CYBERPUNK 2077

We’ll start with what’s become the poster child of rushed releases that could have benefitted massively from a delay- or another delay, in this case, because Cyberpunk 2077 was, of course, delayed more than a few times in the lead-up to its launch. The state the game released in was, frankly, unacceptable, not only in terms of the baffling lack of polish, but also the core gameplay itself feeling decidedly half-baked. With a couple more years in the oven, who knows? Maybe things could have turned out differently.

Where games are concerned, while the likes of the original Battlefront games are among the brightest of those shining lights in that period, there were a few other sparks as well that may not have set the world on fire, but certainly caught many people’s attention. 2008’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was one such game, delivering a bombastic action-adventure game that wowed series fans on multiple levels, and in spite of its very real and significant issues, became something of a cult classic as time went on, even going on to spawn a (not-so-successful) sequel.

Now, however, the Force Unleashed series has receded entirely into the background, and there’s little to no hope that it will ever come back. Given the direction that the entire franchise has now taken (and not just in games) and the much greater control Disney is exerting over what a new Star Wars game should look like, The Force Unleashed is highly unlikely to make a comeback- but how did it go from being this fan-favourite surprise hit to fading into the oblivion like a Force Ghost? What the hell happened?

The original The Force Unleashed was truly something of an anomaly in how successfully it toed the line being paying homage to Star Wars lore and going completely crazy with new ideas. On the story front, its central premise was an inherently fascinating one, with players being put into the shoes of Starkiller, a Sith in the making taken on by Darth Vader as an apprentice in secret. From beginning to end, The Force Unleashed was full of fan service, featuring locations and characters that any fan of the series would be extremely familiar with.

Being able to play as a Sith apprentice wielding Force powers with reckless abandon was an absolute blast, too. Combining these deadly abilities with vicious lightsaber combat was an experience unlike anything else Star Wars games had offered in the past. Delivering a power fantasy was central to The Force Unleashed’s identity as a game, and very smartly, the game chose to do that by making use of a formula that was extremely popular at the time, with fast-paced hack and slash gameplay and QTE driven action sequences inspired by the original God of War games.

Meanwhile, surprisingly enough, no matter what platform you played the game on, The Force Unleashed was a solid experience. The PS3, Xbox 360, and PC versions were obviously the best ones, but others weren’t lagging too far behind. On the Wii, the implementation of motion controls made lightsaber combat feel even more visceral and satisfying, and the PSP and PS2 versions – which were identical to the Wii one in terms of content – were consistently enjoyable even with that being cut out.

The Force Unleashed was a big success for LucasArts. Though not exactly a critical darling, the action-adventure title managed to sell over 6 million units in less than a year- at which point it became abundantly clear that a sequel was all but inevitable. The Force Unleashed 2 launched a little over two years after its predecessor came out, in October 2010- though it wasn’t quite as successful as the first game was.

On a gameplay front, there was plenty to like here. Lightsaber combat saw some noticeable improvements, with a few additions – such as being able to wield two lightsabers, dismembering foes, and having more Force powers to unleash – ramping up the intensity of the combat even further. In other ways, however, the game was a bit of a letdown. Narratively, where the original The Force Unleashed felt like a bold addition to the ever-expanding (and now-defunct) expanded Star Wars canon, The Force Unleashed 2 lacked that oomph, feeling like a tired sequel that was doing things out of obligation rather than a love for the series.

It wasn’t a total failure, of course. Sure enough, The Force Unleashed 2 has its fair share of fans, and actually playing the game in all of its visceral glory is still an enjoyable experience, while the game also sold well enough that LucasArts had also begun planning for another sequel. In later interviews, it would be revealed that The Force Unleashed 3 would have had open world environments and seen Starkiller and Darth Vader joining forces in an attempt to take down Emperor Palpatine- but of course, LucasArts never actually got to make that game. Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, and all internal plans at LucasArts for any and all Star Wars games got unpended. Various projects were cancelled, including Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3 (and, of course, Star Wars 1313).

Star Wars fans have had plenty to feast on in the years since then, with the likes of Jedi: Fallen Order, Squadrons and Battlefront 2 (in its current state, that is), and with games like Star Wars Eclipse, Knights of the Old Republic – Remake, Massive’s open world title, Fallen Order 2, and Respawn’s other two Star Wars projects, that clearly isn’t going to change anytime soon. If, however, you’ve been holding out hope that The Force Unleashed will eventually be revived and we’ll finally get a proper conclusion to that line of games- well, don’t. Disney seems to be all about crafting unique, original stories in its Star Wars games now, in a manner that doesn’t mess with the series’ larger universe and lore too much, and that, unfortunately, is something that The Force Unleashed 3 just wouldn’t gel with.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed’s Wii version will soon be releasing for the Switch though, so at least fans will have some way of going back to revisit this diamond in the rough. A full-fledged sequel to close out the trilogy would obviously have been the best case scenario, but in its absence, a port should do just fine. Something’s better than nothing, right?

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

POKEMON SWORD AND SHIELD

Most Pokemon fans will tell you that the series has been on a downward spiral ever since Black and White, and Sword and Shield are probably its lowest point to date. Even if you ignore the controversies surrounding the whole National Dex fiasco, Pokemon Sword and Shield are still disappointing games. The shocking lack of ambition, the almost complete lack of challenge, the excessive linearity- for all of these reasons and more, Pokemon’s mainline console debut fell severely short of expectations.

MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA

No one needs to be told about the massive legacy of the original Mass Effect trilogy. Barring some missteps here and there, BioWare’s first three Mass Effect games are collectively probably the best work they’ve ever done. Then there’s Mass Effect Andromeda, which is… not. To be fair, Andromeda is a good game in its own right, and it certainly has a lot going for it, but it just doesn’t do justice to the magic of its predecessors. Even if we ignore the overblown criticism the game was subject to at the time of its launch, we still have to accept that Andromeda is a pretty big step back from the Commander Shepard trilogy.

Rage – God of War Series

Kratos has always had his share of anger issues but on the other hand, his Rage modes throughout the series are just incredible fun. The first game is fairly straightforward – more damage dealt, less damage received. Rage of the Titans in God of War 2 upped this by allowing reduced damage from foes, immunity to knockbacks and debuffs, and up to triple the damage dealt. Then there’s Rage of Sparta in God of War 3 which manifested the Blade of Olympus while also providing increased movement, damage resistance and so on. However, we have to give it to God of War (2018)’s Spartan Rage where Kratos simply wales on enemies with his bare fists, gaining health regen and damage resistance in the process.

RAGE 2

For all intents and purposes, RAGE 2’s story is stupidly simple. You meet the members of Project Dagger, fight General Cross and corrupt him with a virus that prevents more of his clones being made. The virus happens to be lethal to Walker, the protagonist, as well. But lo and behold, his friend Lily saves him, there’s a rendezvous with the Project Dagger members again and…that’s it. It’s not a terrible cliffhanger like RAGE 1 but that’s not saying much.

If investing in Origin Access Premier for early access to full-games like BioWare’s Anthem or DICE’s Battlefield 5 doesn’t seem appealing, then don’t worry- there might still be more incentive. Electronic Arts has added several new games to the Origin Access Vault, which is fully accessible to Basic subscribers (at $5 per month, or $30 per year). The biggest is perhaps Madden NFL 19 – it released in August 2018 and made several improvements, while adding a new Longshot story (it has its shortcomings though, so keep that in mind).

Gone Home is the next best option, offering a compelling first person narrative that’s equal parts creepy and insightful. The Fullbright Company’s newest title Tacoma is unfortunately not available in the Vault, but that might change down the line. If you’re a Star Wars fan though, there’s plenty to keep you covered.

LucasArts’ Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1 and 2 have been added to the Vault. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, a compilation of the first three games, along with LEGO Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars and Star Wars TIE Fighter Special Edition are also available. Overall, in addition to the dozens of other titles in the Vault, these are some pretty good offerings overall.

Deus Ex Human Revolution

Deus Ex: Human Revolution shared with players a dystopic future with questions of transhumanism that we may very well be answering in the real world soon enough as technology seems to rapidly develop. With such fantastic base concept, and the Illuminati stoking the fires of the war to come between the Augmented and the normal humans, what did the title have to say about the whole debate it presented? It just asks you to pick a button to decide your ending. We never asked for this.

April is out and May is in which means new games are free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. That being said, The Walking Dead: Season Two carries over from last month and will continue to be free for Xbox One players till May 15th.

New releases this month include Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams – Director’s Cut till May 31st for Xbox One while Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 is free for Xbox 360 players till May 15th. Thanks to the Xbox One’s backwards compatibility support for Xbox 360 titles, that means owners of the former get two free games.

On May 16th, Lara Croft and The Temple of Osiris will be free for Xbox One till June 15th. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga will be free for Xbox 360 players from May 16th till 31st.

All of the above games are worth playing or at least checking out. What are your thoughts on this month’s Free Games With Gold? Let us know in the comments below.

Said exceptions would include the Star Wars games. Crafted by the (once) fine minds at LucasArts, the quality of the Star Wars games may not have been consistently great, but at their best, the Star Wars games have shone as being amongst the very best of their times. The Rogue Squadron games were always fan favorites, and the Knights of the Old Galaxy games by Bioware are definitely amongst the best RPGs ever created. And whereas there have been a lot of Star Wars games that were simply dreadful, it would be fair to say that games based in George Lucas’s galaxy far far away generally have a better record than most of their other licensed brethren.

One of the other standout Star Wars games was The Force Unleashed. Released in 2008, it was immediately noted for its intense action sequences, liberal use of quick time events, the excellent and poignant story, the great dialog, exceedingly refined storytelling, wonderful soundscore, and an overall theme that felt like a worthy addition to the Star Wars canon. And whereas the critical reception of the game was middling at best- reviewers cited many problems, ranging from gameplay glitches and a lack of finesse to an overall lack of originality as far as the gameplay was concerned- fans seemed to differ, as The Force Unleashed exploded at retail, becoming the fastest selling Star Wars branded game ever.

Obviously, such success warrants a sequel. Like, duh. They hit gold, they obviously want more. An ordinary developer, under these circumstances, would decide to smooth out the problems in The Force Unleashed that drew the ire of the critics, and add a level of polish that the first game lacked so sorely. They would also probably be hard at work trying to come up with a story that could at least do justice to the original. In other words, they would work to ensure that The Force Unleashed 2 lived up to the potential of the original.

Yeah, that clearly didn’t happen.

Guess who’s back…!

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 is a mess. Everything that was good about the first game isn’t here anymore, while everything that was bad about it is retained, and in many cases, enhanced so that it’s even worse than it initially was. While on a technical level, this game shines, it lacks all the charm, poignancy, and thrill of the first game, leading to a game that is a mechanical drone without any kind of soul.

The biggest issue with The Force Unleashed 2 would be its story. To fans of the first game, this should come as somewhat of a surprise, considering just how excellent the story of the first game ultimately was. This time around, however, the plot is barebones thin, and is mostly a poor retreading of the same ground that the first game covered, complete with a split ending depending upon one crucial choice that you make near the game’s climax. To set up the stage for Starkiller, the game’s protagonist, to actually be here, there is some sort of ridiculously contrived explanation regarding clones and what nots that makes zero sense within or without context.

This automatically places the game at a grave disadvantage- the biggest draw that the first game had under its belt was its trilogies straddling story, and the fact that the narrative of this game lacks any punch this time around is already a major point against it. Even if this game were to be viewed in pure isolation, being judged entirely on its own merits, and without being compared to its predecessor, the story would be marked down for being borderline insulting to the player’s intelligence. And while there are some genuinely touching moments sprinkled throughout, and a few ‘Oh snap!’ revelations, particularly near the game’s climax, on the whole, the story is an excursion in unrelenting mediocrity.

The problem is that the story being weak automatically leads to the game’s biggest strengths becoming meaningless altogether. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 still shines in the technical aspects, with some particularly impressive graphics and facial animations, and some well directed cutscenes. The problem is, the story they are trying to tell is atrocious, and so, any sheen that these presentation elements may have had is somewhat dulled. And while this certainly does not take away from the impressive lighting effects, or the excellently detailed character models or environments, or even the nice soundscore for the game, it kind of stops having any effect on the player and stops wowing its audience, simply because the story leaves such a bitter taste in the mouth.

Starkiller’s kind of pissed. I understand. Personally, I’d be pretty hacked off too if I’d been called back from the dead to star in such a crappy game.

However, the game might still have managed to save face had its gameplay been at least up to par. Unfortunately, The Force Unleashed 2 miserably fails in this regard. Whereas I will not deny that dual wielding of light sabers and force powers can be incredibly fun to begin with, messing around with them gets very old, very fast, and we’re left with the same basic gameplay framework that the first game had, albeit with a few puzzles thrown in here and there for some more variety.

This is actually one of the stickier areas when we’re dealing with the Force Unleashed games- there are many who maintain that the gameplay of the first title was perfect for the kind of intense and fast paced experience that it was trying to deliver, so why try to fix what evidently is not broken? On the other hand, even the most die hard of all loyalists will be hard pressed to deny that the first game lacked some originality and it lacked a lot of polish. Certainly, these two areas should have been addressed properly in this sequel.

I can unflinchingly say that as much as this game sucks, it still looks darned good.

Whereas quite a few new powers have been added to this game- the grapple, mind control, Force Sensing- the point is that most of it is really incomplete and half baked in its execution, and none of them really do much to actually shake up the formula. In theory, the grapple and mind control should have been interesting new additions to the game. In The Force Unleashed 2, none of them does anything at all to change the combat, except for adding a couple of cool looking animations. But it all ends up boiling down to the same thing ultimately.

The Force Unleashed 2 isn’t a bad game by design, I think. Contrary to my implicit accusation in the introduction to this review, I think that the developers genuinely wanted to explore new gameplay avenues in this sequel. The problem is that they were working on a very shaky foundation, and that really messed things up for them. The story is appalling, the gameplay is crude, the camera- dear Lord, the camera sucks, and no other adjective can do my feelings justice here- but the graphics are still amazing, the soundtrack is still nice to listen to, and on a technical level, this game excels. Unfortunately, like I said earlier in this review, what that leaves us with is a mechanical drone corpse of a game, a zombie that functions perfectly at the surface level, but lacks that spark, that soul, that is needed to truly make the game something special.

Stay away from this one. The first one is still a much better game.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.