Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the website unleashed also

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Feb 15th 2007 at 9:50AM }

LucasArts has launched the website for their newly announced Star Wars title, The Force Unleashed. Developed for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Nintendo DS and PSP platforms, the game presents the first active collaboration between LucasArts developers and the film special effects team at Industrial Light & Magic. Putting players into the hooded cloak of Darth Vader's "secret apprentice," the game's events unfold in-between the last rubbish Star Wars movie and the first good one.

Judging by the artwork on display, the action will likely feature countless stormtroopers being tossed about like paper dolls and at least one livid jedi throwing a force tantrum. Looks like Tosche Station was out of power converters.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is currently slated for release this November. Check after the break for a video demonstrating some of the technology used in the game.

Gallery: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Tags: George Lucas, GeorgeLucas, Lucasarts, Star Wars, Star Wars The Force Unleashed, StarWars, StarWarsTheForceUnleashed

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Chris @ Feb 15th 2007 10:15AM

So it takes place between Episodes I and II?

Oh wait you were trying to beat a dead horse.... my bad....

Dark_Jedi @ Feb 15th 2007 10:14AM

Revenge of the Sith was rubbish???

AirIntake @ Feb 15th 2007 10:15AM

Yeah, RotS wasn't that bad.

Now The Phantom Menace.......that's a different story.

Marlos Hill @ Feb 15th 2007 10:21AM

yeah phantom menace = garbage... but i thought AoTC and RoTS were both pretty good... ROTS more so.

Anyway tho, the vids i saw of this game... previews or whatever look fricking awesome!

ackmondual @ Feb 15th 2007 10:33AM

This guy sounds old school, so "last rubbish Star Wars movie" sounds like epis3 and "the first good one" sounds like epis4.

This'll be neat. In epis3, I was hoping we'd get to see Darth Vader fight in form, not just in essence. Now we see how being all black and plasticky changes his Jedi skills and technique

Z @ Feb 15th 2007 11:15AM

They also announced this for Wii. It says on the website: Next generation consoles, DS, PSP, and PS2.

Next-gen = 360, PS3, Wii.

Rich @ Feb 15th 2007 10:45AM

I was thinking the same thing, between 3 and 4.

matthew @ Feb 15th 2007 10:54AM

ep. 3 only looked good compared to 1 and 2. In spite of a few nice moments, its still an abomination.

So his comment is accurate.

Fuji @ Feb 15th 2007 10:56AM

You know, this goes in the face of there's only two Sith, a master and an student. The Emporer is the master and Vader is the student.

Eh, I am geeking out...

Liqwid @ Feb 15th 2007 10:58AM

Hahahaha! I love it that they throw the Artoo units at everything. ILM does a magnificent job at everything that they do, I just don't ever trust George Lucas anymore because of his ambition for 3D. His heart is in the right place, but his mind just screws it up. For instance: changing the old Anakin to the younger Anakin in eps. VI. It just didn't work right.

I'm just happy that ILM is working on this as well, they do a real good job.

And Episode III was just a gay teen soap opera. That's why it sucked. Too much unneeded dialog. Too much angst. Too much George Lucas wanty 3D. I would've rather watched Episode I again, Darth Maul just made that movie worth watching. But, then again, all of the New Trilogy sucks. *hugs OT (unchanged) DVDs

JJC @ Feb 15th 2007 10:59AM

this game looks pretty gay. wait a minute its based on star wars so shouldnt that guarantee that it is gay? derp

Fiery Food Dude @ Feb 15th 2007 11:02AM

Hmm, not for pc? Because of pirates or something else?

Christopher7xii @ Feb 15th 2007 11:02AM

"7. ep. 3 only looked good compared to 1 and 2. In spite of a few nice moments, its still an abomination.

So his comment is accurate."

Only if you're an elite purist prick.

The only difference between Episodes IV-VI and Episodes I-III is the generation that received them. The original trilogy was all "ooo!" and "ahh!" because it was new, strange, and unique to cinema at the time. There were no expectations. I - III had to live up to the hype and nostalgia of the originals for old folks. Put a kid down in front of Episodes I through III and they'll love it, just like kids did back in 77-83... and when the kids grow up they'll swear by episodes I-III and the new 7-9 will be junk in their eyes.

Jar Jar = 3-CPO
Qui Gon Jinn = Han Solo
Obi-Wan Kenobi(e2/3) = Han Solo
Anakin = Luke
Padme = Leia

It's almost cut and paste the roles / acting abilities. And yes, the dialogue sucked hard in the old ones just like the new ones. That being said, I still absolutely love all of Star Wars. They were meant to be cheesy sci-fi serial stories, and that's exactly what they are. Tired of people being such obnoxious whiney bitches about it. That includes you, Ludwig. Try being a fan instead of a fanboy. You're not scoring cool points with anyone for publicly chastising episode 3.

JJC @ Feb 15th 2007 11:18AM

i want people to argue more about star wars. it is so funny to read how lame people are.

JT @ Feb 15th 2007 11:20AM

Funniest thing I've read in awhile???

"Qui Gon Jinn = Han Solo"

Boy, you really hit the nail on the head there. Qui Gon was one hell of a gambling, thieving, sarcastic scoundrel...so much so that his stoic nature even covered it all up.

As for the game, why the HELL isn't this Jedi Knight III? And on PC?

uberjoe @ Feb 15th 2007 11:22AM

What about the Wii?!?!? The site says "Next-Gen, PS2, PSP, and DS." Does their definition of next gen include Wii? Or just 360 and PS3? I hope I don't have to buy a 360 just to play this. . .

Metro Mapper @ Feb 15th 2007 3:56PM

That would be nice if this was for the Wii, since an old visualization video of this game was reported alongside Wii's motion sensing abilities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuzFzs0hPKc
(user modified to show sample Wii moves)

The site does say "Next Gen", but who knows if this means Wii. I'm nervous that Wii won't be able to support some of the key technologies of the game, DMM and Euphoria.

http://www.lucasarts.com/games/theforceunleashed/gameinfo/news/technology.html

Farseer @ Feb 15th 2007 11:23AM

Am I the only one who thinks that the DMM demo was freaking smooth?

JJC @ Feb 15th 2007 11:24AM

lol. YES! YES!!! (arms up in the air)

Liqwid @ Feb 15th 2007 11:25AM

@Christopher7xii

Sorry to tell you, but Qui Gon and Obi-Wan do not touch Han Solo. Not now, not ever. If you can compare those two guys to him, then you, sir, are ignorant of the characters. The OT is entirely real (no CG crap), the OT is mostly 3D(EVERYTHING was shot on a green screen). Everything is cut-to-the-chase. WTF is up with Yoda?! He jumps around like some b-ball star in the NBA, but just about 20 years or more later he can barely get around. It makes no sense whatsoever. Leia, in Episode VI, said that she barely remembered her mother, and that she died when she was very young. Yes... she died when she was very young indeed... WHEN SHE WAS A BABY! George can't even follow his own storyline. He just shouldn't have ever gone back. The only good thing to come out of the NT was Darth Maul and Pod Racing arcade game/N64.

Also, your statements aren't entirely factual. My father, 42 yrs old, has watched every Star Wars film since '77 and loves them all, whereas I'm 19 and I cannot stand the NT. Where do you get your information?

There will be no 7-9. There will be supplements like video games, as you see here, TV series'(Clone Wars and that new Bounty Hunter series that's suppose to air either this year or next), books and comics. If you want to know what happens after Episode VI ended, I suggest you pick up the books. Books have been written about what happens to Luke and the gang for a long time now.

Ludwig scored 200 points in my book.

Andrew Fong @ Feb 15th 2007 11:40AM

Unlike Hayden Christenson, Mark Hamill actually becaome a decent (i.e. not annoying) actor by the last episode.

kraoro @ Feb 15th 2007 11:52AM

"The only difference between Episodes IV-VI and Episodes I-III is the generation that received them."

That, and the fact that Ep 1-3 were horribly acted and terribly written.

JJC @ Feb 15th 2007 11:54AM

derp de der de derpy der. stars was der, epidsode der, der de der! weak. lame. not cool.

Crono @ Feb 15th 2007 11:57AM

Christopher7xii,

Your theory is sound, but ultimately flawed. Sure, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 year olds will think that ep 1-3 are the bomb diggity, but it won't stick. The dialog (esp ep 2) is so hackneyed and bad, it won't stand up to the test of time. Anakin and Padme have absolutely NO synergy, and every scene they are together in is like a trainwreck. You don't notice that stuff when you're young, but it won't hold up.

Its not that they are bad actors, but the writing and direction are TERRIBLE. Say what you will, but George Lucas is a TERRIBLE director. Those god aweful pickup lines could have worked if the direction was a little better.

It doesn't help that Hayden Christensen is only good at playing homosexual characters, another reason he had no synergy with Natalie Portman.

Ep 1 didn't need to happen. It could have been 10 minutes at the beginning of ep 3. Ep 2 didn't need to happen either, because the whole plot there could have happen in another 30 minutes at the beginning of ep 3. Ep 3 is the only passable film of the new trilogy, but even the dialog there is off kilter in parts, particularly the scene before Anakin and Obi-Wan start fighting.

Face it. Its not being elitest to think ep 1-3 are bad movies, its being a discerning moviegoing with good tastes.

The ZeroCorpse @ Feb 15th 2007 2:28PM

@ 11 and everybody else:

11's right. The people whining about Episodes I, II, and III were all expecting something "badass" and what they got was space opera, just as Star Wars has always been. I was there in `77 when Star Wars was playing at our local four-screen theater, and I've owned each episode in various formats. I was there when the Special Editions were screened (waiting in an awesome line full of other fans) and you know what? It was just as fun then- even with the changes- as it was in 1977.

Some of you lack imagination and introspection. You're not even TRYING to enjoy the movies because you expect them to be like a Dark Horse comic (which are almost all shite) instead of like the original Star Wars (which was fun space opera, not serious science fiction).

Leia doesn't remember Padme. The woman she refers to as her "real" mother was Bail Organa's wife, who died when Leia was a child.

Qui Gon is very much like Solo! He's a renegade (for a Jedi) and a nonconformist (thus he's not allowed on the Jedi Council). He's more concerned with people's actions and the "living force" instead of the rules and bureaucracy of the Jedi. No, he's not a "scoundrel", but he is a rebel (in the real sense, not the political group sense). He isn't afraid to break some rules to get things done, and he has a clear dislike and impatience for politics and the silly power struggles between people. That's Han all over. But then, since so many of you need your allegory spoon-fed to you, all you're seeing is the surface and not the motivations or personality of the characters.

When Yoda jumps around in the prequel trilogy, you're seeing a Jedi Grand Master in his prime, surrounded by living Jedi in the galaxy, all channelling the Force. You're seeing a being that hasn't lived 20 years in a SWAMP, hiding next to a dark side Force cave that masks his existence. You're seeing a Jedi Grand Master who hasn't yet gotten his ass handed to him by a Sith Lord (remember the fight? The fall? You think Yoda got through his fight with Palpatine without suffering broken bones and getting seriously damaged?!?!)

Yoda was worn out by the time Luke grew up. You think 20 years can't do that to a person? I can personally attest to the fact that 20 years ago I was young and fit and in AWESOME condition, and now I'm suffering a bad knee, damaged back, and I'm just plain out of shape compared to my prime. Yes, 20 years can make a HUGE difference. Ask your daddy or mommy, kiddies, how they felt and looked 20 years ago.

Some of you who are complaining wouldn't know this because you're UNDER 20 years old, or because if you subtracted 20 years from your age you'd be just this side of a fertilized egg. Come back and tell me that 20 years can't turn a fit person into a worn out, out-of-shape person when you're all in your late 30s or early 40s.

As I said- A lot of the detractors were expecting three movies full of "badass" Jedi action, with a very dark storyline and lots of antiheroes instead of classic, virtuous, hopeful, wide-eyed & innocent heroes. You expected to see a Dark Horse comic turned into a movie. You expected to see Lucas film what was in YOUR imagination, and got mad when he filmed what was always in HIS.

And the old movies were not "all real." They DREW in the laser blasts, lightsaber blades, many effects and explosions, and even had to draw blurs under landspeeders, and those are just examples. The ships were all models shot against a blue screen.

If you don't like them, then fine. Don't watch them. Stop bitching about it. Some of us enjoyed going back to that galaxy to see some good old fashioned space opera. If you wanted badass science fiction, you came to the wrong franchise.

I'm looking forward to some new Star Wars games, as long as they're good and have some replay value. Republic Commando pissed me off, because it was SO short! I finished it in an evening, and about six hours after leaving the store I felt completely cheated of my fifty dollars.

Knights of the Old Republic, however, was awesome.

(KOTR II, on the other hand, was a MESS that they should have FINISHED before selling it.)

Nobody's forcing you to buy Lucas' stuff or see his movies. Maybe you'd be better off backing STARGATE ATLANTIS or something else in the realm of science fiction? I hear they're working on another Star Trek movie!

The ZeroCorpse @ Feb 15th 2007 12:35PM

Sorry... I got on a rant there.

I just had to point out that the video is very cool, and that I'm looking forward to that physics engine being used in future games. VERY good work by the LucasArts crew on this stuff!

Flit @ Feb 15th 2007 12:35PM

It better be developed on the Wii. The controller seems built to use force powers and lightsabers. I'd love to toss R2 over the rails in bespin city using my wiimote.

*blink blink*

Sorry, think I just spoke the geekiest sentance i've ever had.

CaptNink @ Feb 15th 2007 5:02PM

@ Christopher7xii

Thank you; I couldn't have put that any better.

polly @ Feb 15th 2007 12:51PM

I 2nd the elitist purists.

Terrible writing, acting, and practically every scene being entirely green screened and 90% CGI, the new trilogy pales in comparison to the original. Those 3 actually had an entertaining story with characters that you really cared about, instead of hogwash filler between the cool new CGI lightsaber duel. Puleez. Just because it's Lucas, doesn't mean it's good.

I hope the game lets you opt to be a jedi on the run.

Crono @ Feb 15th 2007 1:06PM

In fact polly, I would argue that: if lucas is directing, it will be BAD.

Empire and Jedi weren't directed by lucas, and they are the best of the OT. Lucas directs ALL of the NT, and they all suck.

The crappy part is, I can see where lucas was trying to go with the series. The Senator Palpatine, both causing, and fighting against the separatist movement (which oddly became the rebellion), playing both sides for fools, so no matter who won the war, he would be in charge, as either emperor palpatine, or Darth Sidius.

The political story underlying the films is phenominal. Its just too bad Lucas botched the execution so badly.

spooky @ Feb 15th 2007 1:34PM

STAR TREK SUCKS!

skullivan @ Feb 15th 2007 2:01PM

"There will be no 7-9."

What's funny is that, if the Internet was what it is now in say, 1985, there'd be a ton of blog comments and message board posts saying that there wouldn't be Episodes I-III.

Don't think for a second that there won't be more movies. They may not be 7-9 per se; they may not even take place after Episode VI (Knights of the Old Republic anyone?) but there will absolutely be more movies. Will they show up in the next 5-10 years? Probably not, and with any luck when they do happen, George Lucas will have little or nothing to do with them. I guarantee you that they already have a timeline for the next 20 years if not longer for their plans with the franchise.

Lucasfilm isn't going to just sit on what is the most successful movie (and entertainment) franchise of all time. It's what the whole company is built around.

Matt @ Feb 15th 2007 5:03PM

Ludwig, Where do you get the information that it's coming out for PS3 and 360, when the Lucasarts game index page only lists this coming out for the PS2, DS and PSP?

http://www.lucasarts.com/games/platform.html

Are we to take it that the Wii isn't a "Next-Gen System"? Are you actually trying to start a flame-war?

(also I like the art on that still, very Tony Harris)

gok @ Feb 15th 2007 2:19PM

Skullivan, dude. It's episode 4-6 remember? Its clear as day that there was going to be 1-3, also im sure that Lucas had told so. Logic pls.

I guess in a way it would be logical to make more Star Wars movies since they would probably pay back well. But I just cant think there will, whats there left to tell? There won't be more Sith, thats for sure and nobody wants to watch boring movie about Lei and Han.

The Jeremy @ Feb 15th 2007 2:25PM

Vader could take on a secret apprentice in spite of the Sith "Rule of 2". The Rule applies to official apprentices and masters. If you watch Episode II, you'll see that Dooku tried to recruit Obi-Wan to be his apprentice. Had that happened, they both would have ganged up and killed Palpatine/Sidious and thus Dooku/Tyrannus would have become the official Master and Obi-Wan the official apprentice.

If you go back and watch ESB and ROTJ - and this is not a retcon - you can see that Vader was trying to recruit Luke to become his apprentice with the hope of toppling Palpatine. Of course, Palpatine wanted Vader to kill off Luke to wipe out the temptation to betray him...then by ROTJ, Palpatine wanted Luke to kill Vader and replace him for similar reasons. In the novelization, Luke for a moment thought about killing Vader and Palpatine and setting himself up as Galactic Emperor.

I humbly step down from the geek soapbox.

Ludwig Kietzmann @ Feb 15th 2007 3:06PM

Matt,

The platforms are listed on the bottom left corner of the main website (via the "read" link). Furthermore, the press release announcing the game made it clear that "next-generation platforms" are, according to LucasArts, the PS3 and Xbox 360. No mention of the Wii (which will likely receive a different game entirely).

Crono @ Feb 15th 2007 3:10PM

Way to not comment on the bad acting, no synergy, and hackneyed dialog, problems the OT didn't have

The new trilogy sucks. The old trilogy wasn't full of bad acting with bad story in between awesome action sequences. As a matter of fact, the original trilogy was relatively LACKING in action sequences by comparison.

I really don't know WTF your talking about when your mention Dark Horse comics, as I don't read comics. I think the plot of the new trilogy was fine, I just think that there was way to much bad acting, bad directing, and juvenile humor from the comic relief. Yes, R2D2 and C-3PO were comic relief in both trilogies. The difference is that the humor in the original trilogy was directed at older teens and up, not at the 10 and under crowd.

He pandered too much to the young audience to capitalize on all the merchandizing. Anakin in Ep 1 was supposed to be 14ish (similar age to amidala) not 8 and a half. He was supposed to be an amazing pilot, not some kid who'd never finished a pod race, or accidentally destroyed a starship. The force was created by life, not by meticlorians. Ep 1 is full of bullshit, and Lucas knew it. Did you know he made sure he was out of the country when Ep1 hit major theaters, because he knew the fans of the series would hate it.

Ep 2 wasn't much better. The dialog between Anakin and Padme sounded like it was writted by a 13 year old girl. For all we know, it was: Lucas has a daughter that was that age at the time. I don't really mind Yoda flying around kicking ass, because you do have a point. But I will point out that he already had a limp, and used a cane, even before that fight. Something else that bothered me though, was the CONSTANT yoda speak. Even in the OT, yoda used correct word order 3/4 of the time. As an example: "No, no different! Only different in your mind" if spoken in the NT would be "Different it is not. In your mind only, different it is." YODA DIDN"T TALK THAT WAY ALL THE DAMN TIME!!!!

Ep 3 was the only one that was passable, but You're telling me that in the super ultra advanced society, he was worried about Padme dying in childbirth? And another thing, Padme saying she had nothing left to live for after anakin "died"? Hello? 2 Newborn babies to care for? Reason for living much?

The whole new trilogy is bullshit. Its revisionist history at best; bad acting, bad directing, and bad writing at worst.

I happen to think its the latter.

cookie @ Feb 16th 2007 12:04AM

You know what a game needs. To get swallowed by something, ie Lost Planet Worm, but then to be able to bust out of it with a gun, sword, whatever. That's cutting edge!

jchensor @ Feb 15th 2007 3:55PM

I really don't want to get into the whole "Ep 1-3 sucked/is good" debate, but I have to make one comment:

The dialogue is no better in 4-6 than it is in 1-3. In fact, it is all cheesy, horribly written dialogue. No, the difference is simply in the actors who delivered the lines. Fisher and Ford and Hamill all believed they were starring in something cheesy. So they really hammed it up. Listen to their lines in Star Wars. They are really horrible lines, but because they were delivered in just the right manner (cheesy overacting), it worked.

Now compare to Christensen and Portman, the two weakest roles in ep 1-3. They are delivering their lines like they KNOW they are in an all-important Star Wars movie. In ep 2 and 3, McGregor started to figure it out, and he was good in those films because he started hamming it up. Christopher Lee knew it all along, which is why he's awesome in Ep. 2. If Christensen and Portman just decided to ham up their roles and deliver their lines trying to win a B-movie award instead of an Oscar, the movies would have come across much better.

"Will someone get this walking carpet out of my way?!?"

"No reward is worth this!"

Metro Mapper @ Feb 16th 2007 9:28AM

Man, so I post a message at 10:20am and I get the confirmation email at 3:56pm. Nice one.

gok @ Feb 15th 2007 4:05PM

@ Zerocropse, Quote: "Blah blah yoda 2o-years older etc."

Yoda is over 900 years old when he dies, 20 years is nothing to him.

Crono @ Feb 15th 2007 4:29PM

"Decisions made by players throughout the game will determine the path of the story, including multiple endings that will rock Star Wars continuity as they know it. "

Great, more revisionist history. Also directed by George Lucas.

At least the physics will be cool.

Andy @ Feb 15th 2007 6:38PM

omg @ 11 thank you! you are sooo right

Matt @ Feb 16th 2007 9:00AM

Ludwig,
Okay. Well, the way I see it, Lucasarts doesn't *expressly* say anything other than the fact that it's coming out for the PS2, PSP and DS as well as "Next-Gen Systems", and so that's all that you guys should be stating concretely. Anything else is conjecture and should be called as much.

And if it's coming out for the 360 and PS3 *and* PS2, why the hell not the Wii? Why no PC release? The omission of those two platforms from this title seems like a news story in and of itself. Furthermore, why pussyfoot around the subject?

It just strikes me as odd.

burn @ Feb 15th 2007 4:57PM

plz to be making starwars RPG for 360. KThnx

I will probably get this. I think its probably going to be similar to Jedi Knight, not starring Kyle Katarn, and with combo moves.

jedi knight + tony hawk + nba street + star wars = this

Crono @ Feb 15th 2007 5:30PM

One more on topic post: This DMM engine in the game: they claim that the "next gen" of consoles enable its use, but apparenlty the PS2 is powerful enough to use it?

Methinks the reason to own this game isn't going to be on PS2/PSP. Maybe not Wii (if the game goes there at all).