I am going to level with you. I had an extremely difficult time coming up with an intelligent, thoughtful introduction for this story. I was going to tell a joke about Admiral Ackbar and Salacious Crumb, but canned the idea for fear that it would fizzle. Therefore, I will simply ask you watch this trailer, followed by this video.
That was much easier than what I usually do to combat writer’s block. Generally, I bang my head against a wall until something good comes out. Perhaps I should avoid that method in the future. My cranium bruises like a mushy peach. What is my address again?
The first footage was the “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” trailer that LucasArts brought to the E3 2007. I, like many gamers, marveled at it. I don’t have the official tally, but I am pretty sure that at least 200 hundred grown men dressed like Yoda simultaneously crapped their pants. The idea, in theory, was rather brilliant. Use the Force to destroy one of the most feared warships in the entire “Star Wars” universe. Unfortunately, performing the act, which was shown in the second video, wasn’t as fun as many had hoped it would be.
The Empire, not content to watch the destruction of its impressive vessel, would dispatch numerous waves of TIE Fighters to Starkiller’s location. Once all adversaries had been dealt with, players had to use the PlayStation 3’s dual analog sticks to correctly position the massive battleship; then pull it to the ground. However, due to the additional groups of enemy fighters, time was limited. Failure to make enough progress allowed the Empire to re-position the ship, which negated all of your hard work. As a result, the battle often devolved into a frustrating and tedious experience. The on-screen cues were mildly helpful, but I didn’t enjoy being spoon-fed directions like a small child. I assure you that I learned to wipe my own ass quite a long time ago.
Was the Star Destroyer sequence a complete travesty? No. However, it was an extremely disappointing moment in a game that failed to meet the expectations of many critics. Though, I certainly had fun abusing the force.
LucasArts had a promising idea, but failed to properly execute it. For sucking so bad in an otherwise good, not great game, Starkiller’s tug of war with an Imperial vessel is one of our top gaming moments of 2008.
Popularity: 1% [?]
No kidding, that scene sucked balls. I couldn’t enjoy it at all because I had to straighten out the Star Destroyer every time before pulling it down. I bitched and moaned out loud the whole time playing this scene.
At least you got to do something. The Wii version had a poorly made, lo-res cutscene which looked terrible. Ok, so the Wii graphics are poor you say. Then you compare it to Sonic Unleashed with cutscenes that look good on the Wii (Not HD but not an eyesore) and you see that the developers simply cut corners.