Star Wars fans usually look to announced Star Wars games with eagerness and foreboding. While each new Star Wars game has the potential to be great, there’s also the chance that it will terrible enough to bring shame to the name of Star Wars. However, The Force Unleashed has made it clear that it will be a gem in the Star Wars crown.

The story takes place between episodes III and IV with a new cast of characters including Juno Eclipse, your pilot and love interest; Shaak-Ti, a Togruta warrior; and Maris Brood, a female Zebrak who uses two lightsabers. The main character is an unnamed apprentice of Darth Vader.

The missions revolve around furthering Darth Vader’s plans to gain power in the galaxy. Obviously this story will not have the usual protagonist found in the Star Wars series. The Force Unleashed will also have a different type of story than the other Star Wars games. Where the usual Star Wars formula is light versus dark, The Force Unleashed will be more complicated, much more than good versus bad. Being Darth Vader’s apprentice you have exceptional power over the force. Your powers include, force grip, lightning, push and repulse. These powers can be mixed and combined to provide unique attacks.

The Force Unleashed will serve as a testing ground for new technologies which could revolutionize the gaming world. The two systems are DMM, digital molecular matter and euphoria. DMM gives every ‘molecule’ real life qualities; molecules of wood would act the same as molecules of wood in reality.

According to Hayden Blackman, the Unleashed project head, “No two impacts will ever produce the same result.” The euphoria engine is based on enemy AI. It allows the AI to actively use its surroundings. Enemies will adapt to their environments, shift their center of gravity, dodge projectiles, cling to ledges, and basically act the same as a human would, and to top it off the actions are unscripted. These two systems allow the game to have amazing versatility and could be applied to produce a game with seemingly endless replayablitiy.

One problem with the game seems to be the lack of lightsaber usage. Since not every object in the game has DMM, the lightsaber cannot cut though everything, walls and doors as well as natural boundaries are off limits. The lightsaber deflects blaster fire on its own and it seems all attacking can be done with the four force powers.

With its brand new storyline and groundbreaking technology Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will provide Star Wars fans and gamers to unique experiences not found elsewhere.