But what interested me more were the cut force powers.

"We implemented more force powers than we shipped with," Blackman told me. "We removed some because of consumer feed back. There were too many in the game and (the force) started getting watered down.

"We do have other ones we could go back to look at."

While Blackman declined to list out the cut force powers, I did manage to get him to talk about one of the cut powers he particularly liked.

"We had this plague power where you could infect enemies and they would get sick and lose health over time," he said. The plague power, which showed up in a different form in the final game as a crystal power-up for the light saber, also spread. When an infected enemy got near their cohorts they would catch the killing disease too.

The problem was it moved a little too slowly for the pacing of the game, Blackman said.

"The Force Unleashed is such a visceral, fast-paced time, that it wasn’t that effective."

Speaking of not that effective, I also asking Blackman about the sometimes problematic targeting system in the game. (No, I didn't mention my son crying. LucasArts already emailed me to apologize.)

Turns out he was surprised that so many reviews mentioned the sometimes touchy targeting.

"Targeting wasn’t an issue that came up when we did focus testing," he said. "The other thing I was really surprised about, the story was strong, and reviews have said that, but we haven’t seen a lift in scores."

"Maybe that means stories aren't important to reviewers."

Personally, I think that's more an issue of the current state of review systems, rather than a statement about the the importance reviewers put on story in a game. Or at least I hope that's what the issue is.

Blackman pointed out that the average rating on Amazon is higher than the Meta Critic score, which he found gratifying.

"We worked really, really hard on all aspects of the game," he said. "On bridging the gap between those trilogies. At the end of the day I hope we provided a good, satisfying experience."

Now that the game has shipped, Blackman and some of the team are concentrating on the downloadable content.

"Everybody working on the DLC is someone from the core team," he said. "Everybody worked on The Force Unleashed. It’s all being produced internally.

Blackman brought this up, he says, in part because of the rumors still floating around that LucasArts is no longer doing internal development.

"We absolutely are," he said. "This is the continuation of The Force Unleashed team while we plan our next game."

"We are doing internal development and have projects in the works. I'm hoping more (of my team) will roll onto my next product, which will more than likely be a Star Wars game."

As for the remaining 850 handsets, this is a good time to check and see if your phone needs upgrading. If yours isn't one of the 850 you obviously need to step up to a newer model, unless that military field phone is part of your whole campy, retro vibe.

THQ WIRELESS UNLEASHES THE FORCE TO HANDSETS WORLDWIDE

Star Wars®: The Force UnleashedT available for download on iPhone, N-Gage and feature phone handsets

LightsaberT Unleashed now available to fans via the iTunes App Store

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. - September 29, 2008 - THQ Wireless Inc., a subsidiary of THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI), today announced Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is now available for download on more than 850 handsets globally, including the iPhoneTM, iPod® touch and N-Gage devices. The game casts players as Darth Vader's secret apprentice during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed offers truly cinematic action in breathtaking 3D visuals. Players will assist Darth Vader in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi - and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny. The game introduces the CellWeaverT mobile control system (created by THQ Wireless' development studio, Universomo) where players can form sequence patterns through the phone's keypad allowing them to feel and use the Force.

The LightsaberT Unleashed, available for free today on the iTunes® App Store, offers features directly from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, including: · Multiple lightsaber colors and hilts that correspond to the main characters in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, including Darth Vader, The Secret Apprentice and more · All-new music from the game · Hidden treats, including character dialogue directly from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

The release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed mobile game coincides with the worldwide debut of the LucasArts videogame which is now available on the Xbox®360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Nintendo WiiT and Nintendo DST, PLAYSTATION®2 and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment systems and PSP®.

THQ Wireless' growing line of successful Star Wars titles span several genres including the side-scrolling Revenge of the Sith, space shooter Battle Above Coruscant, first person shooter Battlefront Mobile, and action titles like LEGO Star Wars Mobile and LEGO Star Wars II Mobile.

Actually, is that such a great record? Hard to tell without knowing the other figures for context - anyway, it has sold a lot and that is good.

LucasArts say that the initial publishing run of 4.3 million copies is unlikely to last long, and the game is going into a a second 'printing' earlier than expected.

Full details after the jump

Star Wars®: The Force Unleashed™ Sells 1.5 Million Units Worldwide in Under One Week

Becomes Fastest-Selling Star Wars® Game of All Time

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – September 23, 2008 – After less than one week on store shelves worldwide, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is on track to become the best-selling Star Wars game of all time. LucasArts today announced that more than 1.5 million customers worldwide have purchased Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, making it both the fastest-selling Star Wars game and LucasArts game ever.

Released on Sept. 16 in North America, Sept. 17 in Australia and Southeast Asia, and Sept.19 in Europe, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has demolished LucasArts sales records around the globe in record time.

Sales figures are based on the first five days of sales across all platforms worldwide.

Although LucasArts shipped more than 4.3 million units of The Force Unleashed around the world in preparation for the game’s launch, unprecedented demand has led to the manufacture and distribution of additional copies.

“The record-setting sales of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed shows the undiminished power of Star Wars and its popularity across all media types, including video games,” said Darrell Rodriguez, president of LucasArts. “We’re blown away by the response to the game.”

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed completely re-imagines the scope and scale of the Force and casts players as Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice,” unveiling new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy seen through the eyes of this mysterious new character, who is armed with unprecedented powers.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is the first next-generation game developed internally at LucasArts, and is available on the Xbox®360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

LucasArts and developer Krome Studios have created an equally enthralling version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on the Wii™ home videogame system from Nintendo, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, and n-Space, Inc., developed a version for Nintendo DS™. All feature the same storyline, with opportunities to unleash the Force in devastating new ways.

G4 X-Play
This is a surprisingly adult take on Star Wars, and uncompromisingly depicts a very dark Galaxy Far Far Away, as befits the time period. The early part of the narrative deals with Vader sending Starkiller to hunt down survivors of the Jedi-exterminating Order 66, but events quickly unfold that change the course of galactic history. The Force Unleashed makes some very interesting things canon, both in terms of the storyline and the characters and elements it uses. You also get to see Vader acting like the merciless villain that Anakin never really was, even in Episode III.

TeamXbox
in some places the execution is really off, making the game terribly frustrating in some moments and downright dull in others. Sometimes you’ll be left scratching your head at why something it the way it is in the game. While it does the Star Wars universe better than you’ve seen in a long time, especially since it lets you actually play as Vader in the first level, things like boss and puzzle designs feel sort of lacking. The fact that the game seems so awesome at first just makes the later frustrations of the game that much more disappointing.

1UP
The Force Unleashed's leveling system fails to make much of an impact to overall combat outside of some improvements (new attack combos and Force upgrades) to the Apprentice's preexisting repertoire of moves. Admittedly, some later abilities prove useful — especially defensive upgrades that allow you to deflect rapid laser fire back toward turrets and other enemies. This aspect of the game also gives some justification for hanging around and killing enemies to get experience, as opposed to just blowing by them, which — oddly enough — is something you can do quite often. Kinda makes the battle with three Rancors later on a little less dramatic.

GamingTrend
All of that negativity shouldn’t put you off of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The fact of the matter is, this is one of the better Star Wars titles out there. While some elements of the plot are somewhat overused or contrived, it doesn’t change the fact some of the plot moments are well worth seeing. I enjoyed the game from beginning to end, despite some of the more frustrating moments and technical glitches. There are a few choices that you’ll have to make at the very end of the game, but somewhat like Bioshock, they are in fact limited to the very end.

Kotaku
...that's what The Force Unleashed does throughout on a much smaller level, it gives you a chance to glimpse some of the moments and things behind what become keystones of the epic battle between Rebellion and Empire...The Force Unleashed is most definitely a flawed game, but with the help of some amazing acting, a deep plot and rampant force kills is sure to please most Star Wars fans. Ahh, the Force is inconsistent in this one...

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, packed with new AI and physics technology and a story written by Haden Blackman, certainly has potential, but is The Force with this game?

Loved
Epic Story: More than anything, it was Star Wars: The Force Unleashed's story that kept me going through the game. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the game's story wasn't just emotionally evocative and engaging, but vital to fans of the history of Star Wars. There are moments in the game that are genuinely breath-taking, relationships I cared more about than in any of the first three episodes and a linchpin moment that helps to hook the original classic movies to the abortive modern trilogy. I've actually gone back and re-watched the cut-scenes again. That's not just a first, it's something so beyond the pale for me as to be likely a first and last.

The Force is With You: Who doesn't love the idea of being able to move shit around with your mind? The force implementation (when the targeting works) is the best I've seen to date. In the later levels I can run through an area lousy with Stormtroopers and fling them willy-nilly without breaking stride, just like I always imagine it should be. Frankly, they could have made this game be a bunch of monkeys running around with the force and I would have loved it.

Art Direction: Right up there with the deep, engaging plot is the art direction. The game forgoes the unnatural creations of the modern anti-classics - plastic, soulless beings like Jar Jar - and instead reaches deep down into the crevices of George Lucas' dried out husk of a soul to find a menagerie of beings that don't just fit it, but add to the alien feel of the game. Exploding plants, bug-like creatures imbued with the force, mega-Stormtroopers; and it all looks so beautiful.

Voice Acting: There are plenty of games out there with good voice acting - Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears of War, etc, etc - but it still surprises me when I run across another. High among the talent is Sam Witwer, who nails the ethos of the Secret Apprentice.

Fun Combo System: The Force? Fantastic. Electrocuting, choking, throwing a light saber? Also wonderful. Combining them into grisly combos? Unforgettable. My favorites among the list of devilish force combos include impaling a struggling enemy with your lightsaber after you've floated him over a high drop and a whirling lightsaber Sith combo that ends with a force ground pound that lifts everyone in the area slowly up into the air.

Digital Molecular Matter: Pixelux's physics engine was introduced to the game to make things react as they should in the real world — for example, when a berserk Jedi comes rampaging through an area. And it really adds to the power of the game. DMM really shines when you're forced to blow down a wall or door, or when you rend hunks of metal from the surrounding scenery. It really gives the punch needed to convey the power of the force that you wield.

Hated
Glitches: Endless falls, getting stuck on the scenery, suddenly invulnerable enemies, these are a few of my least favorite things. While the glitches that crop up in the game are pretty infrequent, when they do happen they almost always require having to start back at your last save. Unforgivable.

Boss Battle That Made My Son Cry: There is in The Force Unleashed one particular boss battle of sorts involving a Star Destroyer that isn't just onerous, it's broken. This one fight manages to coalesce everything wrong with the game into one dark and painfully long moment. The battle involves lots of hiding, running, force use, and a mini-game that requires you to follow the on-screen thumbstick manipulation directions to a T. The problem is that those on-screen directions can, on occasion, be just plain wrong. The level became so frustrating that on one particularly long play through of more than a hour, which had me within minutes of winning, I died and my son, feverish to get on with the game, broke down and started crying. That's a first.

Poor Targeting System: The Force and its derivatives are often the most addictive part of The Force Unleashed. But getting a force lock-on and then getting things to go where you want isn't entirely flawless. At times you can grab anything with a flick of a trigger, but other times it's just impossible to do a force grab. And because of the dual thumbstick controls of an object being held by the force, throwing it where you want to is as much art as it is science... in a bad way.

Too Much Euphoria is a Bad Thing: Lots of attention was given to Euphoria, the advanced AI for the game, before its release. And in many ways it adds a level of detail much needed when grabbing people and flinging them to their death over and over again. Stormtroopers struggle, call for help, run at or away from you. All good. But do we really need the Emperor's elite guard tripping over wreckage in mid combat, or Stormtroopers hiding away behind containers in epic battles? Sure it's real, but maybe a bit too real.

What makes The Force Unleashed such a pleasant surprise to play isn't really the gameplay, but how it taps into the wealth of existing Star Wars lore and history. There is, in the game, a level that has you playing through the Death Star. The gameplay and the puzzles you have to solve to get through this portion of the game are fun in their own right. But what makes this level so amazing is how it also manages to give you a sort of behind the scenes tour of an object so iconic to Star Wars. You play through this thing and learn how it works, see how it works. And that's what The Force Unleashed does throughout on a much smaller level, it gives you a chance to glimpse some of the moments and things behind what become keystones of the epic battle between Rebellion and Empire.

The Force Unleashed is most definitely a flawed game, but with the help of some amazing acting, a deep plot and rampant force kills is sure to please most Star Wars fans.

The Force Unleashed, developed and published by LucasArts and released on Sept. 16 for the DS, Playstation 2, PS3, PS, Wii and Xbox 360. Retails for $48 to $50. Reviewed on Playstation 3. Played through campaign mode, tinkered with saber customization.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

This is a brave step in advertising, capitalizing on heretofore untapped tiny blank squares. Thanks, geekgrrl!

The group of voice actors for the upcoming game will be joining some of the title's development team at the Best Buy in San Francisco (1717 Harrison Street) on Monday, Sept. 15 to celebrate the game's release.

The event will run from 7 p.m. to midnight and will also give gamers a change to play the game and have their photos taken with "some of their favorite Star Wars characters." That better be a confirmation of Wookie.

LucasArts, Sony Computer Entertainment America and Best Buy Invite San Francisco to Celebrate the Launch of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Party on Sept. 15 Kicks off New Chapter in the Star Wars Saga

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Sept. 5, 2008 – LucasArts, Sony Computer Entertainment America and Best Buy will commemorate the release of the upcoming videogame Star Wars: The Force Unleashed with an exclusive launch party, offering eager gamers a chance to celebrate the Saga and get their hands on the first copies of the game. The party, which will be held at the Best Buy store at 1717 Harrison St. in San Francisco on Monday, Sept. 15, will run from 7pm until midnight and will feature appearances by several very special guests, including:

- Sam Witwer, who plays Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice in the game and who also joined the cast of The CW’s “Smallville” this season; Adrienne Wilkinson, who plays Maris Brood, a dark and mysterious Jedi; and Cully Fredrickson, who plays Jedi Master Rahm Kota, a militant General who is the target of one of the Secret Apprentice’s early missions
- Executive Producer Haden Blackman, Art Director Matt Omernick, Lead Engineer Cedrick Collomb, Lead Content Designer John Stafford, Lead Systems Designer Rich Davis, and dozens of other members of The Force Unleashed development team at LucasArts

In addition, attendees will get a chance to play the full version of the game in advance and be able to get their photo taken with some of their favorite Star Wars characters.

An entirely new chapter in the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed casts players as Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice” and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The game’s expansive story is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In it, players will assist Vader in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi – and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.

Star Wars Book Tops NY Times Bestsellers List [GameDaily]

I'm not seeing anything about this program outside of Canada, which is probably due to the fact that GameStop knows those friendly Canadians are just too gosh-darn polite to take advantage, while in the states they'd have 50% of their inventory back by Friday.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed [EBGames Canada via NextGenPLayer - Thanks Dave!]

Exclusive: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for iPhone [Crunch Gear]

Between the LucasArts presentation of the game and my brief hands-on, I walked away feeling confident that this could not only be one of the most exciting Star Wars video games of all time, it could very well provide moments more epic than anything we saw in the three prequel films.

One particular moment had me believing in the Star Wars franchise all over again. The story opens with Vader hunting down a surviving Jedi hiding out on the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk. He finds the cowering Jedi, but as he prepares to strike him down his lightsaber flies out of his hand, into the hands of a small child. There is a moment right then...Vader looming over this small boy, defiantly holding a weapon against one of the most powerful beings in the universe...it gave me chills. Nice chills.

From then on the story revolves around this secret apprentice, whose powers can only grow. He walks into a room filled with Rebels and Imperials, and everybody dies. He's a secret, you see? You see him, you've pretty much signed your death warrant. His is, for all intents and purposes, a Force ninja.

Despite the recent spoiler-filled trailer, there will still be plenty of surprises in The Force Unleashed for fans of the Star Wars films, from returning characters from the prequels to all-new characters never seen before in the Star Wars universe. During a brief bit of game involving a fight with a massive rancor a dark-haired male character flashed by the screen, and the gentleman presenting the game quickly blurt out "Who's that!?" before telling us we'd have to play the game to find out. I have my suspicions though.

As for the gameplay itself? While I didn't get to try out the Wii version with it's lightsaber controls, I did spend a bit of time with the Xbox 360 version in which our hero (anti-hero? villain?) wanders into a fight between Rebel and Imperial forces in a Tie Fighter factory, and carnage ensued. Force powers tossed enemies about like rag dolls as they desperately tried to save themselves from my wrath. While I longed for some of the powers I had been shown during the presentation, the potential was certainly there. The only problem I really had was overconfidence - I felt like such a bad ass that I wound up dying horribly. Should probably have channeled all of that confidence into hate or something. Whoops.

The graphics are nice and clean, but of course the physics are the real star here. The Digital Molecular Matter technology really shines in conjunction with NaturalMotion's Euphoria and Havok physics. I notice a few issues, such as trees that seem to break as if they were planks of wood instead of living plants, but for the most part it does the job quite nicely.

While LucasArts' Fracture gives you control over the forces of nature, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed makes *you* the force of nature. It could very well surpass Republic Commando as my favorite Star Wars game of all time, and it's really hard to top Sev and crew.

While The Force Unleashed pushes the graphics and, to some degree, the AI, forward, the experience of playing Unleashed was, as I had hoped, fairly similar to the hours of time I sank into Dark Forces II.

The game was enjoyable, at times a blast to play, but nothing that is going to shake the rock solid formula crafted by Dark Forces II.

I started my hands-on with the Xbox 360 version of the game (the PS3 version is said to be identical) playing as Darth Vader. I suspect this first introductory level is one of the only chances you get to play as the Sith mouth-breather. The developers nailed Vader's walk, though I went from awe struck to annoyed a few minutes into the game when I realized I couldn't force Vader to sprint through the level. Instead you have to make do with his majestic, shoulder-rolling walk as he obliterates everything in his path, rocks, trees, Wookies, with a wave of the hand.

After playing the Vader level to completion, I hopped into shoes of Vader's secret apprentice and played through an entire chapter with him. Unlike Vader, whose powers are already maxed out, the apprentice needs to unlock and strengthen his abilities over time.

The game's controls are fairly straight forward, allowing you to pluck things out of the air or throw them around with the Fore. Holding down the right trigger allows you to force grab and then you use the left thumbstick to move it around, or fling it places. You can combine this with other attacks as well. You can, for instance, force grab someone and then thwack them with a light saber. Or you can electrocute them as they dangle, struggling, in front of you. I personally enjoyed grabbing someone over to me and then Force pushing them off bridges or throw the outer glass of space stations.

While the game does have a few random, and easily solved puzzles, a bulk of the game is about tearing stuff up and tormenting people.

The fun in The Force Unleashed will most definitely be found in the mixing of powers to destroy places and wipe out hordes of Storm Troopers. This Star-Wars themed sandbox of destruction is likely to suck up hours of my time when it comes out, if only because I'll be obsessing over attempts to try and perform nearly impossible acts of Force abuse, like grabbing a Tie Fighter out of mid flight and smashing it into other spacecraft.

Eds Note: We were contacted by a LucasArts staffer who was part of the Force Unleashed team, stating these layoffs mentioned in the original Joystiq post were not recent and that there have been no additional layoffs since what we reported earlier this month.

LucasArts Cuts Hit [Joystiq via CVG]

Force Unleashed is the first internally developed 360 and PS3 title for LA, and the first LA-developed title since Republic Commando for the Xbox in 2005. There is, as Yoda might say, another ...

That would be the untitled Indiana Jones third-person actioner, and according to Shacknews, the remainder of its work, left after The Force Unleashed hits the street, will be outsourced. Shacknews notes that past and present development partners include TT Games, Day 1, BioWare, Pandemic and, reaching way back, Totally Games (X-Wing, TIE Fighter).

Source: LucasArts to Halt Internal Development [Shacknews]

Check out the full gallery below, and hit the jump for the full video reveal, that promises, "New Powers Will Be Unleashed By A Secret Apprentice." Ooooo.

To be specific, there's no multiplayer in the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 versions, because there is on the Wii, PSP, and DS. As far as specific reasons are concerned, we don't really like to get into the reasons why we don't do things because I don't think there's really a satisfactory answer that people would really be happy with. So, there isn't multiplayer and that's kind of how it is...

Star Wars Feature [TVG via Go Nintendo]

Ah the Wiimote. An elegant weapon, not as clumsy or as random like a blaster. Paired with the Nunchuk, it's pretty awesome too, according to this video from G4, which got an exclusive hands-on with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the Wii's duel mode. (Man that was a mouthful).

G4's reporter went as Luke Skywalker, duking it out in a TIE Fighter bay with Asajj Ventress There's saber-slashing and Force-choking galore, all arising from a pretty shrewd use of combinations and reverse moves in both controllers. It's not all lightning bolts and throws, either. Check out that old-school kick to the grill Luke delivers at the end.

The video says you'll get 9 different arenas and 27 characters to choose from, classics to the expanded universe. I know that LucasArts is promising exclusive gameplay for all consoles. But I had the two Jedi Knight games on Xbox, where lightsaber combat was a lot of button mashing and getting lucky. Honestly, if the purpose of this is to at last swing a lightsaber in 1:1 combat, then this is your baseline version.

It's probably going to make me buy a Wii. The question, will it make others do the same?

X-Play Exclusive: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Wii [G4]

Whatever your console, this trailer will convince you it's going to be awesome. Exclusive content and gameplay for all of them. God, now I want to buy a Wii. Right after I take a cold shower.

The ship comes with mini-figs of Juno Eclipse, Battle Damaged Darth Vader and Darth Vader's Apprentice. Hit the jump for close ups of the trip of little men. I wonder if this is going to be a new trend, LEGO screenshots.

According to the anonymous comment, "Mich (& company) was unhappy with his delaying of the Force Unleashed and Indiana Jones titles." The commenter implies that Ward was more interested in delivering "kick ass" games more so than games that shipped on time, on budget and with, we assume, an acceptable level of ass kicking.

Anonymous then goes on to write that interim president Howard Roffman's replacement of Ward "could spell trouble for the LucasArts division" if he aligns with those who feel that properties such as Indiana Jones and Star Wars should be more often handed off to third-party developers.

He or she then rips into the working relationship with ILM, calling Zeno, the pipeline that LucasArts' internal game engine Zed runs upon, "garbage" and "one of the worst first party developement tools out there." That certainly inspires some confidence.

The full comment is definitely worth a read, regardless of whether it's 100% factual or not. At the very least, it provides interesting insight into the (possible) inner workings at LucasArts. let's just hope someone doesn't get Force-choked to death because of it.

GameSetInsight: Disgruntled Of Presidio Writes... [GameSetWatch]

The gameplay started in a Tie Fighter hanger, our male protagonist looking down at the cleanly-textured room. Everything is understated, save for the size. It's so massive that I found myself mentally categorizing other games that had indoor environments with ceilings that reach 150+ feet in the air.

And it reminds you that force powers are truly the intended focus of the game. Because while our male protagonist was indeed holding a lightsaber, he opted not to use it all that often. Sure, part of the gameplay decision was for our benefit, but when levels employ so much vertical space, sometimes propogated with Tie Fighters floating by (ready to be plucked out of the air), the saber feels so tedious.

We watched as the jedi made short work of the Storm Troopers (effortlessly lifting them and ran into the spaceship's hallways (also some of the largest we've seen). The blast doors were satisfyingly bent open ala The Force and then new troopers got the taste of some lightsaber.

Then something really bothered us. We noticed that when the troopers died, green orbs popped out like we've seen in God of War. While we're sure these orbs are intended to fill the force meter, their fantasy-based nature really sucked us away from the hyperrealism of gorgeous floating Storm Troopers, grabbing on to any near object in attempt to save life and limb.

Even on the large projected screen, the game looked very nice. We can only imagine it scaled down to a more manageable, non-jumbotron size. Unfortunately, there was one pretty cool image that you'll never see.

In an early concept video, designers rendered a mock battle between a jedi and a rancor (large humanoid monster). After battling for about a minute, the monster swallows the jedi.

Needless to say, this didn't end well. The monster was struck with a lightsaber ulcer so bad that its body exploded. And despite a packed hall of hoots and hollers in response, the content was too spicy for the ESRB to designate a "T for Teen" rating.

And it makes us wonder how long it will be until we're choosing between uncensored version of games and their "radio" edits.

I'm really, really hoping this will be good. And until we have the game in our hands to decide, expect bajillions of such updates as we get more info.

A few more Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Wii details [gonintendo]

The mobile version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be developed by THQ's Universomo in Finland using Cell Weaver technology and will support tournaments, score uploads and downloadable content through N-Gage's Arena service.

A press release that makes the whole thing official is after this.

Espoo, Finland - Nokia, THQ Wireless, Lucasfilm, and LucasArts today revealed that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is coming to N-Gage, Nokia's next generation mobile gaming platform in 2008.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The game's expansive story is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.

The mobile version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is in development by THQ's Finland-based studio, Universomo. Using Cell Weaver(TM) technology, the game lets the player harness the Force while assisting Darth Vader in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi - and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Mobile game provides players with unique community features, including tournaments, score uploads and downloadable content, through N-Gage Arena services.

"We're proud to be able to deliver the next chapter in the Star Wars saga on the N-Gage platform," said Gregg Sauter, Director, Publishing, Nokia. "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Mobile game will take advantage of the N-Gage platform's robust native development environment to provide the ultimate mobile gaming experience, including powerful graphics, connectivity and community elements."

"THQ Wireless is dedicated to creating an awesome mobile Star Wars experience that delivers on the concept of unleashing the Force. The N-Gage platform makes it possible for us to release a rich mobile gaming experience to entertain as wide an audience as possible on N-Gage compatible devices," said Adam Comisky, vice president of THQ Wireless.

"The launch of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be a major entertainment event in 2008, and bringing the game to the N-Gage mobile gaming platform is a big part of that because it means that millions of people around the world will be able to access the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed world right in the palm of their hand," said Howard Roffman, President of Lucas Licensing.

...the way you have to tackle the animation for a character that can mimic your movements is quite intimidating...When I play a game I want to feel like I'm a Jedi, not like I'm some kind of imbecile who just keeps on stabbing stuff in the guts. You're not going to be able to fight with style because you won't know how to put the moves together.

Will we ever get complete control of Star Wars' lighty-up sticks? [gamesradar] [picture]

LucasArts to Unleash the Force on the Wii in Spring 2008

Star Wars™: The Force Unleashed™ Coming to Nintendo's Platform with Exclusive Duel Mode

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Sept. 18, 2007 - LucasArts today revealed that Star Wars™: The Force Unleashed™ will come to the Wii™ home videogame system from Nintendo next spring, offering owners the unique chance to live out their Jedi fantasies by wielding the Wii Remote™ as a lightsaber while using the Nunchuk™ controller to torment foes with their Force™ powers.

The Force Unleashed casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The game's expansive story is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In it, players will assist the iconic villain in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi - and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.

The Wii version, in development by Krome Studios, will also add an exclusive duel mode in which players can compete head-to-head with their friends to determine the ultimate Jedi Master.

"The Wii is a great platform for The Force Unleashed, because the console's motion-oriented controllers really bring the game to life," said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts. "We've worked hard to make the Wii version of the game unique in order to truly let you unleash the Force."