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109-804: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a 2008 action-adventure game developed and published by LucasArts , and part of The Force Unleashed multimedia project. It was initially developed for the PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , Wii , and Xbox 360 consoles and on iOS , second-generation N-Gage , Nintendo DS , PlayStation Portable , and Java-equipped mobile phone handhelds. The game was released in North America on September 16, 2008, in Australia and Southeast Asia on September 17, and in Europe on September 19. LucasArts released downloadable content for

218-558: A Star Wars movie". It is the first game on which LucasArts and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) collaborated since they both relocated to the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco , California . This collaboration allowed the companies to co-develop tools to make film-quality effects. LucasArts worked with ILM's Zeno tool framework and helped ILM build its Zed game editor. Lucas said having

327-618: A bounty hunter , a smuggler , a mercenary or the last member of the Skywalker family living 500 years after the events of Return of the Jedi . The decision to focus on the largely unexplored period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope helped energize the design team. Consumer feedback helped the developers narrow in on seven concepts, and elements from those seven went into The Force Unleashed ' s overall concept. Production

436-627: A fantasy " setting. Tutankham , debuted by Konami in January 1982, was an action-adventure released for arcades . It combined maze, shoot 'em up, puzzle-solving and adventure elements, with a 1983 review by Computer and Video Games magazine calling it "the first game that effectively combined the elements of an adventure game with frenetic shoot 'em up gameplay." It inspired the similar Time Bandit (1983). Action Quest , released in May 1982, blended puzzle elements of adventure games into

545-446: A joystick -controlled, arcade-style action game, which surprised reviewers at the time. While noting some similarities to Adventure , IGN argues that The Legend of Zelda (1986) by Nintendo "helped to establish a new subgenre of action-adventure", becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, adventure-style inventory puzzles , an action component,

654-571: A monetary system , and simplified RPG-style level building without the experience points . The Legend of Zelda series was the most prolific action-adventure game franchise through to the 2000s. Roe R. Adams also cited the arcade-style side-scrolling fantasy games Castlevania (1986), Trojan (1986) and Wizards & Warriors (1987) as early examples of action-adventure games. Games like Brain Breaker (1985), Xanadu (1985), Metroid (1986) and Vampire Killer (1986) combined

763-589: A personal computer version of The Force Unleashed , stating that doing the game well would be too processor -intensive for typical PCs and that scaling down the game's procedural physics for the PC platform would "fundamentally" change The Force Unleashed ' s gameplay. However, LucasArts later announced Windows and Mac versions of the game, developed in conjunction with Aspyr Media, for release in Fall 2009. Lacking Havok, Euphoria, and DMM, Krome's Wii version relies on

872-767: A subgenre of open world action-adventure video games in the third-person perspective . They are characterized by their likeness to the Grand Theft Auto series in either gameplay or overall design. In these types of open world games, players may find and use a variety of vehicles and weapons while roaming freely in an open world setting. Metroidvania is a portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania ; such games are sometimes referred to as "search action", and are generally based on two-dimensional platformers. They emphasize both exploration and puzzle-solving with traditional platform gameplay. Survival horror games emphasize "inventory management" and making sure

981-528: A "clean slate" to conceptualize a new Star Wars game; the small group of engineers , artists , and designers spent more than a year brainstorming ideas for what might make a good game. Over 100 initial concepts were whittled down to 20 to 25 that included making the game the third entry in the Knights of the Old Republic series or having the protagonist be a Wookiee " superhero ", Darth Maul ,

1090-571: A "jumping off point" for the expansion, LucasArts decided instead to make the new mission instantly accessible to players. The mission's location — the Jedi Temple on Coruscant  — appears in the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions of The Force Unleashed , but was cut during planning from the PS3 and Xbox 360 platforms. The Tatooine Downloadable Content, released August 27, 2009,

1199-545: A choice of what to say. The NPC gives a scripted response to the player, and the game offers the player several new ways to respond. Due to the action-adventure subgenre's broad and inclusive nature, it causes some players to have difficulty finishing a particular game. Companies have devised ways to give the player help, such as offering clues or allowing the player to skip puzzles to compensate for this lack of ability. Brett Weiss cites Atari 's Superman (1979) as an action-adventure game, with Retro Gamer crediting it as

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1308-474: A combination of complex story elements, which are often displayed for players using audio and video. The story is heavily reliant upon the player character's movement, which triggers story events and thus affects the flow of the game. Popular examples of action-adventure games include The Legend of Zelda , God of War , and Tomb Raider series. There is a good deal of controversy over what actually constitutes an action-adventure game. One definition of

1417-448: A complex text parser and no free-moving character. While they share general gameplay dynamics, action-adventures vary widely in the design of their viewpoints, including bird's eye , side-scrolling, first-person, third-person , over-the-shoulder, or even a 3/4 isometric view . Many action-adventure games simulate a conversation through a conversation tree . When the player encounters a non-player character , they are allowed to select

1526-669: A duel which allows the droids to board the Millennium Falcon , though Starkiller manages to place a tracking device on the ship before it takes off. In the Hoth DLC, Starkiller partakes in the Battle of Hoth, where the Empire attacks the weakened Rebel Alliance base. During the battle, Starkiller infiltrates the base with orders to capture Luke Skywalker , who had begun training as a Jedi. Starkiller finds and defeats Skywalker in

1635-517: A game with a mix of elements from an action game and an adventure game , especially crucial elements like puzzles inspired by older adventure games. Action-adventures require many of the same physical skills as action games, but may also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games. They are typically faster-paced than pure adventure games, because they include both physical and conceptual challenges. Action-adventure games normally include

1744-491: A hot knife through butter", GameSpot said the player's sense of power is not matched by a sense of freedom. GameSpot called the PSP version's camera "unwieldy", but added that smaller and less cluttered environments make the targeting system less frustrating than on other platforms. The Wii version was a nominee for multiple Wii-specific awards from IGN in its 2008 video game awards, including Best Story and Best Voice Acting. In

1853-577: A proprietary engine combines "musical elements according to the pace, plot, and environment of the game at any given moment", resulting in a unique musical experience. A promotional soundtrack album was made available online through Tracksounds.com in 2008. Sean Williams ' novelization was released in the United States on August 19, 2008. It spent one week as #1 on both Publishers Weekly ' s and The New York Times ' hardcover fiction bestsellers lists, slipping to #7 and #9, respectively,

1962-457: A redeemed Plagueis become the apprentice's mentor. Knight and the developers explored different possible looks for Plagueis, depicting him as a human resembling actor Michael Gambon , a zombie , a time traveler , a cyborg , etc. Although the game introduces new characters, developers felt the presence of characters already part of Star Wars would help anchor the game within the official continuity. During pre-production, about 30 people were on

2071-711: A side-scrolling platformer format with adventure exploration, creating the Metroidvania platform-adventure subgenre. Similarly, games like 005 (1981), Castle Wolfenstein and Metal Gear (1987) combined action-adventure exploration with stealth mechanics, laying the foundations for the stealth game subgenre, which would later be popularized in 1998 with the releases of Metal Gear Solid , Tenchu: Stealth Assassins , and Thief: The Dark Project . The cinematic platformer Prince of Persia (1989) featured action-adventure elements, inspiring games such as Another World (1991) and Flashback (1992). Alone in

2180-400: A single avatar as the protagonist . This type of game is often quite similar to role-playing video games . They are distinct from graphic adventures , which sometimes have free-moving central characters, but also a wider variety of commands and fewer or no action game elements and are distinct too from text adventures , characterized by many different commands introduced by the user via

2289-547: A standard feature of their two handed game controllers, the Wii U GamePad and the DualShock 4 . The consoles also had support for some devices in the previous generation of motion controllers depending on individual games. Valve 's Steam Controller was designed solely for use with PC's and required its Steam software. Its 6DOF sensors were made available for use by games published on Steam , and options available to users allowed

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2398-540: A variety of functions, including for mobile applications to use them as motion controllers. Motion controllers have used a variety of different sensors in different combinations to detect and measure movements, sometimes as separate inputs and sometimes together to provide a more precise or more reliable input. In modern devices most of the sensors are specialized integrated circuits . The following items are examples of current and historical methods of tracking motion. Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) are used to detect

2507-480: Is a port of the Wii version with numerous differences. It retains the motion controls from the Wii version, allowing players to use the Joy-Con controllers to perform various actions like swinging the lightsaber and using Force powers. While the graphical improvements are minor, it benefits from a stable 60 FPS performance, which is an improvement over some older versions that had frame rate issues. This version includes

2616-735: Is an action game that includes situational problem-solving. Adventure gamers may also be purists, rejecting any game that makes use of physical challenges or time pressure. Regardless, the action-adventure label is prominent in articles over the internet and media. The term "action-adventure" is usually substituted for a particular subgenre due to its wide scope. Although action-adventure games are diverse and difficult to classify, there are some distinct subgenres. Many games with gameplay similar to those in The Legend of Zelda series are called Zelda clones or Zelda -like games. Popular subgenres include: A Grand Theft Auto clone belongs to

2725-445: Is intended to be easy to learn; the development team included "horrible" gamers to help ensure the game's accessibility. Players can casually run and gun through the game, but the game rewards those who take a stealthy, more tactical approach. The game includes enemies that are easy to overcome; game difficulty arises from presenting these enemies in large numbers that can wear down the player's character. Additionally, enemies learn from

2834-408: Is subdued with Force lightning. At this point, the player must choose between saving Kota (Light Side) or killing Vader (Dark Side). Three downloadable content (DLC) levels for the game were released for the PS3, Xbox 360 and computer versions of the game. The first one is set during the events of the main story and explores more of Starkiller's background, while the second and third ones expand upon

2943-535: Is the first of two expansions that occur in an "Infinities" storyline, an alternate history in which Starkiller kills Vader and becomes Palpatine's assassin. The second Infinities expansion, which takes place on Hoth, was originally only available as part of the Ultimate Sith Edition , which also includes all previous downloadable content. However, the Hoth expansion was later made available for download on

3052-518: The Uncharted franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Ark: Survival Evolved . Motion controller Motion controllers see use as game controllers , for virtual reality and other simulation purposes, and as pointing devices for smart TVs and Personal computers . Many of the technologies needed for motion controllers are often used together in smartphones to provide

3161-532: The 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards , the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded The Force Unleashed with " Outstanding Achievement in Adapted Story ". The Force Unleashed received mixed to fairly positive reviews. Electronic Gaming Monthly said the game is "ambitious--yet dissatisfying"; however, GameSpot said the game "gets more right than it does wrong". GameSpot said

3270-626: The Atari 2600 , which measured the movement of the user's eyebrows with a fitted headband. The Sega Activator was based on the Light Harp invented by Assaf Gurner. It was released as an optional accessory for the Mega Drive (Genesis) in 1993 and could read the player's physical movements using full-body motion tracking. It was a commercial failure due to its "unwieldiness and inaccuracy". Motion controllers became more widely distributed with

3379-573: The Motion Plus feature added gyroscopic sensors to track all three axes of rotation independent of whether the controller had line of sight to the sensors bar. The PlayStation 3 launched with the Sixaxis controller included, which featured three-axis accelerometer motion tracking and a one axis gyroscope while not including the haptic feedback (vibration) seen in other modern consoles citing interference concerns. Both features were included in

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3488-793: The Original Trilogy . The game's soundtrack includes material composed by John Williams for the films in addition to material created specifically for The Force Unleashed . Jesse Harlin composed the game's main theme, while Mark Griskey composed the score. Griskey made use of several motifs from the film scores as well as Harlin's main theme. The 90-minute soundtrack was recorded by the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra and mixed at Skywalker Sound in Lucas Valley in September and October 2007. During gameplay,

3597-533: The Razer Hydra , which used a magnetometer. Nintendo and Sony would adopt motion tracking using gyroscopes and accelerometers as a standard hardware feature in successive generations starting with their handheld consoles the 3DS and the PS Vita , both of which had the required three-axis accelerometers and gyroscopes. In the eighth generation of video game consoles Nintendo and Sony included those sensors as

3706-401: The seventh generation of video game consoles . The Nintendo Wii console's Wii Remote controller used an image sensor so it could be used as a pointing device along with an accelerometer to track straight-line motions and the direction of gravity. The Nunchuk accessory for use in a second hand also featured an accelerometer. A later line of accessories and refreshed controllers labeled with

3815-818: The "first to utilize multiple screens as playing area". Mark J.P. Wolf credits Adventure (1980) for the Atari VCS as the earliest-known action-adventure game. The game involves exploring a 2D environment, finding and using items which each have prescribed abilities, and fighting dragons in real-time like in an action game . Muse Software 's Castle Wolfenstein (1981) was another early action-adventure game, merging exploration, combat, stealth, and maze game elements, drawing inspiration from arcade shoot 'em ups and maze games (such as maze-shooter Berzerk ) and war films (such as The Guns of Navarone ). According to Wizardry developer Roe R. Adams, early action-adventure games "were basically arcade games done in

3924-499: The 1980s. Early uses of motion controllers included the Sega AM2 arcade game Hang-On , which was controlled using a video game arcade cabinet resembling a motorbike, which the player moved with their body. This began the "Taikan" trend, the use of motion-controlled hydraulic arcade cabinets in many arcade games of the late 1980s, two decades before motion controls became popular on video game consoles . The Sega VR headset

4033-490: The Dark (1992) used 3D graphics , which would later be popularized by Resident Evil (1996) and Tomb Raider (1996). Resident Evil in particular created the survival horror subgenre, inspiring titles such as Silent Hill (1999) and Fatal Frame (2001). Action-adventure games have gone on to become more popular than the pure adventure games and pure platform games that inspired them. Recent examples include

4142-790: The Emperor's spies for Vader to overthrow him. Starkiller rescues Juno, who had been arrested and branded a traitor to the Empire, and escapes with her and PROXY. Looking for allies to aid his mission, Starkiller finds an alive Kota on Cloud City , rendered blind from Starkiller's earlier victory over him and reduced to alcoholism , and rescues him from Imperial forces. The group travels to Kashyyyk to locate Kota's contact, senator Bail Organa . Starkiller discovers his old home and meets his father's spirit, who expresses remorse for Starkiller's upbringing under Vader. To gain Bail's trust, Starkiller rescues his captive daughter Princess Leia Organa , and liberates

4251-498: The Force and a lightsaber . Developers treated the main character's lightsaber like another Force power, and wanted to ensure "something visceral and cool" happened with each button-push. The game has a combo system for stringing lightsaber attacks and for combining lightsaber attacks with Force powers. Experience points earned by killing enemies and finding artifacts can be used to increase Starkiller's powers and traits. The gameplay

4360-567: The Force meter below zero to a negative level, incurring Force debt that disables all Force powers for a period of time until the auto-regeneration removes the debt; the more Force debt incurred, the longer the player will be without Force abilities. The Force Unleashed has different features across platforms. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, powered by the Ronin engine, utilize high-definition graphics and advanced dynamic destruction effects. These versions also support downloadable content in

4469-462: The Force to see that Kota and the senators are being held on the Death Star . After Juno kisses him and he bids farewell, Starkiller battles his way through the station to reach the Emperor's throne room. Vader confronts him, but Starkiller defeats his former master and faces the Emperor, who tries to goad him into killing Vader so Starkiller can take his place. Kota tries to attack the Emperor, but

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-402: The Force, Vader proceeds to kill Kento and an Imperial squadron after they try to execute Galen and secretly takes him as his apprentice with only a select few knowing of his existence. Years later, an adult Galen (given the alias "Starkiller") completes his Sith training. He's sent by Vader to eliminate several Jedi survivors across the galaxy in preparation for assassinating the Emperor so that

4687-478: The Imperial security forces, he reaches the old Council Chambers, where he meets Kento Marek's spirit who tells him that he needs to pass three Jedi trials. Upon doing so, Starkiller is faced with a mysterious Sith warrior, revealed to be a dark reflection of himself created by his own fear. Following his defeat, Starkiller finds a holocron left by Marek, who reveals himself as his father and implores him to return to

4796-513: The Jedi Temple missions, which were originally DLC on other platforms. However, some iconic moments from the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, like bringing down a Star Destroyer with the Force, are simplified or presented as cutscenes. It includes a local multiplayer mode, which was also a feature in the Wii version. Players can customize their lightsaber with different colors, hilts, and combat crystals, though some specific features from other versions, like

4905-712: The LucasArts team received Lucas' encouragement to create a game centered on Darth Vader 's secret apprentice in the largely unexplored period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope , drawing the two trilogies together. LucasArts spent six months developing the story. Lucas spent hours discussing with the developers the relationship between Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine and provided feedback on what Vader would want out of and how he would motivate an apprentice. Lucas Licensing reviewed many game details to ensure they fit into canon . Focus group feedback indicated that, while hunting down Jedi at Vader's order would be fun,

5014-614: The PC edition had been rushed. IGN described the Jedi Academy expansion as "pretty decent". GameSpot said LucasArts seems to have acknowledged some of the game's criticisms in developing the Tatooine expansion, but IGN called the level's boss fights "a joke" in light of the player's high Force powers. IGN found the level design in The Ultimate Sith Edition ' s Hoth scenario uninteresting, and called

5123-525: The PC port of the game retained all of the game's strengths and weaknesses, but that the port failed to take advantage of the PC platform. GameSpot called the game's story "more intimate and more powerful" than the Star Wars franchise's prequel trilogy; X-Play identified the game's story as one of the game's "few bright spots" and said the game's visuals successfully convey Star Wars ' "classic used universe" feel. GamePro and GameSpot praised

5232-528: The PS2 version, according to IGN , is not as "robust" as it should be, and the game's targeting system is sometimes frustrating. IGN said the PS2's real-time cutscene rendering made Starkiller seem emotionless, and that pre-rendered cutscenes would have been better. GameSpot found the DS version's plot interesting but the storytelling itself "lackluster". While the DS version is easy, with Starkiller killing enemies "like

5341-622: The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. An Ultimate Sith Edition of the game, containing both new and previously released downloadable content, was released in November 2009, and later ported to Mac OS X and Windows . An enhanced remaster of the Wii version, developed by Aspyr , was released for the Nintendo Switch on April 20, 2022. The project bridges the first two Star Wars trilogies, acting as an origin story for both

5450-508: The PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. 1.738 million unit sales of The Force Unleashed across all platforms made it the third best-selling game globally in the third quarter of 2008; as of July 2009, it had sold six million copies. The Force Unleashed was both the fastest-selling Star Wars game and LucasArts' fastest-selling game. The Force Unleashed won a Writers Guild of America award for Best Video Game Writing. During

5559-887: The Rebel Alliance, which Vader plans to take advantage of to overthrow the Emperor , Starkiller begins to question his own morality and to slowly redeem himself. Following The Walt Disney Company 's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, the game became part of the non-canonical Star Wars Legends continuity in 2014, and an alternative origin for the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Civil War was given in other forms of Star Wars media, such as Star Wars Rebels . Star Wars: The Force Unleashed received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its story, voice acting, physics , art and soundtrack, but criticism for its linear gameplay and technical issues. The game

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5668-540: The Rebel Alliance, which have been tracked to Tatooine. He visits Jabba the Hutt , who has knowledge on the plans' whereabouts, revealing that they're in the possession of two droids at Mos Eisley . When Starkiller refuses to work for him, Jabba attempts to have Starkiller eaten by his rancor . Killing the beast, Starkiller escapes from Jabba's palace after massacring Jabba's mercenaries, including Boba Fett . At Mos Eisley, Starkiller kills Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi after

5777-426: The Sith , into the game's story through various methods: one was for Plagueis' spirit to serve as the guide for Vader's secret apprentice to provide players with information about their character's powers, another had Plagueis as the story's MacGuffin by having Vader send his apprentice to search for Plagueis to resurrect his beloved Padmé Amidala , making Vader's apprentice actually a reincarnated Plagueis or having

5886-461: The Staff of Kings , an Indiana Jones title that had been in development since two years ago, for a while until development on the Star Wars title concluded. LucasArts' programmers had to overcome technical hurdles to get Havok-, DMM- and Euphoria-coded components to interact. Developers also had to strike a balance between realistic and entertaining physics. LucasArts initially opted not to release

5995-601: The base's hangar, severing his right hand. When the Falcon tries to take off, Starkiller seizes the ship with the Force while goading Skywalker to give into the Dark Side to rescue his friends. Skywalker attacks Starkiller with Force lightning, causing him to let go of the ship and congratulate Skywalker for embracing the Dark Side, planning to make him his apprentice the same way that Vader did to him. Game planning began in summer 2004. Initially, about six developers started with

6104-768: The basis for motion tracking but they have since mostly been replaced for that purpose by MEMS and other types of integrated circuit technologies. These sensors are used to track mechanical connections between a control element and a static object such as an arcade cabinet. Weighing scales using load cells have been used to detect balance changes and other body movements through changes in weight distribution and momentary fluctuation in measured weight. Unrelated to their use in motion tracking, mechanical sensors continue to see much use in joysticks and other controls that are found on motion controllers and other input devices. Ultrasonic triangulation and mercury switches were seen in optional peripherals for home video game consoles in

6213-444: The boss fight against Luke Skywalker tough but "not nearly as fun" as it could have been. The demo was the fourth most-played Xbox Live game during the week of August 25, trailing Grand Theft Auto IV , Halo 3 , and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ; it was the ninth most-played Xbox Live title throughout all of 2008. The week it was released, The Force Unleashed was the sixth most-played game on Xbox Live, and it rose to fifth

6322-436: The character of Juno Eclipse , exploring the "feminine" side of The Force Unleashed in a way the video game does not. Williams also said that while the game allows the player to "do" Starkiller's actions, the novel allows readers to experience Starkiller's thoughts about those actions, adding another dimension to the story. Dark Horse 's The Force Unleashed graphic novel was published August 18, 2008. Newsarama called

6431-565: The character should be redeemed, in keeping with a major Star Wars motif. Before the game's release, Lucasfilm claimed it would "unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy" with a "redemption" motif. The story progresses through a combination of scripted events, in-game cinematics, cutscenes, and dialogue. Looking over a number of unexplored already existing characters, the creative team considered bringing Darth Plagueis , Emperor Palpatine's enigmatic master only mentioned in Revenge of

6540-447: The company's in-house physics engine . Some character animations may be ragdoll while others are preset; in developing the game, Krome tried to blur the distinction between the two. The lighting system in the Wii version is more advanced than that in the PS2 version, which Krome also built; the PS2 includes more graphic details than their PSP version. The Force Unleashed is intended to make players think they are "actually, finally, in

6649-506: The designers to "go make that game". Once the concept was solidified, the development team grew from ten to twenty people. The idea of "reimagining" the Force as "amped up" in The Force Unleashed aligned with LucasArts' overall goal of harnessing the power of the latest video game consoles to "dramatically" change gaming, specifically through the use of simulation-based gameplay. In April 2005, after several months of planning,

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6758-755: The developers focus on mechanics, the user interface, and finishing moves. Development of the Xbox 360 version came first; PlayStation 3 development started when the production team had enough development kits. Making the game run on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 was "a monumental task". The game is based on LucasArts' proprietary "Ronin" game engine but also integrates third-party technology: Havok for rigid body physics , Pixelux Entertainment's " Digital Molecular Matter " (DMM) for dynamically destructible objects, and NaturalMotion 's Euphoria for realistic non-player character artificial intelligence . The focus of employing Euphoria to develop The Force Unleashed caused LucasArts to "sideline" Indiana Jones and

6867-424: The developers' idea pitches and evolved into a major moment in the game. These illustrations also inspired the creation of dozens of simple, three-dimensional animations . Eventually, a one-minute previsualization video highlighting the idea of "kicking someone's ass with the Force" helped convince the designers that The Force Unleashed would be "a great game"; George Lucas , upon seeing the one-minute video, told

6976-634: The duo can rule the galaxy together. Starkiller travels aboard his personal ship, the Rogue Shadow , alongside training droid PROXY (who is programmed to try and kill Starkiller) and Imperial pilot Juno Eclipse. Starkiller's targets include Rahm Kota, a Clone Wars veteran and leader of a militia; Kazdan Paratus, insane after years of isolation on Raxus Prime; and Shaak Ti , who's hiding on Felucia . Two of these three Jedi masters, Kota and Ti, inform Starkiller that they have foreseen that soon Vader will no longer be his master before he finishes them. After

7085-424: The enslaved Wookiees at her request. Starkiller learns from Kota that Bail went missing on Felucia, after searching for Shaak Ti in the hope that she would rescue Leia. Starkiller travels to Felucia to find Bail, discovering that he'd been captured by Shaak Ti's former apprentice Maris Brood, who succumbed to the Dark Side after her master's death. Starkiller defeats Brood but spares her life, and convinces Bail to join

7194-525: The environment, or to detect the movements of any or all parts of a user's body. They may be used in combination with paired light emitters that are tracked directly when seen by the camera, or indirectly through reflections of infrared light. A magnetic field sensor in a device may be used to detect the direction of the earth's magnetic field, or the direction to a nearby base station. Mechanical sensing methods using potentiometers , Hall effect sensors , and incremental encoders have historically seen use as

7303-403: The expansion were based in part on fans' feedback, and many skins of such prior Star Wars characters were also implemented as cheat codes for the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions of the game with no additional downloads required. The second expansion pack added a new mission that expands on Starkiller's background. Although a moment in the game's main story was considered as

7412-516: The facility, and pulls a falling Star Destroyer out of the sky using the Force. Bail meets with fellow senators Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis on Corellia to formally organize a rebellion, only for Vader to arrive and arrest them and Kota. After overpowering Starkiller, Vader reveals that he was merely a tool to lure out the Empire's enemies, and had never intended to use him to overthrow the Emperor. Starkiller escapes after PROXY sacrifices himself by attacking Vader. Juno rescues Starkiller, who uses

7521-493: The five Jedi trials that Starkiller completes at the Jedi temple in Coruscant to further hone his abilities, which are all included in a DLC pack for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. The PSP version also exclusively features five additional "historical" bonus levels that re-enact pivotal scenes and duels throughout the Star Wars saga, as well as special scenarios that can be played with as different Star Wars characters who have

7630-474: The following week. In its first week on sale in Australia, the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of The Force Unleashed were the top and second-best sellers, respectively. In the United States, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version sold 325,000 and 610,000 copies, respectively, in September 2008; that month, the Xbox 360 version was the best-selling game and the PlayStation 3 version was the fifth best-selling game for their respective consoles. Nintendo Power praised

7739-408: The following week. It also reached #15 on USA Today ' s bestsellers list. Williams took on the writing project in part because of the "catchy description" of The Force Unleashed being "Episode 3.5" of the Star Wars saga. The novel focuses on the dark side of the Force and its practitioners; Williams found it "interesting" to portray the Jedi as "bad guys." The author most enjoyed developing

7848-573: The form of two expansions that expand upon the game's plot. The Nintendo versions use motion controls to implement Starkiller's attacks, with the Wii version using the Wii Remote to execute lightsaber attacks and the Nunchuk to wield Force powers, while the Nintendo DS version utilizes the touchscreen to execute attacks, where single actions can be executed by tapping a certain region of

7957-484: The game's "uneven" combat. Rather than feeling more powerful as the game progresses, GamePro felt that increases in Starkiller's powers were dampened by increasingly difficult enemy abilities and positions; X-Play commented that despite a good level-up system, Starkiller and his enemies are "pretty much on even ground most of the time". Wired , X-Play , and GameSpot criticized the game's third-person camera and

8066-402: The game's art and physics, and GamePro also commended Starkiller's "cool powers". IGN praised the game's voice acting , particularly Witwer's performance as Starkiller. The Washington Times identified Mark Griskey 's soundtrack as "another star" of the game, and Tracksounds called it "the most entertaining Star Wars score since Return of the Jedi ". Time called The Force Unleashed

8175-442: The game, detracting from players' ability to feel immersed. GameTrailers and IGN were disappointed with the lack of variety within and between levels. X-Play , pointing to "Default Text" as the bonus objective description in the Xbox 360 version's final mission and other glitches, said it seems the developers one day "just stopped working on the game". GameSpot cited the port's lack of visual options and poor framerate as evidence

8284-647: The game. Lego released a model of the Starkiller's ship, the Rogue Shadow . Two weeks after the game's release, LucasArts announced development on two downloadable expansion packs for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. The first expansion added " skins " that allow the player's character to appear as Star Wars figures other than Starkiller, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi , Anakin Skywalker , Qui-Gon Jinn , Jango Fett , C-3PO , Luke Skywalker , Darth Maul , Darth Sion , Mace Windu , Plo Koon , Kit Fisto and Ki-Adi-Mundi . The skins chosen to be part of

8393-406: The gameplay still follows a number of adventure game genre tropes (gathering items , exploration of and interaction with one's environment, often including an overworld connecting areas of importance, and puzzle-solving). While the controls are arcade-style (character movement, few action commands) there is an ultimate goal beyond a high score. In most action-adventure games, the player controls

8502-548: The gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope : We had to make sure that the game's score started off rooted within the Prequel Trilogy feel of ethnic percussion and sweeping themes that spoke to the nobility and grandeur of the old Jedi Order. As the game progresses, however, the Empire gains more control, the Jedi are hunted, and the ordered control of the Prequels gives way to the more romantic temperament of

8611-433: The graphic novel a "solid story" that matches the video game source material in both structure and plot. IGN gave the graphic novel a score of 6.9/10 (6.4/10 for art, 7.5/10 for the writing), praising the overall story but faulting inconsistency in the art and questioning whether the comic medium was the best way to convey the story. At Toy Fair 2007, Hasbro showed seven figures from their action figure line based on

8720-560: The later DualShock 3 controller refresh. Several wand-based devices with accelerometer and gyroscopic sensors followed, including the ASUS Eee Stick , Sony PlayStation Move (adding computer vision via the PlayStation Eye to aid in position tracking), and HP Swing. Other systems used different mechanisms for input, such as Microsoft's Kinect , which combined infrared structured light and computer vision, and

8829-426: The latter's death, Starkiller returns to Vader once more, but the Emperor arrives, his spies having uncovered Starkiller's existence. To prove his loyalty to the Emperor, Vader appears to kill his apprentice by stabbing him and hurling him through space. Unbeknownst to the Emperor, Vader has Starkiller recovered and resuscitated. Vader sends Starkiller to foster a rebellion among the Empire's enemies, hoping to distract

8938-521: The light side. Starkiller then returns to the Rogue Shadow to resume his current mission. The Tatooine and Hoth DLC's are set during alternate depictions of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back , respectively, and present Starkiller as the Emperor's trusted assassin, referred to as "Lord Starkiller". In the Tatooine DLC, he's tasked with retrieving the Death Star plans stolen by

9047-416: The ninth best-selling game that month. In the United States, the PlayStation 2 version was the 14th best-selling game in September 2008, selling over 100,000 copies. Action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, classical adventure games have situational problems for

9156-426: The non-canonical Dark Side ending of the game, taking place in their own alternate timeline. All three DLC packs are included on-disc in the Ultimate Sith Edition for all abovementioned three platforms. The Coruscant DLC depicts Starkiller, at some point before traveling to Kashyyyk, deciding to visit the abandoned Jedi Temple to learn more about his identity and connection to the Force. After fighting his way past

9265-425: The planet is invaded and eliminates any Wookiee resistance between him and the fugitive Jedi. Reaching Kento's home, Vader easily defeats him in a lightsaber duel but senses someone far more powerful nearby. Initially believing it to be Kento's Jedi Master, Vader prepares to execute the defiant Jedi until his lightsaber is suddenly force pulled from his hand by Kento's son Galen. Sensing the boy's strong connection to

9374-476: The play space. Oculus later switched to an "inside-out" tracking system for Oculus Quest and Rift S , where the controllers are tracked by cameras in the headset itself. The Nintendo Switch hybrid home/portable console and its included Joy-Con controllers feature 6DOF sensors in each controller in the pair as well as in the main body of the console. The optional Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and Poké Ball Plus controllers also feature 6DOF sensors. In

9483-489: The player has enough ammunition and recovery items to " survive " the horror setting. This is a thematic genre with diverse gameplay, so not all survival horror games share all the features. The Resident Evil franchise popularized this subgenre. Action-adventure games are faster-paced than pure adventure games, and include physical as well as conceptual challenges where the story is enacted rather than narrated. While motion-based, often reflexive, actions are required,

9592-473: The player to explore and solve to complete a storyline, involving little to no action . If there is action, it is generally confined to isolated instances. Classical action games, on the other hand, have gameplay based on real-time interactions that challenges the player's reflexes and eye-hand coordination . Action-adventure games combine these genres by engaging both eye-hand coordination and problem-solving skills. An action adventure game can be defined as

9701-479: The player's character's attacks; using the same attack on different characters can sometimes lead to the player's character doing less damage. The enemies, which number over 50, have various strengths and weaknesses; developers faced the difficulty of effectively placing them throughout the game's varied environments. Players must also carefully manage their automatically-regenerating Force energy when using exceptionally strong Force abilities, as overuse of them can drop

9810-440: The project team. LucasArts spent several years developing the tools and technology to create The Force Unleashed . Prototyping, level construction, marketing, and public relations took about a year. Until late 2006, the production team was ascertaining "how many polygons, lights, [and] characters" next-generation platforms supported; a year of full production began in early 2007. A series of quickly-produced "play blast" videos helped

9919-434: The rate of change in rotation using gyroscopes and change in speed using accelerometers. These are often found together on the same integrated circuit and can be used together to provide six degrees of freedom ( 6DOF ) tracking. Image sensors are used in conjunction with computer vision and are placed in locations such as on handheld or worn devices or in the environment to detect the relative locations of other devices and

10028-419: The rebellion. To convince more dissidents to do the same, Vader suggests that Starkiller attack a Star Destroyer facility on Raxus Prime to show that the Empire is vulnerable. Juno learns that Starkiller is still serving Vader and chastises him, but agrees to keep silent. On Raxus Prime, Starkiller is attacked by PROXY, who attempts to fulfill his programming by killing him, but Starkiller defeats him, destroys

10137-425: The same abilities in the standard single-player mode. The Nintendo DS version utilizes 3-D graphics like all other major versions, but lacks voice acting . The Wii and handheld versions support multiplayer. Two players duel against each other as famous Jedi and Sith in the Star Wars saga in the Wii version, while the handheld versions utilize wireless multiplayer for a four-player battle mode. The Switch version

10246-486: The screen (with each region corresponding to a particular action, such as jumping or Force pushing), while more advanced attacks can be performed by dragging the stylus across neighboring regions of the screen. The PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions are identical in content to the Wii version, which is different than the PS3 and Xbox 360 version. Since these versions don't support or use downloadable content, they exclusively intersperse certain levels with three of

10355-592: The sense of their characters interacting with each other. Consequently, the script's dialogue was reduced while reliance on characters' expressions — captured through the CloneCam ;— increased. CloneCam technology had previously been used in producing the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. LucasArts music supervisor Jesse Harlin said the music matches the game's motif of redemption and goal of bridging

10464-660: The sequence that requires the player to make Starkiller pull a Star Destroyer out of the sky. Wired.com speculated that LucasArts could have recognized the frustration of the Star Destroyer sequence and removed it, but left it in because they hyped the sequence before the game's release. Wired.com and GameSpot further criticized the load times and abrupt gameplay-cinematic transitions. GameSpot also faulted "loose" targeting and some visual and audio glitches. IGN , which also identified problems with targeting, speculated that DMM's processor intensiveness limited its use throughout

10573-418: The seventh best video game of 2008. The game received GameSpot 's 2008 award for Best Use of a Creative License and was nominated for Best Voice Acting. Gaming Target selected the game as one of their "40 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2008". Conversely, Entertainment Weekly called The Force Unleashed the second-worst game of 2008 and GameTrailers called it the most disappointing game that year; it

10682-451: The story and the number of lightsaber combos but criticized the game's easiness and hack-and-slash gameplay. It also praised the Wii version for its story and Force powers, but criticized the game's lightsaber controls and linear gameplay. GameSpot noticed visual glitches and problematic audio compression that detracted from the Wii version's "mature and exciting" story, adding that the reduced number of Force-manipulable objects helps mitigate

10791-433: The targeting problems experienced on other platforms. Referring to the Wii remote and nunchuck controls, GameSpot also speculated that The Force Unleashed is "possibly the most waggle-heavy" Wii game. Zero Punctuation criticized the Wii version's graphics and compared lightsaber combat to "trying to follow an aerobics routine with both your arms tied to different windmills". The ability to upgrade Starkiller's abilities in

10900-430: The term "action-adventure" may be '"An action/adventure game is a game that has enough action in it not to be called an adventure game, but not enough action to be called an action game." In some cases an action game with puzzles will be classified as an action-adventure game, but if these puzzles are quite simple they might be classified as an action game. Others see action games as a pure genre, while an action-adventure

11009-496: The two companies working together in the same building was "a great collaboration". It took Senior Manager of Voice and Audio Darragh O'Farrell four months to cast The Force Unleashed . ILM's face- and motion-capture "CloneCam" technology recorded actors' voice and physical performances. This led to a change in LucasArts' casting process: for the first time, actors needed to match characters' age and gender. Actors performed their lines together, rather than in isolation, to better get

11118-475: The united Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Civil War depicted in the original trilogy. The game introduces a new protagonist named "Starkiller", a powerful Force user trained as Darth Vader 's secret apprentice, who is tasked with hunting down Jedi survivors of the Great Jedi Purge while trying to keep his existence a secret. However, after he is tasked with planting the seeds of what would become

11227-580: The unstable kyber crystal , are not present. Overall, the Switch version offers a unique experience with its motion controls and stable performance, but it may lack some of the more detailed content found in the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. Shortly into the Galactic Empire 's rule, Imperial spies locate a Jedi survivor of the Great Purge named Kento Marek on Kashyyyk . Darth Vader arrives as

11336-749: The use of its gyroscope as a pointer control. Its motion tracking features would later be adapted for the Steam Deck . A wave of virtual reality headsets released in the 2010s adopted forms of 6DOF motion controllers; the HTC Vive was bundled with wand-like controllers, while controllers known as Oculus Touch were released initially as an optional accessory for Oculus Rift in December 2016, and became part of its standard equipment in July 2017. Both controllers are tracked using infrared emitters placed in

11445-439: The week of its release, the Wii version was the sixth bestselling game in Australia and was second to Wii Fit among games for that platform. The PS2 version was the eighth bestseller in Australia, and both the PS2 and PSP versions were the top sellers on their respective platforms. The DS version was eighth most sold among DS games in Australia. In the United States, the Wii version sold 223,000 copies in September 2008, making it

11554-479: Was a bestseller in the United States and Australia, with over one million copies sold its debut month. As of February 2010, the game had sold over seven million copies, and was the fastest-selling Star Wars video game of its time. A sequel, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II , was released in October 2010. The Force Unleashed is a third-person action game in which the player's character's weapons are

11663-507: Was also a nominee for GameSpot 's Most Disappointing Game recognition. Official Xbox Magazine cited the game's linear gameplay and lack of multiplayer as reasons the game falls short of being "an all-engrossing Star Wars experience". gamesTM suggested that allowing players to take a hack-and-slash approach means many "will never view the title's full potential". IGN and X-Play criticized some boss battles and enemies' behavior; GamePro also faulted "disappointing" boss battles and

11772-436: Was an early unreleased VR device with built-in motion tracking, first announced in 1991. Its sensors tracked the player's movement and head position. Another early example is the 2000 light gun shooter arcade game Police 911 , which used motion tracking technology to detect the player's movements, which are reflected by the player character within the game. The Atari Mindlink was an early proposed motion controller for

11881-446: Was greatly aided by concept art , which was intended to visually bridge the two Star Wars trilogies, convey the impression of a "lived-in" universe, show how the galaxy changes under Imperial rule, and to seem familiar yet new. An off-hand comment about the Force in the game being powerful enough "to pull a Star Destroyer out of the sky" inspired an image by senior concept artist Amy Beth Christenson that became an important part of

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