The PS2 and PSP versions of The Force Unleashed are close siblings, and I recently enjoyed playing nearly-finished editions of both. Each follows the same bounty-hunting apprentice story and settings as the 360/PS3 game, although specific level design occasionally differs. Unlike 360/PS3 game, the PSP version gets two-player duel-mode fights against a local gamer, and it also includes five "historical missions" pulled from the movies. The PS2 version includes the full camera control of the 360/PS3, but not those extras.

The PS2 and PSP games felt slightly scaled back from the 360/PS3, with fewer destructible objects or enemies in any one moment. But both maintained a fluid sense of battle, maintaining the visceral thrill of the Force powers. With the game's September 16 release, PS2 and PSP gamers will find a kinetic action title suited to their systems.

The DS version of The Force Unleashed tries to cram all of the light-saber-rage from the consoles into a handheld package. You'll be disappointed if you directly compare the two. I recently tried a late version of the DS game, and I didn't think enough of the system's strengths and weaknesses affected the design. The DS game gives a 3D perspective of the action on the top screen with adequate visuals, but the chunky graphics steal some of the excitement. And since the camera can't be repositioned, you'll be regularly attacked by people just off-screen. Worse, player attacks are issued by tapping on icons, causing hunting-and-pecking through battles.

Since The Force Unleashed is about going nuts with explosive superpowers, that sense of excitement got lost by scaling everything down to fit the DS. A wireless, four-player, local battle mode might make it a fun game to play with friends, but I wasn't able to test that feature. I hope the final game will grow on me after its September 16 release. But the time I had with this portable edition left me cautious.

For good and bad -- or should I say light and dark -- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Wii is clearly a Wii game. Side-by-side with the PS3 and 360 versions, the Wii graphics disappoint, and the complexity and frequency of enemies feels scaled back. But the Wii motion controls are regularly interesting, mapping many of the game's controls into gestures. The simplest ones feel great, like punching the Nunchuk forward to do the Force-push.

After recently playing late-development versions of all four game editions--360/PS3, Wii, DS, and PS2/PSP--I think the Wii game holds up as well as any of them. I had fun throwing enemies, shooting them with lightning, and hitting them with the lightsaber. And while the Wii holds its own, I'm mildly concerned that the final game could be repetitious, just cutting down waves of attackers. Hopefully the many different attacks, and Wii-specific two-player duel mode, will keep the game interesting.

LucasArts may be "proud of the work" that members of its internal Star Wars: The Force Unleashed team put forth on the upcoming title, but Joystiq has learned that it nevertheless laid off a number of key personnel on the title earlier this month during its company-wide downsizing.

We spoke with one now ex-member of the team, who told us that the layoffs came just as work on the game was wrapping up. Our source, who wished not to be named, is one of several long-time members of the LucasArts talent pool let go, many of which had worked on titles including X-Wing, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango.

Should The Force Unleashed live up to the hype surrounding it, and a sequel is ordered, the current team size is said to be insufficient to handle such an undertaking. Given the fact that LucasArts stressed a continued commitment to internal developement following the layoffs, it will just need to re-staff for such a project – in which case, it has already let some top talent go – unless it intends to outsource to an external developer.

LucasArts has confirmed to Joystiq that the company laid off "a portion" of its workforce yesterday, June 5. Margaret Grohne, director of public relations for LucasArts, could not comment on the number of employees affected or which departments they came from. She could confirm that Peter Hirschmann, vice president of product developer, did depart the company yesterday in what was a "mutual decision" with management, and that his "passion and humor will be missed."

According to Grohne, the layoffs are not the result of a shift away from internal product development. "We remain committed to both our internal teams and working with external partners," Ghrone told Joystiq, adding that "[sites] are definitely reading too much into the layoffs; [LucasArts] is not halting internal development."

To that end, Ghrone stated that no titles have been canceled or put on-hold as a result of the layoffs, and that the company is "very proud" of the work done by the internal team creating Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, as well as that done by the staff of Day 1 Studios, who are developing the upcoming original IP Fracture for LucasArts.

Regarding various reports of now ex-employees of the company divulging information online concerning titles such as the next Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars Battlefront 3, and a "lightsaber game" for Wii, Grohne stated that the company cannot comment on unannounced products.

The LucasArts layoffs follow THQ's elimination of at least 200 jobs last month.

The Force is strong with the next installment in Namco's weapons-based fighting series. GameSpot reports that both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Soul Calibur IV will feature Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" from LucasArt's forthcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed as a playable character.

Each console version of Soul Calibur IV will feature one exclusive Star Wars icon: Darth Vader in the PS3 release and Yoda on 360. We'll have first screens of Vader's apprentice in action Soul Calibur-style tomorrow.

Speaking to VideoGamer, The Force Unleashed Xbox 360 and PS3 producer, Cameron Suey, has said that LucasArts is planning a demo of the highly anticipated stormtrooper torture sim, just in case there are some weirdos out there who aren't sold on playing as Darth Vader. "I'm not certain about the specifics, but we definitely want to get this game out into people's hands," said Suey. "There are people who are excited about it, who are going to play it right away, whether they play it (the demo) or not."

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed hits, chokes and levitates just about every platform in the galaxy on September 16th in the United States, September 17th in Southeast Asia and Australia, and September 19th in Europe.

Oh boy, we're really worried now about the plethora of Wii-itis and other Wii-injuries stories coming in September. We've already written about our hands-on time with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Wii, specifically the duel mode, but G4TV has a video of LucasArts producer Dan Wasson showing X-Play's Morgan Webb how to use the control scheme in duel mode.

To summarize: the game recognizes five different directions -- left, right, up, down and "stab" -- for different lightsaber strikes, while force powers are done with the nunchuk and can be combined for combos. We could easily see how this might get out of hand (literally) in heated multiplayer matches, what with someone getting strangled with the nunchuk wire and another hapless Wii remote sent through a big-screen TV. Help us, Wiimote Glove Kenobi, you're our only hope.

At the Nintendo Media Summit, LucasArts showed off the Wii-only duel mode in its multi-platform game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. These fights require two human players -- there's no AI option -- but otherwise feel almost like they could have shipped as a stand-alone game. I swung sabers against fellow writers and was impressed by the amount of depth in the matches.

Each player picks one of 27 characters -- including about 11 costume-variations on the single-player apprentice -- and the fights take place in nine Star Wars locations. The characters include a young Luke, Darth Maul, General Grievous, and others that don't related to The Force story. And their moves are all about the same as in the single-player game, so Luke uses the lightning strike alongside the "dark" characters.

The match locations impact the the fights, with players instantly losing a life if they fall into the sarlacc pit, Smash Bros.-style. Otherwise, Hoth, the Jedi temple, and other locations include objects to toss around at each other, giving each location subtle differences.

These setting, and deep attacks, counter-attacks, and blocks should add a lot of ways to play these match-ups. This variety makes me anticipate its September 16 release. Plus there's a whole other single-player story to beat.

After the strain induced by writing such a complex and infinitely witty headline, we think it would be best to stay on target for the rest of the post and merely deliver the facts. LucasArts has announced that its physics-based jedi sim, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, will arrive on September 16th in the United States, September 17th in Southeast Asia and Australia, and September 19th in Europe. That's the plan and, given our anticipation for the title, we can only pray the publisher doesn't alter it any further.

Developed internally for the Xbox 360 and PS3, The Force Unleashed has players becoming Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and, as the title vaguely alludes to, unleashing the force. Other "equally enthralling" versions of the game releasing on the same date include the Krome Studios-developed Wii, PS2 and PSP titles, as well as a DS game from n-Space. You'll be able to spot exclusive footage on SpikeTV this month, but rather than subjecting you to watching it for hours on end, we've posted a schedule of the game's appearances after the break.

Aside from the LucasArts news you already digested earlier, one more story interesting to Wii fans on the menu for today was the unveiling of the control scheme and Duel Mode in the Wii version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. A nice chart explaining movements can be found right here.

Outside of LucasArts news, Wii Fanboy is giving away some Nyko peripherals. You like free stuff, right? We then only have one question for you: why aren't you reading Wii Fanboy more? Here's your chance to start.

Features:

• Wii Fanboy interviews Hudson's Mike Samachisa on Deca Sports
  He discusses a sequel and why no Wi-Fi
• Wii Fanboy Review: Obscure: The Aftermath
  We tell you how it ended up.
• Point/Counterpoint: The worth of Wii Play
  Two ideas square off in our new feature
• Virtually Overlooked: Dragon Power
  We tell you why it should be on the Virtual Console
• Another Week in Sales
  Our weekly coverage of sales around the globe
• VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 3/31/08
  We try this week's Virtual Console games and show you what to expect

Videos:

• Get your body into w_space
  Wiimotes make music
• Latest de blob videos show off multiplayer
  Have you seen how awesome this game looks yet?
• Introducing Wii racer Emergency Heroes from Ubisoft Barcelona
  The first trailer for the game.
• Friday Video: Smash Bros. goes XXX
  Some people just have too much time on their hands

Other Items of Interest:

• No More MSRP
  No More Heroes gets a price cut. Have you bought this yet? You should!
• WiiWare now worthwhile: Hudson reveals Alien Crush sequel, more
  Plus online-enabled multiplayer Tetris!
• An incomplete list of the greatest co-op games of all time
  We toss in some entries of our own

Laugh all you want, but it's a big deal when a magazine as mainstream as Vanity Fair dedicates a sizable chunk of content to legitimate game coverage. VF writer Frank DiGiacomo visited Skywalker Ranch to take a look at the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and walked away impressed with nearly everything he saw.

In a massive 4,000-word feature, DiGiacomo covers everything there is to know thus far about The Force Unleashed, from the game's storyline, to its advanced use of three different physics engines, to the people hard at work developing it. Though lengthy, the article is a must-read for anyone following the development of the latest Star Wars title, or anyone curious to watch Vanity Fair up the ante for mainstream game journalists.