Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Damn You George Lucas. Worth: $10
based on 360 retail

La la, ARGH! La la, ARGH!.

The difficulty level on this game is so all over the place that it's a wonder I didn't pitch my controller out the window. Yes, it looks great, sounds great, and has a good story that connects Trilogy I with Trilogy II. But certain areas and rooms are so suddenly and egregiously challenging that I learned to just have the GamerGal read me a walkthrough any time I got killed more than twice in the same room.

Pet peeve: Boss fights that finish with a button puzzle. I can't see the coolness when I'm doing a goddamned button puzzle. I cannot _wait_ for button puzzles to go out of style. It's such a cheap shortcut. Just give me a good boss fight, don't clutter it up with these mindless button puzzles. With that said, at least the timing for these button puzzles was relatively forgiving. Mercenaries 2 and God of War 2 gave me practically no time to hit the buttons.

Most rooms were fun. I'd Force Grip someone and throw them around, or I'd zap fools with Lightning. Sometimes I'd stab them with my Light Saber. But... that's kind of it. It's a pony with a great trick, but it's only got the one trick. Replay is practically zero except I wanted to see how the two endings looked. And don't get me started about the signature Force Move Of Amazingness, pulling down the Star Destroyer.

The signature Force Move Of Amazingness, pulling down the Star Destroyer
This goddamn puzzle managed to ruin what could have been the coolest video game moment, ever. Ripping a Star Destroyer from the sky and dashing it into the ruins of a once-great city. But the way this is handled is so long and tedious that it just becomes something to get over with, like doing the dishes after Thanksgiving dinner. It's a huge missed opportunity, and it sums up the entire experience of playing this solidly-built but deeply flawed game.