"Star Wars: Force Unleashed" demo arrives, and I'm hooked

From the moment I grabbed my first stormtrooper—with The Force, mind you—and tossed him around like a rag doll as his shocked comrades looked on, well ... guess who's gonna be glued to his Xbox 360 all weekend.

I've been chirping about "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed"—the first "Star Wars" gaming epic for next-gen consoles—for months now, and the demo has just arrived for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. (Versions of the game will also be released for the Wii, PS2, PSP, and DS.)

The demo only has about 20 playable minutes (at least you can play it at three different difficulty settings), but what I've played so far, I've loved.

In the demo, you play as Darth Vader's "secret apprentice," and you get to see one of the early levels of the game, set in the TIE Fighter Construction Facility.

What's so cool about this new "Star Wars" game (so far, at least) are the Force powers at your disposal. In the demo, you get three: Force Grip, Force Push, and Force Lightning.

While Force Lightning is pretty cool (remember the Emperor zapping Luke at the end of "Return of the Jedi"?) and Push is fun for smashing through steel bulkheads, Force Grip is the real highlight.

Once you've selected a target to Grip (which can be tricky at first—the targeting system tends to be a little jittery), you pick it up with your controller's right trigger and move it around in mid-air with the analog sticks. Had enough? Release the trigger to toss—preferably into a squad of terrified stormtroopers.

It might sound like a basic move, but for anyone who loved "The Empire Strikes Back"—specifically, the scene when Vader pummels a wounded Luke with one piece of metal junk after another, all using The Force—it's quite a thrill.

Even better, you can grab people with Force Grip as well. If you pick up a stormtrooper, for instance, he'll float up and start crying out to his buddies: "Whaaa! Help me! Please stop!" He'll even grab onto a fellow stormtrooper for help, pulling them both into the air. Then you can go ahead and toss him into the nearest airlock.

And did I mention the lightsaber? Oh yes, it's ready and waiting to block laser bolts or cut your enemies to ribbons. (The Wii version of TFU will let you control the lightsaber with the Wiimote).

Unfortunately, the fun's over all too quickly, although you're free to up the ante with the tougher difficulty levels. For the full game, we'll have to bide our time a few more weeks—until September 16. (I'll spare you the "It will be a day long remembered" references.)

Anyone else take a crack at the "Force Unleashed" demo? Fire away with your impressions.

Related:
Demo for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Now Available on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network [Yahoo! Games]