pwnophobia
11-10-2010, 12:03 PM
<table width="100%" style="padding:2px; background-color: black"><tr><td>Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Review [PS3]
Also on: Xbox 360, Wii, PC
Developed by: LucasArts (http://lucasarts.com)
Published by: LucasArts (http://lucasarts.com)
You pay: $59.99</td><td align="right"><img style="border:1px solid red;" src="http://evavhost.com/i/press/pwnophobia_head.jpg"></td></tr><tr><td>Release Date: Oct. 26, 2010. (NA), Oct. 29, 2010 (EU)</td><td align=right>Adam 'pwnophobia' Cogswell</td></tr></table>
Not as bad as Naughty Bear, but close.
As long as Star Wars stays a household name we will never see a lack of Star Wars based merchandise, video games or videos. While this is great for LucasArts, it does pose a problem for those of us who want something with some stability. Last years attempt, The Force Unleashed, was a decent addition to the giant library of mostly crap. It gave you the ability to use the force for good or evil while expanding on the Star Wars story and trying to connect Episodes 3 and 4. HOWEVER, The Force Unleashed II (TFU2), quickly shows its true colors with a disconnected story, repetitive gameplay and mismatched ideas that make me glad that I only rented it; I couldn't imagine how I'd feel if I would have bought it at full retail.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/tfu2-1.jpg
I honestly don't know where I should start with TFU2 because I was actually expecting LucasArts to put time into their game. I really don't think that'd be too much to ask for considering you're charging SIXTY DOLLARS for what I thought would be a badass experience. TFU2 is at max a five hour experience of which I finished in just over four, and after playing through ten minutes of it I kind of wished it would have ended in twenty. Once you make it through the obligatory Star Wars opener and pass the cut scene, you'll re-learn how to use your force powers to push and electrocute enemies. Fast forward ten minutes and you've relearned all of your previous powers via flash backs and you've seen everything the game has to offer. You'd think that stopping a droid missile with the force and tossing it back would be awesome, and don't get me wrong it is the first time you do it, but how many times can I do it before I have to say enough is enough? The game's idea of battles is sending wave after wave of enemies at you and replacing a weak enemy with a different variation of it, and then doing it again in the next thirty seconds. Room after room of different scenery couldn't stop me from going: "Really?, I have to fight these guys AGAIN?" EVERY TIME I stepped into battle.
Discounting the few boss battles, the enemy variety is slim and does little to break the monotony of combat. There are something like five different types of enemies that are all Stormtroopers and then there are two different types of droids. Most, if not all, of the battles played out like this (mind you, this was the entire game): Run in and mind control one guy, kill off Stormtroopers as quickly as I can mash square and triangle and then grab missiles for 30 seconds until the biggest droid dies. Somebody stop me if it seems like that'd be fun, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the combat but... I couldn't stand it. It wasn't so much that I didn't have some variety, I could have easily added a few extra Y's or B's to my attack string but it wasn't needed. Unless I was fighting a force or light saber resistant enemy, I had no motivation to use my force powers because Starkiller spins in circles with his double sabers and wrecks groups of Troopers. I tried to make it fun by mind controlling a Trooper or two and seeing how they'd react to the others, but near the end it almost became a necessity as TFU2's way of making the game harder was just throwing MORE enemies at you. Hey LucasArts, more isn't always better... kind of like this sequel.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/tfu2-2.jpg
Even with all that being said about the combat, which is the heart and soul of this iteration, it is fairly fluid. TFU1 had an issue with enemies knocking you down and then "stun locking" you until the level had to be restarted. They've corrected this issue and now you'll spend less time on the ground and more time mashing square. Now when I say that combat is fluid it's because when you use a combo, like adding electricity to an attack, it works fairly well. You can easily get ahead of yourself with inputs though and mash out moves that you didn't mean to, it's hard to stop a combo once you've started it. I should also quickly mention the power-ups for each of the force powers and different lightsabers you can get, but none of them held my attention long enough to matter. You can make your mind control last longer or the radius larger and your force pushes, but in the grand scheme of things you'll probably be like me and just forget about it because you fell asleep spamming square.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/tfu2-3.jpg
Let's quickly talk pace and scenery so I can wrap this up, my blood pressure is starting to rise. TFU2 is set to be like a movie with a Star Wars scrolling text opener and then a few cut scenes to take you into the gameplay. I think LucasArts said: "Screw loading screens, we're going to cut scene!". Let's get this straight: there are no definitive levels. You're on one planet and then another and then back again, all what is trying to be a seamless transition. The idea behind playing in a movie is an intriguing one but I still like to know when I've ended a level. I don't need a score screen telling me how S Rank I am, but I need a cut scene that makes it feel like I'm entering a new area. Instead it just cuts to black (like a movie!) and played some video and did it again to get me back into the game. Some probably won't find that as annoying as I did, and it may sound like I'm bitching for the sake of it...but I was on a roll.
Listen, I could go on and on about the power-ups, crappy challenge mode and lack of variety but I think you get the point. This game is by no means as bad as Naughty Bear, it IS very beautiful and runs rather smoothly, but the lack of variety absolutely kills it. In TFU I got more than three enemy types and a story that connected some of the possible missing links between the movies. In TFU2 I got a hob cobbed story, boring combat and what felt like a rushed job to line wallets and force feed some more Star Wars down everyone's throat.
http://evavhost.com/public/2n.gif
Poor. You should probably still stay away from it unless you get a deal or are really interested.
<table width="100%" style="padding:2px"><tr><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_good.jpg The game looks beautiful! More Star Wars for those die hard fans. The combat is fairly fluid but...</td><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_bad.jpg ...it is also monotonous. A one trick pony if you will. No designated levels. Disconnected story that leaves you going: "What happened?"</td><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_ugly.jpg Everything I didn't mention. This includes boss battles and the craptastical pacing.</td></tr></table>
Also on: Xbox 360, Wii, PC
Developed by: LucasArts (http://lucasarts.com)
Published by: LucasArts (http://lucasarts.com)
You pay: $59.99</td><td align="right"><img style="border:1px solid red;" src="http://evavhost.com/i/press/pwnophobia_head.jpg"></td></tr><tr><td>Release Date: Oct. 26, 2010. (NA), Oct. 29, 2010 (EU)</td><td align=right>Adam 'pwnophobia' Cogswell</td></tr></table>
Not as bad as Naughty Bear, but close.
As long as Star Wars stays a household name we will never see a lack of Star Wars based merchandise, video games or videos. While this is great for LucasArts, it does pose a problem for those of us who want something with some stability. Last years attempt, The Force Unleashed, was a decent addition to the giant library of mostly crap. It gave you the ability to use the force for good or evil while expanding on the Star Wars story and trying to connect Episodes 3 and 4. HOWEVER, The Force Unleashed II (TFU2), quickly shows its true colors with a disconnected story, repetitive gameplay and mismatched ideas that make me glad that I only rented it; I couldn't imagine how I'd feel if I would have bought it at full retail.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/tfu2-1.jpg
I honestly don't know where I should start with TFU2 because I was actually expecting LucasArts to put time into their game. I really don't think that'd be too much to ask for considering you're charging SIXTY DOLLARS for what I thought would be a badass experience. TFU2 is at max a five hour experience of which I finished in just over four, and after playing through ten minutes of it I kind of wished it would have ended in twenty. Once you make it through the obligatory Star Wars opener and pass the cut scene, you'll re-learn how to use your force powers to push and electrocute enemies. Fast forward ten minutes and you've relearned all of your previous powers via flash backs and you've seen everything the game has to offer. You'd think that stopping a droid missile with the force and tossing it back would be awesome, and don't get me wrong it is the first time you do it, but how many times can I do it before I have to say enough is enough? The game's idea of battles is sending wave after wave of enemies at you and replacing a weak enemy with a different variation of it, and then doing it again in the next thirty seconds. Room after room of different scenery couldn't stop me from going: "Really?, I have to fight these guys AGAIN?" EVERY TIME I stepped into battle.
Discounting the few boss battles, the enemy variety is slim and does little to break the monotony of combat. There are something like five different types of enemies that are all Stormtroopers and then there are two different types of droids. Most, if not all, of the battles played out like this (mind you, this was the entire game): Run in and mind control one guy, kill off Stormtroopers as quickly as I can mash square and triangle and then grab missiles for 30 seconds until the biggest droid dies. Somebody stop me if it seems like that'd be fun, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the combat but... I couldn't stand it. It wasn't so much that I didn't have some variety, I could have easily added a few extra Y's or B's to my attack string but it wasn't needed. Unless I was fighting a force or light saber resistant enemy, I had no motivation to use my force powers because Starkiller spins in circles with his double sabers and wrecks groups of Troopers. I tried to make it fun by mind controlling a Trooper or two and seeing how they'd react to the others, but near the end it almost became a necessity as TFU2's way of making the game harder was just throwing MORE enemies at you. Hey LucasArts, more isn't always better... kind of like this sequel.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/tfu2-2.jpg
Even with all that being said about the combat, which is the heart and soul of this iteration, it is fairly fluid. TFU1 had an issue with enemies knocking you down and then "stun locking" you until the level had to be restarted. They've corrected this issue and now you'll spend less time on the ground and more time mashing square. Now when I say that combat is fluid it's because when you use a combo, like adding electricity to an attack, it works fairly well. You can easily get ahead of yourself with inputs though and mash out moves that you didn't mean to, it's hard to stop a combo once you've started it. I should also quickly mention the power-ups for each of the force powers and different lightsabers you can get, but none of them held my attention long enough to matter. You can make your mind control last longer or the radius larger and your force pushes, but in the grand scheme of things you'll probably be like me and just forget about it because you fell asleep spamming square.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/tfu2-3.jpg
Let's quickly talk pace and scenery so I can wrap this up, my blood pressure is starting to rise. TFU2 is set to be like a movie with a Star Wars scrolling text opener and then a few cut scenes to take you into the gameplay. I think LucasArts said: "Screw loading screens, we're going to cut scene!". Let's get this straight: there are no definitive levels. You're on one planet and then another and then back again, all what is trying to be a seamless transition. The idea behind playing in a movie is an intriguing one but I still like to know when I've ended a level. I don't need a score screen telling me how S Rank I am, but I need a cut scene that makes it feel like I'm entering a new area. Instead it just cuts to black (like a movie!) and played some video and did it again to get me back into the game. Some probably won't find that as annoying as I did, and it may sound like I'm bitching for the sake of it...but I was on a roll.
Listen, I could go on and on about the power-ups, crappy challenge mode and lack of variety but I think you get the point. This game is by no means as bad as Naughty Bear, it IS very beautiful and runs rather smoothly, but the lack of variety absolutely kills it. In TFU I got more than three enemy types and a story that connected some of the possible missing links between the movies. In TFU2 I got a hob cobbed story, boring combat and what felt like a rushed job to line wallets and force feed some more Star Wars down everyone's throat.
http://evavhost.com/public/2n.gif
Poor. You should probably still stay away from it unless you get a deal or are really interested.
<table width="100%" style="padding:2px"><tr><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_good.jpg The game looks beautiful! More Star Wars for those die hard fans. The combat is fairly fluid but...</td><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_bad.jpg ...it is also monotonous. A one trick pony if you will. No designated levels. Disconnected story that leaves you going: "What happened?"</td><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_ugly.jpg Everything I didn't mention. This includes boss battles and the craptastical pacing.</td></tr></table>