Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - first look

Features
By published

You are Darth Vader's hit man. And you can throw spaceships with your brain

In fact, while there are multiple endings planned and the body counts may vary, it looks like literally any person, droid, or alien who can talk will need to be silenced as you terrorize worlds such as the lava-spewing junk planet Raxus Prime, forested Wookie homeworld Kashyyyk, or the glowy, mushroom-y swamp of Felucia. Note that each planet is jammed with new stuff for you to wreck.

Specifically, aside from Vader, we know of only two characters - in the whole galaxy - whom we can confirm you definitely don't have to kill. One of the chosen two untouchables is Juno Eclipse, the sexy blonde pilot of your ship, the Rogue Shadow - she's also your love interest, incidentally. And you're doing well - check out her art in our screenshot viewer. The other is a bipedal droid whose name is still secret. We were intriguingly promised "he" will supply the trademark, Star Wars droid-style comic relief and some of the most "empowering" moments in the game.

Now, remember: Force Unleashed gives you the ability to levitate and spontaneously combust an AT-ST, or (maybe) to kill a rancor by getting swallowed and then exploding its entire midsection from the inside out with a gooey Force Repulse. With that in mind, the fact that one particular character is described as empowering means something big, indeed.

Above: We've beenwarned that the Jedi riding rancors thing might not happen - but we hope desperately that it does

Specifically, aside from Vader, we know of only two characters - in the whole galaxy - whom we can confirm you definitely don't have to kill. One of the chosen two untouchables is Juno Eclipse, the sexy blonde pilot of your ship, the Rogue Shadow - she's also your love interest, incidentally. And you're doing well - check out her art in our screenshot viewer. The other is a bipedal droid whose name is still secret. We were intriguingly promised "he" will supply the trademark, Star Wars droid-style comic relief and some of the most "empowering" moments in the game.

Now, remember: Force Unleashed gives you the ability to levitate and spontaneously combust an AT-ST, or (maybe) to kill a rancor by getting swallowed and then exploding its entire midsection from the inside out with a gooey Force Repulse. With that in mind, the fact that one particular character is described as empowering means something big, indeed.

Eric Bratcher
Eric Bratcher
I was the founding Executive Editor/Editor in Chief here at GR, charged with making sure we published great stories every day without burning down the building or getting sued. Which isn't nearly as easy as you might imagine. I don't work for GR any longer, but I still come here - why wouldn't I? It's awesome. I'm a fairly average person who has nursed an above average love of video games since I first played Pong just over 30 years ago. I entered the games journalism world as a freelancer and have since been on staff at the magazines Next Generation and PSM before coming over to GamesRadar. Outside of gaming, I also love music (especially classic metal and hard rock), my lovely wife, my pet pig Bacon, Japanese monster movies, and my dented, now dearly departed '89 Ranger pickup truck. I pray sincerely. I cheer for the Bears, Bulls, and White Sox. And behind Tyler Nagata, I am probably the GR staffer least likely to get arrested... again.