First Attempt:
Being Darth Vader is fantastic awesome amazing. You start on the planet Kashyyyk (AKA Wookie World) and just get to blow everything up looking for this Jedi. Good fun all around. You get all of the best powers right away. Truly, this was a great decision to make a game focusing on the Force and not a super-wookie of Han Solo-like hero. Hmmm. You can't run, which makes sense because Vader would never run. Told my friend that I didn't like Vader's Cape in the game, to which he replied that, without it, he would look stupid, and that I'm stupid for even suggesting such a thing. Pause for argument. Once settled that, yes, Vader should always have some sort of dramatic cape, we're back to playing. I've lost count of how many people I've executed because dangling squirmy beings over in the air is too much fun. Hey look! That kid is really strong, let's make him our pet. So far so good. I'm liking the cutie Secret Apprentice and being able to use the powers. I can't throw objects for crap at the moment, but I'm getting better. I'm warned that it will only get much much harder.

(I later seek a second opinion on the whole cape argument, only to be told that I'm wrong again: "Meredith, keep in mind Vader also has some vest or tunic underneath, so try to picture the baddest dude in the galaxy with a World War 2 helmet and a long vest. I think the cape is necessary." I promise I won't bring it up again.)

Second Attempt:
Clearly, George Lucas hates orange people, so no surprise that Shaak Ti dies in this video game (she had already died twice before in deleted scenes from LEGO Star Wars and in deleted scenes from Revenge Of The Sith). When she commits suicide on planet Felucia, it was met with ho-hums from most, but what actually really pissed me off was that her exit into the sarlacc pit was terribly meh. We've all seen the stabby lightsaber through the heart/throat deleted scene and heard of the possible decapitation head tentacles flying. But in Force Unleashed she just jumps to her death. How can you kill someone for the third time and have it be so boring? I thought she should have been lit on fire, but other friends suggested either an actual recreation of the mythical never-before-seen decapitation or that Starkiller throw her into the pit by her head horns (classy).

Moving on, Oooh snap. Vader stabbed his loved one in the chest. It was one of those surprise moments that I didn't actually see coming, I thought surely the Emperor would have killed him. WTF? He got sucked into space and he didn't die immediately. Star Wars science is bullshit! I'm not the only one who is perturbed by this.

Now that we're getting a closer look at actual humans from past wars I can easily say that CG Princess Leia looks great, but who is doing her voice? It's cancelling out all the hard work that the designers did getting her "just so." That said, this whole revisit to Kashyyyk is worth it just to check out Ozzik Sturn's trophy room with all the stuffed heads from the prequel monsters and even a few aliens that were clearly intelligent beings - It's creepy and awesome. It's hard when you're used to watching the movies and not the Star Wars games, because everytime there's a video cut I get excited, but tire of the continual "Thank you but you need to do this one thing in order for me to help you." Obviously, tasks are important in a game, but I have a hard time caring about saving the Wookies just 'cause. But then again it is cool to see them celebrate.

...I'm growing tired of Maris Brood and her repetitive jive talking. She sucks and I'm insulted that I've died so many times because of this little imp. Especially since everyone I know killed her in one shot. Thank God for the inferior AI moments in this game where people like the Shadow Guard and Purge Stormtroopers get stuck. These moments have given me the ability slowly learn how to use my powers and whatnot.

Are there any other planets in this game besides Felucia and Kashyyyk? I wish we could explore a few more places, but at least each one is different everytime we visit it.

Final question that I bother my friends with before quitting on this go-round: If the Purge Stormtroopers have armor that can resist the force what do you think it's made of? I say anti-midi-chlorians. Other responses: the animals from Timothy Zahn's ysalimiri (10 points for that answer), and two votes for adamantium.

Third Attempt:
I'm having a hell of a time beating Proxy, and at this point I'm debating just handing the controller over just so I can watch the end. I'm being teased by friends who finished this in one long sitting, but at least I didn't resort to running around and screaming while holding the controller unlike certain others. I happen to think that the transformation into Darth Maul was totally unexpected and neat, but apparently I'm alone in this opinion. After the initial shock is warn off I'm told that this is merely a gratuitous reference to the past films. "Yeah but it's Darth Maul, they had to throw him in there somewhere."

Fourth Attempt:
Onto the hard part. HOLY CRAP, the Death Star looks sweet... Ooooh my god, this level is insane. I try to make it past the entrance and fail over and over. I blame Juno.

Did anyone else think that the love story in Force Unleashed was rushed, still I'm glad it was included. I'm sure she'll play a larger role than we know at the moment. The kiss was adorable if not overly dramatic with yet ANOTHER backwards jump into an abyss. I'm going to have to side with friends when they collectively hoped that the Apprentice was so powerful with the Force that he impregnated her with just that kiss and she now has a secret baby. I definitely think that a Jedi could get a woman pregnant with a kiss, and my friends agree. Especially Starkiller (oh yeah we got the shout out to Luke's possible name thanks).

Retire from sheer jealousy.

Fifth Attempt:
Leaving and coming back did not make the last level any less difficult, as I'd hoped. I'd been warned about this and now realize that I may be up all night just trying to survive the first few minutes. I think my friend Jake explained it best: "I honestly for the first part of the final level just put the controller down and went and made myself some raspberry iced tea while the secret apprentice got fucking murdered."

Many, many, many, many, many hours later (and also some asking for help in the way of "You play this part"), I got to see the happy ending. Even though I hate Juno because she's got a killer body, a sexy accent and gets to kiss the Apprentice, I was rooting for them. So yes it was sad to see her all alone, but I'm assuming the aforementioned kiss left her with super child. More importantly, I shared the joy in the creation of the Rebellion and realized how funny it is that the people I know with Rebellion tattoos will now forever be linked in my head to a video game. No, I didn't shriek when they uncovered the crest of Marek for the new symbol of the rebellion, but it was still cool to find out where it came from. Strange, that the Emperor and Darth Vader practically created the group that would later bring them all down; you'd think they'd be smarter than that.

(I was then told that if I played the level again I would be able to see the Dark Side ending. Screw that, it took me forever to get to this spot, I just went and watched it on youtube. Let me tell you, Edward Scissorhand Apprentice is disturbing. That's him on the left - scary, no? It's sad because everyone dies. While the "what if" scenario is cool, it doesn't really jive or sit well with everything else. Sometimes it's okay to just let someone be dead. But I think that if I saw scissorhand coming at me I'd probably crap my pants.)

So what did I think of the game? Excellent, fun, and well worth my time. SA is a great character and never really gets too mean to not fall in love with. Granted, it got frustrating - I think that the 7th time I was killed by Proxy I yelled and woke up the neighbor's baby - but these are the prices that we have to pay for the good ending (Not the scary Dark one). Will I play it again? Maybe? Probably? I still need to prove myself since I had so much help through almost all of the game, after all.

But probably the best thing about Force Unleashed was that for a video game the main character held my love and attention 10,000 times better than this guy:

According the behind-the-scenes guidebook, The Art And Making Of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the Corpse Droid was a "reverse cyborg." This droid was so obsessed with becoming organic, he would either hack off the parts of the people the Secret Apprentice killed, or resort to "cold-blooded murder" himself. As he acquired the human parts he needed, his look would change through the video game, as you can see in the concept art from Greg Knight.

The idea bounced around from the Corpse Droid being his own villain, to a member of the Apprentice's team as the funny sidekick. But in the end as the Secret Apprentice's team took shape they, "realized that the Corpse Droid was too outlandish and would not fit the group dynamic," and that it would be "too dark."

The Corpse Droid is an awesome idea as a bad guy, but way too dark for this video game. Still it would have been funny to try and watch them pass a murdering, body harvesting robot off as the comedy relief, "uh-oh, the droid murdered the pilot again. What are we gonna do, gang?"

The Art And Making Of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a revealing look into how bizarre the video game could have been — but also a glimpse of how dark it still is.

Case in point: another dark character, Admiral Ozzik Sturn, did make it into the game. Ozzik went through many different generations as a character. But the creators knew all along, they had to include another scary face in the Empire. Originally the artists toyed with they idea of making him a shape shifter, so artist Amy Beth Christenson has a lot of Predator-esque and Phantom of The Opera concept art for Sturn.

But in the end Sturn became a big game hunter, who was stationed at Kashyyyk (the Wookie home planet). His love for the hunt is shown in Wooke pelts and a sash that he dons in the video game. Yikes — he kills Wookies, skins them, then walks around the planet displaying their hides.

Displaying why he truly is the biggest baddie, Vader first takes on a son-like Secret Apprentice, then tries to kill the Apprentice's girlfriend, disowns him by throwing him against a wall when caught by the Emperor, then goes after him himself. All this abuse can only end with the SA turning to the good side — sigh, he was sexier when he was murdering anyone who laid eyes on him. But aside from the mushy love stuff, check out that action. The SA splits an AT-AT in half, and throws his light saber through multiple trees and impales a Wookiee. And finally we get a glimpse of the inevitable show-down between Vader and his SA. Even if this game fails, the crazy Force action and cool story should make it worth watching.
[EW via Kokatu]

[Worth Playing and Game Riot]

All of that Force knowledge may turn out to be useful in the struggle between the holy sword Soul Calibur and it's other, darker half Soul Edge. I just hope the Star Wars characters beat the crap out of the ridiculous SC IV guys.

[Soul Calibur and Kotaku]