"Star Wars: Force Unleashed" arrives, gets blasted by critics

"Boring," "buggy," "small," "disappointing," "flat," "not much fun"—that's how gaming critics are describing the latest, eagerly awaited "Star Wars" game, which just materialized in stores across the galaxy. I've got a bad feeling about this.

"Who knew that throwing Stormtroopers around like they were rag dolls could be so ... boring?", writes Wired Game|Life's Chris Kohler, while Opposable Thumbs reviewer Ben Kuchera goes even further: "We enjoyed the demo ... but the final version is buggy, messy, and stretches the patience of even the most hardcore Star Wars fan."

Even MSM reviewers were guarded in their reviews. "The sad fact is that much in 'TFU' has been done better by the 'Jedi Knight' and 'Knights of the Old Republic' games," writes John Ryan for MSNBC. And from Variety: "Too many of the levels ... feel slapped together as excuses for the players to kill a few hundred grunts before getting to the good stuff."

Ratings for "The Force Unleashed" range from pats on the head (7.5 out of 10 from GameSpot, a C from 1UP) to brutal (5 out of 10 from Wired). Ouch.

So, what happened? The demo for "Force Unleashed" was, indeed, a blast, and gameplay videos promised sweeping vistas, spectacular lightsaber battles, and even the chance to play as Darth Vader himself.

Unfortunately, playing as Darth appears to have been part of the problem. Yes, you get some choice Vader action early in the game, but as several reviewers note, you spend the rest of the gaming playing as Darth's somewhat boring, "bit player" of an apprentice. Talk about a letdown.

Then there's the gameplay. As I noted before when I blogged about TFU demo, the game's targeting system (which lets you select objects or enemies for Force Pull) is so loose and erratic that it's all too easy to grab the wrong thing while in the heat of battle. I was hoping the buggy targeting system would be ironed out by the final release, but no—it's still frustratingly jittery (or "dismally implemented," as PC World put it), so much so that I often found myself Force Gripping random pieces of junk rather than that Stormtrooper who's about to open fire. (I'm playing on an Xbox 360, by the way.)

Other complaints: A third-person camera that often gets in the way, disappears into walls, or otherwise interferes with gameplay; no multiplayer in the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions; unimaginative level design (the much-hyped encounter with a Star Destroyer earns some particularly scathing barbs—"atrocious," as Variety puts it), and out-and-out bugs (such as system crashes, or a Rancor whose health bar inexplicable disappears during battle, making him unkillable).

Is "The Force Unleashed" a wipeout of "Phantom Menace" proportions, then? I wouldn't go that far; I've been playing it for a couple of nights, and it's fun in fits and starts. But between the iffy controls and the uneven levels (I got so bored with the meandering warp core level last night that I gave up and watched cable instead), I can feel my attention starting to wander.

OK, "Star Wars" fans ... what do you think of "The Force Unleashed" so far? Anyone play the PS2, DS, or Wii versions?