Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Star Wars: the Force Unleashed Demo Sets Xbox Download Record

Posted by Soulskill on from the they've-been-waiting-for-you dept.

The demo version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was released a few weeks ago for download through Xbox Live and the Playstation Network. Now, LucasArts has announced that the game shattered records for the number of downloads on Xbox Live, taking only eight days to reach 1 million. The full version is due out next Tuesday, and LucasArts will be holding a launch party in San Fransisco on Monday night to celebrate. The game is part of a multimedia project which includes a best-selling book, a comic, action figures, and other tie-ins. According to Eurogamer's interview with producer Cameron Suey, previous Star Wars games suffered from a "lack of ambition." Suey also shows off some of the gameplay in a video. A video walkthrough of the PS2 and PSP versions is available at Kotaku. The game will not be available for PC. Early reviews for the game are good, but not great, and developers recently mentioned that George Lucas himself provided input on the project.

36 of 175 comments (clear)

  1. Moderate gameplay by Enderandrew · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Some are being left disappointed with gameplay. I'm picking up the game for the story, and if that is good, I won't mind the gameplay so much. People forget that KOTOR's gameplay was pretty bad.

    --
    http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    1. Re:Moderate gameplay by MooseMuffin · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Maybe it was bad if you expected an action game, but as a turn-based d20 system presented in realtime, I found it excellent. My only complaint with kotor is they managed to squeeze framerate problems (xbox version) into a game that certainly didn't seem to be pushing any graphical limits.

      That said, the story overshadowed all.

    2. Re:Moderate gameplay by grahamd0 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Hell yeah.

      Forcing Bastila to accept that you are, in fact, the rightful Dark Lord of the Sith is probably the most satisfying moment in gaming history.

    3. Re:Moderate gameplay by lewp · · Score: 5, Interesting

      KotOR's gameplay was bad because:

      a) It was massively imbalanced. Pick up the right combination of feats (Master Flurry, Master Speed, Master Two Weapon Fighting) and you could drop even Malak in one round. Pick up the wrong set of feats (a caster build without Force Breach, for example) and you could breeze through the entire game and then get completely fucked on the boss fights at the end.

      b) Half of the mechanics in the game were useless. There was no reason to be a techie or a stealth class because while both had gimmicky moments where they could do something cool, the game was chock full of full-on frontal assaults you couldn't avoid. The gimmicks never paid off as well as going head on anyway. Besides, you could never be as good at those things as the droid, because in the end you had to make your character combat able as well.

      c) Ranged combat was horrible. You could abuse the hell out of force powers and plink away at mobs that were permanently stunned with your pistols, but in and of themselves blasters weren't a decent weapon choice.

      d) Levelling was fucked up. By allowing you to bank levels until you switched to your jedi class, you could completely break the difficulty of the game. Staying level 2 until the first planet was completely made the first planet way too hard, but having an extra 4-5 jedi levels made the rest of the game way too easy.

      e) You could cheese half the fights in the game with grenades and shields. That's how you get to being a jedi at level 2, but it works just as well for the rest of the game. There are very few fights that shield spam and grenades can't win.

      KotOR is one of my favorite games of all time. The story is great, there's tons of stuff you can do off the beaten path, and it has a ton of replay value. The actual gameplay is subpar, though. KotOR 2 is one of my biggest disappointments of all time because it fixed the gameplay of KotOR but was so buggy and had so much cut content you couldn't actually enjoy it. A bastard child hybrid of the two might be the best game never made.

      --
      Game... blouses.
    4. Re:Moderate gameplay by Enderandrew · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I prefer turn-based RPGs to action games actually. Each character was largely going to focus on a set path of feats (Critical Strike, Flurry, etc), so you just spammed your feat attack, or an over-powering Force power like Force Wave. Combat was never difficult, nor was strategy ever a factor.

      Final Fantasy games get blasted for encouraging button-mashing, when in reality each character plays different enough to warrant some attention when selecting items.

      In KOTOR, I can have every character just focus on Flurry and basically spam the same button for everyone.

      Even on replays when I intentionally don't level my character until I become a Jedi, I find all the early areas frightfully easy, even with a level 2 character.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    5. Re:Moderate gameplay by AmberBlackCat · · Score: 4, Funny

      Some are being left disappointed with gameplay. I'm picking up the game for the story, and if that is good, I won't mind the gameplay so much. People forget that KOTOR's gameplay was pretty bad.

      Have you considered just getting a DVD? Then you don't have to deal with the gameplay at all.

    6. Re:Moderate gameplay by LarsWestergren · · Score: 2, Interesting

      KotOR is one of my favorite games of all time. The story is great, there's tons of stuff you can do off the beaten path, and it has a ton of replay value. The actual gameplay is subpar, though. KotOR 2 is one of my biggest disappointments of all time because it fixed the gameplay of KotOR but was so buggy and had so much cut content you couldn't actually enjoy it. A bastard child hybrid of the two might be the best game never made.

      You know about the Sith Lords restoration project I hope? They are still active, but I'm starting to lose hope that they will ever finish, since new bugs pop up all the time. Perhaps they are in the final phase of playtesting, but... I have been waiting for many years now.

      --

      Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die

  2. PC version planned... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Check the link again...a PC version IS planned.

  3. The Force is too powerful. by taxman_10m · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Bringing down a whole star destroyer?

    1. Re:The Force is too powerful. by s_p_oneil · · Score: 2, Interesting

      1) The force powers in the "Jedi Knight" games gave them an edge over many other FPS's, especially in multi-player. Being able to force-choke an opponent, lift him in the air, and drop him off a ledge while he struggles has to be my all-time favorite way to kill someone in an FPS.
      2) While it may not be true to the story, it looks awesome (not the Star Destroyer part, but the force powers in general). I'd love to be able to pick up a Tie Fighter with the force and smash it into an opponent.
      3) They did say they wanted to go "over the top" with the force powers, thus the "Unleashed" name.
      4) "Size matters not."

      Having said all that, poor game-play would be truly disappointing. The story is worth something, but the feel of the game-play is extremely important.

    2. Re:The Force is too powerful. by grahamd0 · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's what she said...

      She was just being polite, man.

    3. Re:The Force is too powerful. by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If you watch the 'making of' documentaries that have been available on Xbox Live for a while, you see the project leaders drilling into the teams the 'vision' statement of the game; 'kicking somebody's ass with the Force'.

      Yes, the offical one-line pitch of the game is 'kicking somebody's ass with the Force.'

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
  4. Gravity Gun is better! by jensen404 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm not much of a console gamer (I tried it on my brother's XBox). The Gravity gun in Half-Life 2 is so much easier and more gratifying to use than the Force move powers. The third person perspective in SW:FU makes it hard to select an object quickly. Both control sticks are used to move objects, making it feel mechanical. When throwing an object, it moves from the character's point of view, so it is hard to aim. Maybe I just suck at using gamepads.

  5. You are part of the problem by nobodyman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm picking up the game for the story, and if that is good, I won't mind the gameplay so much.

    While I can see your point to some extent (I like the Star Wars universe too), I can't help thinking that you're part of "the problem" when it comes to LucasArts, and the whole movie-tie-in market in general. What publisher is going to put any effort in making a good game if they know people like you will line up to buy it even if it sucks?

    LucasArts used to make top-notch games: Full-Throttle, Grim Fandango, Monkey Island, X-Wing, and dozens more in every genre. But then Lucasarts executives (and Lucas himself, I imagine) realized that the most profitable thing to do was to churn out countless Star Wars games irrespective of quality. Yeah, there's been a couple good ones, but for every "Knights of the Old Republic" there's at least ten "Star Wars: Galaxies - Episode III Rage of the Wookiees"

    1. Re:You are part of the problem by Enderandrew · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Many people don't realize that LucasArts went bankrupt and folded, and that the new company is exactly that. ILM is making technology that will help ILM as much as LucasArts, and then finding a means to build a game around that. Look at the physics and dynamic rendering of the the new Indy game they are developing for instance.

      LA did realize they flooded the market with crap games (Super BomBad Racing, Clone Wars, Bounty Hunter, Episode 1, etc) so now we're only going to get maybe 1 or 2 Star Wars titles a year.

      I prefer the smaller, more polished titles, but I also would prefer to move back to titles like X-Wing.

      Aren't we due for a new X-Wing title that features ships from all 6 movies, and the EU? Wouldn't that just sell like mad?

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    2. Re:You are part of the problem by nobodyman · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Emphasis mine:

      Many people don't realize that LucasArts went bankrupt and folded, and that the new company is exactly that

      Citation needed. I certaintly don't remember hearing this, and I can't find it on LA website, wikipedia, google, etc. There were rumors of this following a series of layoffs, but it turned out that LucasArts had abandoned much of its internal development and would farm everything out to 3rd parties from then on. At least that's what I heard, I admit that my memory is fuzzy on that point.

      That said, I agree that it's a crime we get crap like Adventures of Obi-wan but no continuation of the X-Wing/Tie-Fighter franchise.

    3. Re:You are part of the problem by grahamd0 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Aren't we due for a new X-Wing title that features ships from all 6 movies, and the EU?

      I don't know man. Somehow I doubt the eurofighter stands up against an A-Wing.

    4. Re:You are part of the problem by Enderandrew · · Score: 3, Informative

      Wow. Google is failing me at the moment, but rest assured it happened. It was what moved the KOTOR 2 release up. LucasArts completely closed shop, and laid off their employees. There was an internal development team doing pre-production on KOTOR 3, among other products that were laid off. The facility closed, and LucasArts reopened internally within ILM.

      http://www.lockergnome.com/game/2004/11/02/lucasarts-layoffs/

      Amazingly enough, Google isn't finding much on it now.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    5. Re:You are part of the problem by Clever7Devil · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Seriously. When do I get my next item/puzzle-based single player game?

      Day of the Tentacle is still one of my favorite games of all time. Did anyone else have that LA variety pack? Had Sam and Max, DOTT, Fate of Atlantis. Several others as well.

      Maybe I'm just nostalgic, but I remember having a lot of fun with these titles. Not to mention Dark Forces. That was the FPS yeah?

      Mostly I think new technology is becoming a burden to games. So much is focused on being visually and operationally stunning that much is lost in actual story and gameplay.

      --
      "By the time they had diminished from 50 to 8, the other dwarves began to suspect 'Hungry.'" -Gary Larson
    6. Re:You are part of the problem by Bodrius · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think you may be misreading the parent post.

      Buying the game for the story doesn't mean you're buying because of the tie-in.

      I'd also buy adventure / rpg games for the story - but what I'm looking for is primarily a GOOD story. Which is sorely lacking in franchise games (or games in general).

      Most of the LucasArts games you describe were top-notch because they had great stories - not really great or innovative "gameplay" (except for X-Wing / Tie Fighter - that was gameplay).

      Storytelling was the strength of LucasArts, for obvious reasons. There's no "problem" with that, since stories ARE a vital part of entertainment for some of us.

      E.g.: Deus Ex is still one of my favorite games - it was an 'ok' FPS, but it has a great story and narrative quality. KOTOR had similar virtues / flaws mix in its genre, and more recently and to a lesser degree, so did Mass Effect.

      The "problem" you describe is with crappy games with no redeeming quality - no gameplay, no story, no primary entertainment factor.

      But even these days I'd have more faith in LucasArts' storytelling prowess than their game design skills. That just means I'm more likely to buy their game, since I care mostly about the story, than an FPS / action game fan, who's more concerned about the gameplay.

       

      --
      Freedom is the freedom to say 2+2=4, everything else follows...
    7. Re:You are part of the problem by HadouKen24 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      High end joysticks cost about 90 bucks, but that's always been the case. You can still pick up a decent quality joystick that will do just fine for X-wing/TIE Fighter style games for about 20 bucks. I spent a good chunk of my free time this summer playing just these kinds of games.

      If it seems that joysticks cost 90 bucks, that's because the main focus in the joystick industry for the last five years has been on realistic flight sims; there just haven't been any high-profile, high-budget Mech or space combat sims since Freespace 2. Were LucasArts (Or anyone else for that matter) were to rectify the situation, there would be a lot more budget joysticks being sold.

    8. Re:You are part of the problem by blackicye · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I played the X-Wing series with mouse and keyboard actually, as did most of the people who were playing the series.

      Joysticks are seldom if ever used in games these days (aside from Flight Simulators)

      Gamepads seem to be replacing the niche once held by joysticks, and they cost about the same.

    9. Re:You are part of the problem by LarsWestergren · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Seriously. When do I get my next item/puzzle-based single player game?

      Seriously, you can't have been looking very hard? There are oodles of current and upcoming classic adventure, puzzle, action/adventure/rpg games, even if they don't get much attention on mainstream sites:

      Two whole Sam and Max seasons by Telltale games, their upcoming Wallace and Gromit game, Deus Ex 3 hopefully, Braid for PS3 or PC, DeathSpank by Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle), Machinarium, World of Goo by 2D Boy, "realistic physics horror puzzler" Penumbra:Black Plague, the two classics Vampire:Bloodlines and Psychonauts (available on Steam), the horror adventure game Three Cards To Midnight by the people who made the Tex Murphy games (Under a Killing Moon etc).

      There is also the Dracula, Sherlock Holmes games, though I hesitate to recommend them because didn't really connect with them when I played the demos.

      Best site to keep track of good indie games and good PC games for the thinking man/woman- here.

      --

      Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die

  6. JKII... by i.of.the.storm · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I miss Jedi Knight II... whatever happened to that storyline, anyway? Kyle Katarn was awesome. Jedi Academy was really fun too. The dual-sided lightsaber was so powerful, I loved it. This is bringing back a lot of memories, of the days when Lucasarts didn't suck.

    --
    All your base are belong to Wii.
  7. Lucas Provided Input? Oh... by McNally · · Score: 4, Funny

    and developers recently mentioned that George Lucas himself provided input on the project.

    Meesah sorry to hear that.

  8. Lack of ambition? by grahamd0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Knights of the Old Republic and Tie Fighter suffered from a "lack of ambition"?

    Fuck you, guy I've never heard of before. Guess what, physics games have been done. Played Half-Life 2? No... really? Try it, it's great.

    1. Re:Lack of ambition? by russlar · · Score: 4, Funny

      Guess what, physics games have been done. Played Half-Life 2? No... really? Try it, it's great.

      Yeah, Half Life 2's pretty good, but for the ultimate physics game, you gotta try this new game from France called Large Hadron Collider.

      --
      Anybody want my mod points?
    2. Re:Lack of ambition? by jannone · · Score: 4, Funny

      I also find their "lack of ambition"... disturbing.

    3. Re:Lack of ambition? by Fx.Dr · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's gotten great reviews, they say it's absolutely smashing.

  9. Re:fp by carlmenezes · · Score: 4, Funny

    Please don't unleash the force.

    --
    Find a job you like and you will never work a day in your life.
  10. Force Unleased sets record boredom by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The demo was kind of cool at first, but it quickly became boring. It was too repetitive and dull. It started off good, but then i realized its just about running around a large map running into the same badguys over and over.... pick a box up throw it.

    Graphically, its pretty nice but the gameplay didnt have that special something.

  11. I'm sorry but... by pizzach · · Score: 3, Funny

    LucasArts used to make top-notch games: Full-Throttle, Grim Fandango, Monkey Island, X-Wing, and dozens more in every genre. But then Lucasarts executives (and Lucas himself, I imagine) realized that the most profitable thing to do was to churn out countless Star Wars games irrespective of quality. Yeah, there's been a couple good ones, but for every "Knights of the Old Republic" there's at least ten "Star Wars: Galaxies - Episode III Rage of the Wookiees"

    Star Wars: Rage of the Wookiees sounds awesome! But I can't seem to find it on ebay?

    --
    Once you start despising the jerks, you become one.
  12. Re:Back to back Star Wars stories? by MsGeek · · Score: 2, Interesting

    So glad they are going to put out a Wii version. Sure the graphics and the physics won't be as impressive on Wii but the gameplay is going to r0x0r your b0x0rz.

    This also means I can get my lighsabre combat fix without dealing with the crapulous CGI style of the Clone Wars movie/TV series. Besides, being Sithy for a change might be spiffy.

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
  13. Re:Back to back Star Wars stories? by antek9 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Maybe LucasArts are mistaking the raw download numbers for secured sales while it's obvious that anything labeled 'SW' will generate some hype. As for me, I downloaded the PS3 demo last week, found it incredibly dull, deleted it. Disclaimer: I've always been more of a Star Trek fan, anyway.

    --
    A World in a Grain of Sand / Heaven in a Wild Flower,
    Infinity in the Palm of your Hand / And Eternity in an Hour.
  14. SF "Launch party" is at Best Buy by Animats · · Score: 2, Informative

    Where's the launch party? One of the big nightclubs, like Ruby Skye or the DNA Lounge? No. Lucasfilm's facility in the Presidio? No. The Metreon, where Sony still has the Playstation store? No.

    It's at the Best Buy on Harrison at 101. That's not a launch party. It's not even a good retail outlet.

  15. Re:Back to back Star Wars stories? by Tiber · · Score: 2, Funny

    I KNOW. I spent so much time playing the PS2 version and swinging the controller around. It make the lightsaber levels so much more interactive with the wire connected to the console and I don't know how the Wii can possibly match it.