Customer Reviews

Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

First off this review is for the PC platform. This game has great graphics and a great story line. Your force powers are allot more powerful. Also it appears to run flawlessly, no patches etc. Great cut-scenes. But make no mistake it's a console game worked over so it runs on a PC. I got it hoping it would be like Jedi academy but it's not. Don't get me wrong for the most part it's a real fun game, but you might want to invest in console game controller for you computer so you can get past the star destroyer part. Or maybe a trackball. You'll see what I mean, it's a little tough with a mouse.
I kinda of hate to give this game three stars but I have to. The main reason is the fact that when you come to a boss, the camera zooms out and stays there just like your watching it in a stadium. Also just when your about to kill the boss the screen will flash the letters that you have to press at just the right time in order to finish killing him. Kinda like entering a code. So instead of getting to watch yourself kill him, you have to stare at the bottom of the screen, and hope you press the right letters. If you don't it restarts the last part of the fight.
I know every game has something about it somebody doesn't like. But this game has to many little things that add up to allot, and can make it kinda frustrating to play at times. Again, overall it's a fun game, especially the second time through because you get to keep your force powers you earned. If you liked Jedi academy or any of the other Star Wars Jedi games you might want to wait a little while till the price drops before buy this one.

It has been quite some time since I have reviewed a game, but this game has 'forced' me to come out of my hiatus ;)

First off I didn't see the system requirements, so here are the more pertinent specs:

Minimal system requirements
* CPU: Dual-core CPU with 2.4 GHz (Intel core 2 Duo or Athlon X2)
* Graphics card: Shader model 3 with 256 MiByte VRAM (Radeon HD 2900 or Geforce 8800)
* HDD: 24 GByte + 1 GByte swap file

Recommended system requirements
* CPU: Intel core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 5200+
* Graphics card: Radeon HD 4870 or Geforce 9800 GT


I was disappointed when they announced that they wouldn't be releasing this game for the PC, but had the hope that it would eventually be ported. Patience paid off (somewhat) and here we are, a year later and we finally have a PC version. I hate to say it but I wish they would have held off a bit longer so they could deliver a more polished product.

My current system falls within the recommended system requirements and I still suffer poor framerates during gameplay. The game often slows to a crawl and there are moments where the action becomes incomprehensible due to dropped frames. The recommended specs are not nearly high enough. I believe the limiting factor is the processor, where the demands come largely from the physics engine. I wouldn't attempt to play this game on anything short of a 2.8 GHz quad core processor. The recommended specifications imply that a dual core would suffice.

There are no options in the graphics department, other that choosing the resolution before launching the game. No ability to lower detail, draw distance, shadows, effects in an effort to boost performance on lower end machines. All or nothing.

Any in-game menu (changing audio levels, assigning earned skill points, etc.) require loading time, which frankly is a bit baffling in this day and age. I guess I've grown accustomed to menus that are readily available.

I don't have much to say as far as gameplay is concerned. I figure the game has been out for over a year now, so most people will have an idea of what the gameplay is like. I wanted to focus mostly on the technical aspects, given that this is a PC release and the technical aspects must be discussed given the poor performance.

If you already own the console version and are considering a PC purchase you may want to know what the differences are. Firstly, they haven't addressed any issues that exist in the console version. The star destroyer level is still as annoying as ever, the targeting is just as random as it was. So what's new?
1) Keyboard and mouse controls, though I only recommend playing with a 360 controller. Other gamepad controller support is spotty at best.
2) Jedi Temple and Tatooine levels are included, though these were available for the console. A new Hoth level.

Not really worth a purchase if you've already played the title on a console, if anything the experience is likely to be lagged down and worse as a result.

Four stars for fun, because it's a blast when running smoothly. Two stars overall due to technical issues. You'd be far better off if you were to install three other games for the same amount of real estate that this game takes up (a whopping 24-25 Gig). If you are really determined to play this you may wish to wait for either an official patch that addresses performance, better graphics card driver releases that boost performance for this particular title, or until after current high end PC components become commonplace.

I purchased this with higher expectations than the game could provide so I'll be fair.
Review:
-From installation, you can already change your costume to many cool past characters and even some cool recent costumes from the game you are already playing. Changing costumes changes your whole appearence. You can play as Luke Skywalker (more than one version) or famous other Jedi/Sith including Darth Maul and Darth Sion. Some costumes changes are for your character specifically so you keep your face and only change clothes. You will unlock more as you progress through the game.
-Controls are a little annoying especially targeting early in the game while surrounded. When you don't have repulse or lightning shield it's really annoying but some fast jumping or force dashing can counter these enemies so it's not a big annoyance. I never had any problems with actual controling the character ie. BUGS.
-Force powers and skills are upgradable. The only problem with their process is, once you click on one power or attribute, you permanantly upgrade it. There is no backing out. It has a reset button but it costs you points.
-Lightsaber crystals can be changed once you unlock them throughout the game. I really need to find that BLACK CRYSTAL. Oh..The upgrade screen will let you know what each attribute or power is with handy descriptions but on the lightsaber screen, they give you ZERO reason to change your lighsaber color because they give you no explaination what each crystal will do. There are enhancing crystals that it DOES tell you what it does though but the regular primary crystals are, "Red crystal, Compressed red crystal, Unstable red crystal". I think it just changed the look of the blade.
Important..If you are a single player gamer that doesn't shy away from using a cheat code from time to time, cheats disable gamesaves and will block some force powers from being unlocked. You may need that power for the next level and if you quit and restart, you go all the way back to square 1. The game will still autosave at points for you to restart if you simply die but you still do not have that force lightning you need to open a door to progress. All I can say is, if you use even the smallest cheat code, be ready to go through the whole game without quiting but if a much needed power is blocked, you cannot progress. If you can keep going, pause the game and start again tomorrow without closing it.
-Enemies. Although I hate respawning of the same enemy over and over in ANY game, this one mixes it up with 2-3 different versions. Maybe a few warriors will attack and a tribal shaman will be in the fight and then a tribal chief will be there. This causes you to mix up your attack styles.
Rancors are not as bad as you think. Find a high up place to force lightening it from above or hit and run from the ground. It's still cool to take them on. Especially in the finishing moves.
Surprisingly, boss battles weren't all that challenging but required some quick thinking and changing of powers and fighting styles. Usually they are other familiar Jedi, bounty hunters, etc.
-There are plenty of easter eggs in the game. Look them up online. JarJar in carbonite is my fav.
Finally, the cost. Although it was a bit high priced for the overall quality of game, if you have the cash, it's a good game. If you don't have the cash, wait a little while and see if it will drop.

Developed by LucasArts/Aspyr Media and published in 2009 by LucasArts, Star Wars The Force Unleashed - Ultimate Sith Edition is a third-person action video game. The Force Unleased's story centers on Starkiller (a.k.a. Galen Marek), Darth Vader's secret Sith apprentice. Vader uses Starkiller to aid him in hunting down the rest of the galaxies Jedi who survived Order 66, the Emperor's command to purge all remaining Jedi from existence. Vader convinces Starkiller that after exterminating the last of the Jedi that they will overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy together. As the story progresses, Starkiller learns that not everything on the Dark Side is what it seems (There's a shocker, literally!). Here are my thoughts on Star Wars The Force Unleashed - Ultimate Sith Edition;

Pros

+ Beautifully crisp graphics, gorgeous environments and smooth character animations.

+ Excellent story addition to the Star Wars universe and really had the classic feel of the franchise that's been lacking since the new films.

+ A plethora of different costume and avatar choices. All of them very cool.

+ Plenty of unique enemies and bosses to defeat.

+ Great voice acting.

+ Phenomenal soundtrack by Jesse Harlin, Mark Griskey and of course John Williams.

+ Physics when using the Force were very impressive.

+ Force powers are extremely cool and a ton of fun to use. You really feel powerful.

+ Ability to change your lightsaber color and abilities based the force crystals you can find and use.

+ Easy to pick up and play.

+ Bonus "Infinities" missions (Hoth, Coruscant and Tatooine) were top-notch, unique and by far some of the best experiences in the game. They added plenty of fun "what if" moments to the storyline.

Cons

- Sloppy port overall to PC.

- Fixed/zoomed out camera during boss battles. I absolutely hated this and can't stress my dislike enough. It actually made me wish there were fewer boss battles and want to avoid them all together as they were quite often an exercise in frustration.

- Hitting any key on the keyboard automatically skips cut scenes. Sure you can watch them later in the extras but it breaks up the story if it happens.

- Changing of keyboard layout keys isn't reflected in the tutorial hints.

- No advanced graphics options.

- Gameplay was too linear.

- No mouse support on options screens, only keyboard arrows.

- Some stuttering, lag and framerate issues, especially when entering and loading new areas.

- Plenty of invisible walls.

- Buggy targeting system.

- Too many things explode and damage you while fighting with your lightsaber.

- Troublesome camera.

- PC controls are exceptionally frustrating and tough to master on bosses. It took me over an hour to bring down that stupid Star Destroyer because the prompts were wrong. Something that should have been really cool ended up being one of the worst parts in the game.

- Cut scenes were often short and jerky.

- Sound and music would periodically cut out during some levels.

Star Wars The Force Unleashed - Ultimate Sith Edition was many things. It was refreshingly fun and really brought back a classic feel that many of us Star Wars fans have been longing for since Jedi Academy. Leveling up, learning new weapon combos and force attacks, slicing down friend and foe alike in your quest for power, Force Unleashed introduced many great things. Unfortunately, along with this greatness came plenty of groaning, frustration and disappointment. Everything from the fixed/zoomed out camera boss battles to the awkward keyboard interface to the multitude of annoying bugs. As a life-long Star Wars fan I was willing to overlook a lot of these things but the fact remains that they're still there. It almost seems as if the developers one day just said "screw it" we're not fixing anything else. Despite all of its problems I really did enjoy The Force Unleashed. I just wish more of the kinks had been ironed out before the final release. The Force Unleashed is a perfect example of the Light side being unable to outshine the Dark side.

I had the PS3 version but my wife doesn't like the controller and prefers PC gaming with a keyboard/mouse. I'd have to say I do too, so I was hoping this game would make it to the PC. I am guessing that our PC is just not up to the task of playing this game, but it crashes repeatedly and the sound repeats/stutters a lot. I have a AMD dual core with plenty of RAM and a very good ATI Graphics Card, so this game must have very steep (and maybe very specific) requirements. I guess we'll just put it on the shelf for a while and wait for patches and maybe a new PC down the road.

I'd just warn people that this game requires a powerful computer to run properly.

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!

According to the Manufacturer, they ONLY support the specific CPUs and Graphics Cards listed on the box. Thus according to them, it is not "Use this chip or better" it is "USE ONLY THE CHIPS WE SAID WE SUPPORT." So check the system requirements before you buy.

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I will include pc spec at the end so you know the problem not my pc. The gameplay is fun, you just never get to play.

Just to get this up front: Aspyr's final resolution to my problem: Reduce your resolution down to at least 1024 x 768!

Aspyr is directly responsible for this mess. It is a terrible port of a console video game. The game crashes at least 2-3 times per level. I have not even been able to finish the game. And that's just before I installed the update to 1.1 patch.

Now I get the Blue Screen of Death. And Windows Problems reports the problem is the hard drive hanging. Funny how the only thing it hangs on is their game. Must be my computer.

LucasArts, however could care less. They're getting their revenue. When I tried to contact LucasArts, the answer was essentially (though not so terse), "Get your money back from Amazon, its not' our problem." It didn't matter to them that I look at the LucasArts name as the symbol of quality. For them, its take the money and run, the blame is like water on a ducks back.

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Pros:

* Great Gameplay

---> Force Powers:
-----> Innovative and interactive - not like KOTOR where you just select a force and use it. You have to "Weild" it. Use force pull and then manipulate it, etc.
-----> Create combinations of powers - Use Force Grab, and then hit him with a ball of lightning. Or use Force Lightning on a metal box to turn it into a bomb.
---> Decent Storyline - At least average for LucasArts Games, and a new thread - Vader's Apprentice
---> Training Room - New powers? Practice them!

* Good graphics - not the most current, cause it was a console port, but still really good.

* New "Breaking Engine" - when one object hits another, it takes into account velocity, angle, substance, etc. No two breaks alike.


Cons:

* Did I mention Blue Screen of Death?

* Hard Drive Failure?

* Terrible Customer Support

* The update patch actually made things worse.

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Final Thoughts:

The game was fun, I just couldn't play it. I'm going to return it to Amazon, but I'm going to highly encourage them to make Aspyr pay up. I don't think Amazon should pay for their mistakes.

Hopefully you have a console. Buy that version!

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Basic PC Specs:

Vista x64 - 4 GB RAM (And no, Vista works fine... its the port that stinks.)
AMD Phenom II x4 - 955 3.21 Ghz - Liquid Cooled
ATI Radeon 4890 - 1 GB onboard RAM
Gateway 22" LCD 1920 x 1080 HD

I bought this for ten bucks. From what people were saying in the reviews they had posted for the Ultimate Sith Edition, I was almost under the impression that this wasn't going to be very good. While it did take a good hour to install, I really enjoy playing Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition. My computer has a 2.1 ghz(?) processor, so I kinda fall short of the reccommended processing power (I also fall short of the reccommended graphics capabilities). However, I found that so long as it's set to 800x600 or the next one down, it runs at a reasonable speed. There is only one problem I have: anytime you can see the background that isn't a part of the 3D environment (i.e, the sky behind Kashyyyk in the first level), you see it as a bit blurry. Fortunately, the foreground and pretty much everything in it are good and visible. I personally love this game :)

I was one of those geeks that signed the online petition to have this game ported to the PC, hah-hah... and now it's here. There are sites out that that I read and trust, like gamespot and ign, etc., but I really must say that gamespot was way too hard on this port. Some of the gripes were about the system requirements, and to that end there was a patch that was just released that will let those of you with lower system specs play the game much better (optimizations to the game engine, and the addition of a lowered graphics quality setting in the game options, heretofore missing). The game itself is great, and they did a bang-up job of porting it to the PC. I didn't need the patch; my system may not be exactly high-end, but it's not rear-end either, yuk-yuk. Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (3.00 gHz), 3 GB DDR2, GeForce 9800 GTX+.

The only console we have in my house is the Wii, and I did buy this game for it (very highly reviewed; some said it was the most fun of them all, between the 3 consoles), but I wanted to see and experience the game in its most polished, high-res form and this PC port does not disappoint. The gameplay is smooth, the story is amazing (I won't spoil it if you haven't played the game yet, but it contains one of the biggest 'gasp' moments of the entire Star Wars canon), and I have had exactly ZERO issues with this PC version. It is everything I hoped it would be. Full support for the XBox 360 controller if you want it (Resident Evil 4, another great port, demanded that you use it but it's not necessary for this game at all- mouse and keyboard are awesome for this game, like Jedi Academy). Highly recommended. The additional content (which for the sake of whatever assumes you took the dark side ending to the original game) are great, a very nice coda to the game.

If you ever had dreamed of being an all powerful Jedi and interacting with your favorite Star Wars Characters then this is the game for you. In this 3rd person style Star Wars Game you play as the Secret Sith Apprentice of Darth Vader, StarKiller (Luke Skywalkers original name before Goerge Lucas decided to change it) the son of a Jedi Master that was killed by Vader 10 to 15 years before on the Wookie's home planet. You start off by completing missions for Darth Vader until Vader betrays you (surprise, surprise) and you Ultimately help the forming of the Rebel Alliance while meeting familar Star Wars Alumini's along the way. The Games Storyline takes place between 5 to 10 years after Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith and maybe a year or so before Star Wars - A New Hope.

While this game was originally only designed for the Video Gaming Consoles in 2008, a year later Lucas finally smartened up on the fact that PC gaming was not dead and finally released it on the PC a year later in 2009 (Along with Lego Star Wars the Complete Saga, another title originally released for only the gaming consoles). WHen it was released in 2009 the game had been extended from what had been released on the Video Gaming Consoles with extended game and cut scenes along with an extended alternate ending.

Gameplay:
While I have read alot of the reviews critisizing the game play I fail to see what the problem was. The gameplay was awesome, you felt like you were in an actual Star Wars Movie and you were a controlable particapant of the movie. There are numerous combat moves and Jedi Powers you were in control of (and as levels progress more Jedi Powers that were unlocked) with very detailed levels and challanging gameplay. The Graphics in the game could only be described as breath taking, you could tell alot of time and money went into the quality of this game. The only reason why I could see people complaining is if there Gaming Rig did not meet the recommended requirements below, Remember this game is a heavy resource hog so even if you barely meet the minimum requirements your going to want to lean more towards the Maximum Recommend requirements for best gameplay.

Game Requirements, Installation, and Patching Level:
For those who own either a Pentium 4 or Pentium Dual Core Class PC don't even bother buying this game, you will need at least a mid sized range Intel Core Duo 2 processor or AMD equivilent Class PC, here are the recommended mininium for playing this game on the PC platform...

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 5200+ Class Processors
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Video Card: Either a Nvida GT8600 Series or AMD(ATI) Radeon 2400 HD Series Video Card (Or Higher) with at least 256 MB Video Memory with Shader 3.0 support
Hard Drive Space: 20GB of free hard drive space
Sound: 16 Bit Digital Sound
Operating System: Windows XP, Vista, or 7

Preferred Recommended Requirements (For Optium Game Play)...

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad or AMD Athlon X4 Class Processors
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Video Card: Either a Nvida GT550ti or AMD(ATI) Radeon 6850 HD Series Video Card with at least 1GB Video Memory with Shader 3.0 support
Hard Drive Space: 30GB of free hard drive space
Sound: 24 bit Digital 5.1 Sound
Operating System: Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7 SP1

The Game itself comes on 2 DVD's with all the game files compressed (No Key Code Required, just need the 2nd DVD in your PC's ROM to start the game). Just to load the intial game it will take just over an hour. Then there are two patches for this game that have been released by Lucas Arts as of this writing (Patches 1.1 and 1.2). This can either be optained at the LucasArts website or just do a Google Search "Star Wars The Forces Unleashed Patch 1.x" (x being the patch version desired, example : 1.1). You will need to apply both the 1.1 patch and the 1.2 patch (You can not just apply the 1.2 patch by itself) which are each 500mb in size and will take between 15 to 20 mins to apply each. All together this game will take approximately one and a half hours to almost 2 hours to load.

Once done just start the game and adjust the game options to your liking and enjoy. If you let the game sit for just about a minute it will begin to play an awesome preview of the cutscenes of the game itself as an intro to the music of John Williams "Darth Vader March". Overall, An excellent Entry in the Star Wars Universe (Even if it's a slightly alternate version) and both my son and I are both enjoying playing it.

System Specs: My Sons Desktop
Intel Core Dou 2 Quad socket 775, 6mb cache processor
Intel DP43TF MOBO
8GB of DDR2 800mhz PC6400 RAM
750W Antec PSU
750GB SATA HDD
24bit 5.1 Creative Sound Card
1GB intergrated Intel NIC
EVGA Geforce GTX550Ti 2GB GDDR5 PCI-E Video Card
Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 Bit)
27inch LCD VE276Q ASUS Monitor.

I absolutely love this game. I've played it all the way through, had to install a new HDD, and I started over before I'll let myself buy 2. This game has some annoying quirks to it. My main issue is the camera angles can be extremely annoying on boss fights, and take some getting used to. But w/ that said, I LOVE this game. It's my favorite of all the Star Wars stories. The main character, Darth Vader's apprentice, has some awesome powers! The fighting and action is outstanding. The combo fighting and force powers are excellent. I would give this game 5 stars overall if it weren't for the annoying camera angles on the boss fights that may cost you a round our two. But it was worth me playing all the way to the end, (hadn't beaten Vader yet), then starting over again after my HDD crashed. If you haven't played this game yet, for $19.99 pick it up NOW! It was worth the $40 I paid for it and I can't wait to play 2!