The Force Unleashed was an ambitious game which fell foul of some technical issues which held it back from its potential. The Force Unleashed 2 should have addressed these technical issues, and it largely does. What it fails to do is carry on the ambition and creativity of the first game and substitutes it for a linear and bland game which serves as an example of how to do a bad sequel.
To begin with the graphics are good in the game. The force powers look great when you use them, and damage to the environment and the physics of it all runs nicely. Lighting is nice, the game is a bit dark but this can be resolved in the options. While I had occasional pop in during my playthrough it was nothing major to get in the way of playing the game.
What will get in the way of playing the game is that it's a short corridor crawl. There are no basically no diverging paths during the levels. This would be fine of the narrative of the game was interesting and the levels were varied, but this is not the case. There are 4 levels, 2 of which are the same damn level. Combat is fun and improved from the first game but is is not a deep system, you can get through the game by button mashing. This game pales in comparison to games like bayonetta and god of war.
The repetitive combat and bad selection of levels are not helped by the fact that the game throws the same 4/5 enemy types at you. There is a simple way to defeat each 1 and its just a case of rinse and repeat. The game clocks in at a miserable 4 hours on normal difficulty, yes its that short. This could be a mercy, as I didn't want to spend any more time with the cranky bald and sexually frustrated main character.
The story is laughable. The motives for starkiller to go on his quest are barely explained, and we never get answers to some of the points the story raises. Yoda and Boba Fett make cameos but both are effectively pointless and unjustified. The endings of the game, both good and evil, do not make canonical sense in the context of the films. The story is ridden with plot holes, is devoid of drama or care and only acts as an excuse to bring the player from location to location.
While sound is competent and most of the glitches of the 1st game are gone, there is such a lack of content here that it makes no difference. There are no great musical points, the levels are uncreative and the game feels lazy and cheap. The Force Unleashed 2 fails to deliver anything worth purchasing.
Pros: force powers are fun
there is 1 fun boss fight against a huge monster
Cons: Plothole ridden story
extremely short
linear levels, boring combat, repetive enemies
awful last boss and ending
wtf: Darth Vader gets beaten around by a bald pussy with serious personality issues
Score:
- 4/10