Hello again blog readers. Wow, it’s been way too long since I’ve last blogged here at EUCantina.net and I need apologize for that. Your pal Uncle Kal was been doing some, shall we say “hunting” of late. I wish I had access to a clone or two that could slice into financial institutions and skim off …………. oh wait, I guess the question that needs to be ask about now is, “Which institution could I hack into these days that’s worth anything?” Haha ummm, okay, bad joke - sorry.

     I thought to get back in the swing of things, I would expand on the review I did for the EUCast special on The Force Unleashed for the Wii. I’ll still cover the basics of graphics, game play and story. In this case, I can expand my review now that I have gone further in the game since the podcast.

     Now I can hear you all asking “But Uncle Kal, I thought you’re supposed to do book reviews, what gives?” Well, I haven’t given up on book reviews. I’m in the process of my review for Order 66 that will be posted in the normal site. This is just my thoughts, expanded, on The Force Unleashed Game. Book reviews will still be my main stay here for the site.  So, let’s get started shall we??

     Again, I’ll start with the graphics. As I mentioned on the podcast I’ve had the Game Cube so I’m use to the Nintendo graphics and they work here. Yes, yes I know that I’m missing the nice rendered graphics of the XBox and PS3. Yes, the characters in the Wii at times do look blocky esp. the human characters. June Eclipse still reminds me of a female avatar from Second Life although at times the SL characters move better then she does. And still, the characters don’t blink enough for me - which can be very unsettling esp. Rohm Kota. Some really cool looking characters in this game are the Falucian Warriors, the Bull Rancor’s, the droids within the Junk Jedi Temple and the Shadow Guard within Raxus Prime - very nice. The atmosphere within the game is very nice as well. Using Felucia and the Nar Shadaa bar district as the examples, they are really impressive. Now, Super Mario Galaxies has outstanding graphics for this platform but you have to take into account the series. Realistic characters on the Wii have a long way to go.

     Now for the game play. I can expand in this area due to the discussion we had on our EUCast special and I’ve moved further into the game. As I mentioned, you need to have the Wiimote and nunchuk connected to work the game. As you play through the game you will find special moves/cut scenes that are played once triggered by moving the nunchuk or Wiimote up/down, sideways or at different angles. As you can guess, the moves triggered this way could be considered the killing move for each major character that you are battling. Naturally the Wiimote is for the “lightsaber,” jumping, moving the camera angle and main game controls. The nunchuk moves the Apprentice around and controls the force push, lightning and combos. One problem I have had with this game so far was in fierce lightsaber battles the camera angle has a tendency to “jump into” the character you’re fighting. The first time it happened to me it was confusing and it has happened in the game more then a few times. It’s freaky watching you fight - well - yourself. Also I do have to agree, and I know that it was taken out of the Wii version, I would have loved to have seen Euphoria at work in this game. Sure, it’s cool to pick up a Stormtrooper or Felucian Warrior and play quarterback to see how far you can throw them down a hallway or off a bridge. It would have been cool to see one of these characters reach for someone as they go over the side taking a poor innocent with them. The other thing that bugs me is the Wiimote when it comes to using it as a lightsaber. It is true that all you need to do is flick the Wiimote to move the lightsaber in game it. I would have loved to have some kind of true lightsaber type movement, especially the ability to jab. Lastly, please correct me if I’m wrong or my glasses need adjusting, I don’t remember the Apprentice holding his lightsaber backward. Now, I could have just over looked this because I’m so wrapped up in the game or my mind is playing tricks on me whichever comes first. If old Uncle kal’s memory is having problems, please feel to correct in the comments. My poor eyesight could be at play here. 

     As for the story, it’s condensed. If you heard one of the previous podcast, you heard that I read the graphic novel and the book. I still believe that game play could have been expanded by bringing in a few things that where mentioned in the book. The lack of PROXY doing his “thing” or (spoiler here folks for those that have not read the book) the addition of the junk Jedi masters coming to life in the Junk Jedi temple would have been an added bonus to me. This could have easily made the game longer and included some great cut scenes.

     Now what sets this game apart on the Wii from the other platforms is the Battle Mode. You could think of this as a version of the Clone Wars Lightsaber game the will be coming to the Wii soon. Here you get to play a total of 27 characters in 9 arenas that cover the Jedi Temple, TIE Construction yard, Felucia and other places. There are five timed matches to this level and Force power ups available to help you get an upper hand on an opponent. If you need a workout, forget Wii Fitness, this level more then makes up for it.

     My final vote for this game - yes I believe it does live up the hype. If you have an Xbox or PS3 you probably get the better graphics but you probably don’t get the workout you get with the Wii battle mode. It is a fun game to play and I would recommend it. As for continual play, the Battle mode gives you the ability to see if a young Luke Skywalker cold take down a General Kota any other fantasy match-up you can pull together from the list of available opponents. on a scale of 1 to 10 with ten being best, I give this a solid 8.

     Thanks for reading this and as always questions, comments and like are welcomed.

     This is your Uncle Kal signing off, Good Night