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Publisher: Aspyr
Developer: LucasArts
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP2/Win7; Core2Duo 2.4 GHz or Athlon X2 5200+ or better CPU; 256 MB DirectX 9.0c-compatible video card with Shader Model 3 support; DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card; 2 GB RAM; 24.8 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now
Back when the original Force Unleashed game came out on consoles, I pounced on it as any rabid “Star Wars” fan would. Yes, I am one of those guys; I even played Star Wars: Galaxies for quite a bit there, too, so cast all the stones you want. I love this stuff, so naturally I picked up a copy the day it came out and rushed home to play, expecting to be wowed by saber-swinging, Euphoria-laced Digital Molecular Matter in my most favorite sci-fi setting of all time. I came away impressed with the graphics and environments, but was bothered by the unbalanced combat, load screens and sketchy targeting system. Now I’ve got another chance to trek a bit deeper into the universe and explore the additional content of the Ultimate Sith Edition. Let’s kill some Jawas, shall we?
Anyone out there who has experienced the original game knows that you play as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, codename Starkiller. As the primary conscript in a double-cross you can see coming from a parsec away, Starkiller’s job is to exterminate all the remaining Jedi that the infamous “Order 66” didn’t dispatch, mainly as training for a loftier kill. However, much like all the force-using primary characters in the “Star Wars” universe, Starkiller’s allegiance is tested by the opposite side of the force tugging at his sleeve.
 The additional content in Ultimate Sith Edition drops the tugging in favor of a good yanking back to the dark side. In the three additional levels not included in the original game (The Jedi Temple, Hoth and Tatooine), Starkiller has given himself completely to the Sith, which presents the player with some saga-altering scenarios to play, such as a battle with Boba Fett and more Wampa ice creatures than you ever knew existed. There’s also a bevy of alternate looks for you to model, including those from the Force Unleashed, the downloadable content for consoles, and a couple of Ultimate Sith Edition exclusives.
Yet despite all these frills and extras, the core remains the same. The same nagging issues I had with the console versions have tagged along for the PC outing, including cheap-shot enemy A.I. that plugs away at you when you’re down, and the shoddy targeting system used in force maneuvers. Then there’s the options menu, which to my recollection is the only one I’ve ever seen that requires its own loading screen. The use of tech could have been better, too. Digital Molecular Matter, a big buzz phrase around the initial release of Force Unleashed, was sorely underused, in my opinion. I wanted to buckle the walls and shatter boulders like a titan, not play the bendy game with a door or break windows.
 I’m not about to throw Ultimate Sith Edition down a reactor shaft just yet, though. While the gameplay is derivative of any other third-person hack-and-slash affair, it does well to satisfy “Star Wars” junkies like myself in other areas. For one, the environments are spectacular, offering a wonderful sense of scale and authenticity, and the sound is up to the standards you’d expect from LucasArts. It’s also fun to explore the events between Episodes III and IV a little bit, even if it takes a little bending to make the stories connect just right.
Here comes the part in which I say “If you’ve already played this game on consoles, etc, etc…” and yes, it holds true for Star Wars: Force Unleashed – Ultimate Sith Edition. It’s a fun playthrough for first-timers, for the experience if for nothing else, but previous players should stay away because you’re basically just re-buying the game with a smattering of extra content. Ultimate Sith Edition might be the most competent on-foot “Star Wars” game in a long time, but does that make it worth purchasing twice?
Our Score: 
Our Recommendation: 
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I recently beat Force Unleashed on the Wii (my first ever Wii game) and it sucked ass. I see not much has changed in this iteration.
Andrew also failed to mention the performance issues. I tried playing this on my PC. The result? Well, it was a pretty slideshow when the lightsabers were flashing, and not much better the rest of the time. But I knew my system is a little below the requirements graphically. I’ve got plenty of memory and a fast CPU, but my graphics card is a little outdated. So I took it over to a friend who has a state of the art computer with a $400 video card… and was still disappointed by the performance, though at least it was actually playable.
You can’t negotiate the menus with a mouse… there’s no antialiasing and no way to turn it on (though on my computer, that would’ve just made things even slower)… no way to tweak any setting other than resolution and brightness (if I could turn off shadows, it would seriously speed up the game)… all in all, I’d say the programmers did a very lazy job with this translation.
PC developers are only shooting themselves in the foot by not catering to the individuality of each user’s PC. I noticed the lack of performance tweaks, too, Marcus. Don’t know why I didn’t mention it, though.
Nice catch!
I only played it for a little while and this is my first ever try at this game and I have to say the bugs stand out. First ever loading screened menu, indeed. The controls are awkward, the targeting system annoys me every single time and it’s not even as fun as I had hoped. This seems, overall, like a huge rush job.
I’d probably play it through all the way, just to see what happens and to be prepared for the sequel, should they make it better, but I’d recommend this only to Star Wars junkies who never played it before (basically me).
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