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]

I've got a very cruel test for you Star Wars fans. What we have here is a video dialog from the LucasArts folks that goes over some pretty major, pretty spoilerish, plot points for The Force Unleashed. It also shows off a lot of the game. Yes, painful. So you decide, hit the game fresh and untarnished or stoke your fan engines now. Either way, know it looks pretty bad ass.

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.

Soulcalibur IV Unleashed [GameSpot]

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 game will have you playing as Darth Vader's secret apprentice and takes place in the era between Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. The game will have players assisting Vader in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi.

"Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is one of the most ambitious projects LucasArts has ever launched. The combination of a great new Star Wars story with revolutionary new technology and game play means more fun than you've ever had in the Star Wars universe," said Peter Hirschmann, Vice-President of Product Development, LucasArts. "We can't wait until gamers get their hands on it this September."

LucasArts teamed up with Spike TV to air segments about the upcoming game during the channel's upcoming showing of all six Star Wars movies this weekend. The channel will be airing six different segments about the game "each with an exclusive announcement or new game play footage."

Hit the jump for the segment times, more box art shots and some details on the game.

• April 6 at 7:58 p.m. ET/PT - between the premiere of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
• April 11 at 10:52 p.m. ET/PT - At the end of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
• April 12 at 12:00 a.m. ET/PT - throughout an episode of GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley filmed at LucasArts' headquarters in San Francisco
• April 12 at 5:06 p.m. ET/PT - before Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
• April 13 at 5:06 p.m. ET/PT - before Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back

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

As its name implies, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed completely re-imagines the scope and scale of the Force by taking full advantage of newly developed technologies that will be seen and experienced for the first time together: Digital Molecular Matter, by Pixelux Entertainment, and euphoria by NaturalMotion Ltd.

LucasArts and developer Krome Studios are creating 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., is developing a version for Nintendo DS™. All will feature the same storyline, with opportunities to unleash the Force in devastating new ways.

Working with Lucas Licensing, LucasArts is preparing an unprecedented promotional effort around the launch of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, encompassing a full line of toys and game-based action figures from Hasbro, as well as a full publishing program from Dark Horse, Del Rey, Prima Games, and Palace Press.

More information about the game can be found at the official website, www.theforceunleashed.com, which will continue to release details throughout the year.

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.

Variety has a pretty epic story in their March issue that delves deep into LucasArts upcoming Star Wars game The Force Unleashed. Writer Frank DiGiacomo does not only an amazing job of shedding light on a hotly anticipated game, but also manages to lead the uninitiated on a quick tour of both the history of video gaming and the problems the emerging medium still struggles with. The story then quickly plunges into the making of the upcoming game and some of the issues the devs have run into while trying to blend new tech with old for the game.

The story does mention a few things interesting to the hardcore as well, like the fact that they had to play down the game's realism because if a person was really hit with a force blow it would be like being smacked with a cannon ball, and perhaps a bit too gruesome for the T-rating they are shooting for.

The article says that Force Unleashed, which is meant to tell the story of the time between Episode III and Episode IV by fleshing out Darth Vader, has a plot twist "almost as good as the "I am your father" moment from Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back." The game also contains surprising revelations about the birth of the Rebel Alliance.

There isn't, actually, a ton of detail about the game's play in the lengthy three-page article, but it ends with this gem of a description of a play through on the PS3 of the prologue:

The Dark Lord of the Sith is on Piper's screen, his black cape billowing, his death's-head helmet gleaming in the computer-generated sunlight. Piper guides Vader forward using the game controller and eventually arrives at a narrow rope bridge of lashed-together logs. As the Wookiees begin to charge across the bridge, Piper mashes buttons and summons up a ball of Force energy that, in a nice artistic touch, withers the plant life beneath Vader's boots. Then, pushing another button, he hurls that energy at the furry, fanged Wookiees. A bunch of them go flying off into space, causing the D.M.M.-enabled bridge to start rippling like a water bed. This sends more Euphoria-infused Wookiees toppling over the sides while those that remain struggle to regain their balance. They are only prolonging the inevitable. Using a more personal form of the Force, Vader hoists a struggling Wookiee into the air and dashes him against a wooden support beam, which cracks and splinters with remarkable authenticity. As another warrior is lifted, he grabs on to one of the remaining beams and hangs on for dear life, but Vader dislodges the wooden buttress and hurls it, with the Wookiee still attached, over the bridge.

I highly recommend either picking up the magazine or clicking over to the link to read through the article. DiGiacomo's fresh look at some of the issues video games face as they strive to recreate life on a screen are quite poetic at times and his take on the merging of Euphoria's AI and Digital Molecular Matter with the physics of Havok are alone worth the time. There are also plenty of screens and interesting images.

I'll leave you with this wonderful description of the process of making a video game, to hopefully convince you to go read the article:

To observe the men and women of LucasArts in action—aside from noting their propensity to wear their security badges on bright yellow lanyards—is to realize that the process of making a video game is really the fulfillment of French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes's dream of putting "the world into equation," in the words of LucasArts lead software engineer Cedrick Collomb.

The Game Has Changed [Vanity Fair]

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."