Eclipse who he believes will help him figure out the truth about his clone status.

The first “Force Unleashed” game brought lots of things to the table, wild light saber fights, devastating force powers and the birth of the Rebellion. “The Force Unleashed 2” adds more powers, more Rebellion and more sabers. Now, your character wields two light sabers and has a new force power called Jedi Mind Trick. This force power confuses the minds of your enemies, turning them against one another or tricking them to fling themselves to their doom. But more sabers and more powers means your enemies have more ways to take you out.

The scenery is gorgeous and some of the cut-scenes have a life-like quality to them. It's too bad there isn't more to see. Levels include the cloning facilities at Kamino, the Neimoidian homeworld and the Rebellion starship “Salvation.” That's it. There is visit to the planet Degobah, but it is more like a rest stop than a destination.

General Kota and Darth Vader are back as is Juno Eclipse in a cameo role. Also making cameos are Boba Fett (who doesn't fire a single missile out of his jet pack) and Jedi Master Yoda. While it was good to see these old friends again, their stay was too short, which parallels the game, too short. It took five hours to finish the game on “hard” difficulty. The game offers little in replayability save playing the game over again on a different difficulty level. There is a “Light Side/Dark Side” choice you will have to make at the end of the game. But unlike the first “Force Unleashed,” once you make your choice, the game ends with one of two cinematics. You can play the entire final boss battle over again and make the other choice to see the ending you didn't make the first time.

The Xbox 360 version, which this review is based on, does not have a multiplayer component but does offer combat missions which fall into the “time trial” or “defeat enemy waves” categories. But I would take multiplayer over combat missions any day.

One of the things I look forward to in any Star Wars game is the music. In “The Force Unleashed 2,” it relies too much on established John Williams music cues. I enjoyed the music from the first game and was hoping to have an expansion the music themes. The voice work in the game was top shelf. Yoda, Boba Fett and Darth Vader all gave me chills. But those chills went away every time “Clonekiller” screamed his lines.

The graphics are beautiful but that doesn't make up for the very short gameplay. This is one game that will only appeal to the Star Wars faithful.

“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2” receives a 6 out of 10.

-Matt Davenport

Senior Tech Specialist, KPVI

http://www.entertechment.com

“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2” is available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii and is rated “T” for violence.

"Castlevania: Lords of Shadow" Review for Xbox 360

Some things transition well into new dimensions. “Super Mario 64” flourished in 3D, a soul group from Los Angeles got funky as The 5^th Dimension and Buckaroo Banzai traveled across the 8^th Dimension. Other things like “Jaws 3D,” not so much.

“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” from Konami makes a chasm-spanning leap from a 2D platformer to a 3D platformer, or is it a colossus-killer or could it be an RPG-epic, or perhaps a button-masher? The development team at Mercury Steam tossed in all the above in the latest saga of the Belmont Clan and their war against the forces of darkness.

The latest “Castlevania” game puts you in the buckle boots of Gabriel Belmont, a member of the Brotherhood of Light. He is on a quest to find out who murdered his wife and why. Along the way, her soul guides him from mission to mission.

At your disposal is a Combat Cross. This steel cross on a chain will allow you to swing, dangle, grapple, rappel along with vanquish the forces of evil. Throughout the game, the player will unlock combos and upgrade methods of attacking enemies. You can also use silver daggers, fairies and holy water to slay your foes. The game really throws a lot of ways to dispatch your enemies, almost too many ways.

As mentioned earlier, “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” tries to take the 2D platforming action of previous “Castlevania” titles and convert it into a 3D world. You'll travel inside, outside and underground. Most of the combat action works as long as the enemy stays in the background or to the side of you. Because you can't control the camera position, if enemies get into the foreground, they can disappear at the bottom of the screen and are still within striking distance. This can also be a little frustrating since some of the exits or entrances are hidden by the current environment's flora.

One of the pleasures of the game's combat is being able to saddle up a warg, giant spider or troll to accomplish that creature's unique ability (and crush a few enemies while you're at it). The game will move from button-mashing combat to a climbing platformer to colossus fight to puzzle quest. It usually keeps the game modes separate. You will also utilize Light and Shadow magic and a Focus meter in your combat which can be a tad overwhelming in the heat of battle.

Since this is the first time that a “Castlevania” game has entered the third dimension, the designers want you to see all of their hard work. A few times during the game, gameplay would stop while the camera took a “beauty pan” around a new area of the world. The pan didn't really accomplish much other than to force you to stop and smell the roses. Certain areas like the Castle interiors or some of the forest areas show the graphic love. Some of the creature graphic like the wolves are a little plastic looking.

The game features the voice talents of Robert Carlyle as the protagonist, Patrick Stewart (looking like a pony-tailed Sean Connery) as fellow Brotherhood of Light warrior Zobek, Natasha McElhone and Jason Isaacs. You've heard people say, “I could listen to (actor/actress) read me the phone book.” Patrick Stewart is one of those people. And in “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow,” he does read to you. Before new missions, Stewart will move the story along with a few paragraphs of information. Carlyle, on the other hand, says little. A little underutilized, but such is the strong, silent type. The music by Oscar Araujo gives the game a “Lord of the Rings” feel. There was a twinge of geek joy at hearing the “Castlevania” theme.

The 2D incarnations of the “Castlevania” series are known for whipping and jumping. It's nice that the developers didn't let the game be just that, but in a 3D world. If you're not a button-masher by nature, don't worry, in a little bit you'll be solving a puzzle or fighting a titan. The game does have an epic vibe to it, and that may be due to some of the lengthy cut scenes.

“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” is a single player game and doesn't have a multiplayer component. It does offer a little re-playability as you'll have to go back to completed levels that have areas you couldn't enter due to a lack of strength or ability. The single player game will keep you questing for more than six hours, though.

This game tries to offer various types of gameplay but doesn't dominate any one kind. “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” rates a 7 out of 10. But because of the extensive amount of Patrick Stewart's voice work, the game gets a +1 for a final score of 8 out of 10.

-Matt Davenport

Senior Tech Specialist, KPVI

http://www.entertechment.com

“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” is available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and is rated “M” for Mature for blood and gore, nudity and violence.

Rebooting Star Wars

Episode #0002 of "Entertechment" is up. In this episode, Joe, Matt and Kerr talk about ways to reboot the Star Wars franchise.

Get the podcast here: http://entertechment.com/journal/2010/1/10/rebooting-star-wars.html