Starkiller has even more power at his disposal -- what will you do with it?
August 20, 2009 - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed put players in control of Darth Vader's secret apprentice and combined the venerable sci-fi franchise with fast-paced, physics-based action. The game was generally well-received and its launch was followed by a downloadable level that took place about halfway through the Force Unleashed storyline, at a Jedi temple. In the next few weeks, another downloadable level will be available that takes place on Tatooine. Perhaps most exciting, however, is Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition, which combines all the downloadable levels and an additional exclusive level into one package, on top of the original game. The result looks quite fun, indeed.
Ultimate Sith is essentially the "collectors edition" of the Force Unleashed and it definitely seems to be worth the investment, even for people that already own the original version. Here at Gamescom in Cologne, I was able to watch a short demonstration of Ultimate Sith that covered the two new levels. From what I saw, these look like very cool levels to play.
Both take place after the end of the Force Unleashed, but only if you choose the "evil ending." For gamers unwilling to have the Force Unleashed ending spoiled, I would recommend you stop reading now. But for those that have already completed the game, you'll already know that this means Starkiller has killed Vader and has grown extremely powerful, thanks to the dark powers of the Force.
The two as-of-yet unreleased bonus levels both start Starkiller with all his powers fully unlocked and fully upgraded. In other words, this Sith Lord is ready for some serious action. As Darth Vader has been killed too early and the universe has become more of an "alternate reality," the Tatooine level is very different than the Tatooine from the films. The Empire is looking for Leia's droids and Starkiller is dispatched to get the job done.
The great thing about the Tatooine level (and the exclusive-to-disc Hoth level) is that they take very familiar Star Wars scenes and make them fresh by changing the context slightly. Starkiller just tears through these places and fights some familiar faces, like Obi-Wan and Luke, with his incredible Sith powers in tow. Entering Jabba's palace while pushing, grabbing and zapping a bunch of Jawas and Tusken Raiders is pretty rad, though there's always a bit of guilt around the mindless slaughter of innocent creatures...
One of the best parts of the demo was when Starkiller snatched up a helpless Jawa and held it aloft in the air for a few moments with the Force. Unfortunately for the silly little Jawa, a nearby Tusken sniper saw the suspended target and blew it away, which I found incredibly amusing. Poor Jawa.
The second level on display was the level exclusive to the retail disc for Ultimate Sith Edition. Revolving around the famous battle of planet Hoth, Starkiller must invade Echo Base while Imperial Walkers are making their way towards the stoic Rebel defenders. This mission culminates into a battle with Luke Skywalker, though this is a Luke very different than the one we all know and love(?). As his past is very different in this version of the Star Wars universe, he will be using his powers quite differently. I'll leave it at that.
With the Tatooine mission coming soon and Ultimate Sith on its way to store shelves this November, I say that there's been no better time to invest in the Force Unleashed. This looks like a very good edition of an already solid action title.
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