Comic Con Preview: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Starkiller was already one of the most powerful Force users in the galaxy. Where do you go from there, though? At Comic Con, Lucas Arts gave gamers an exclusive demo of The Force Unleashed II to show us how Starkiller’s grown since the last game concluded.

The level we saw takes place on Kamino, the ocean planet where Emperor Palpatine raises his clone army. The demo begins with Starkiller falling through the sky alongside a tall tower. As he plummets downward face-first, he zaps TIE Fighters with Force lightning and smashes through stone balconies. This is one example of what designer Haden Blackman called “run for your life” moments, fast-paced sequences that break up the normal gameplay. We saw another later on in the demo in which Starkiller ran away from a starship trying to gun him down.

Starkiller eventually hits the ground and the game enters its standard hack-and-slash phase. He now wield two sabers at a time, allowing him to strike faster and, just as importantly, look a lot cooler. In other style news, Blackman said that TFU2 would feature the same customization of outfits and lightsaber crystals that we saw in the previous game.

While Starkiller is very effective at dismembering his foes, it’s just the tip of his combat abilities. He’s also got his usual suite of Force powers, such as lightning and force push. One of his new powers is Jedi Mind Trick, which he can use to force troopers to perform deeds against their will. They will either help Starkiller in combat or kill themselves. In the demo, the first use of Jedi Mind Trick resulted in a trooper throwing himself out a window.

A meter on screen builds up as Starkiller defeats enemies. When full, he can unleash Force Fury. This ability cranks up the intensity of all his other powers for a short period of time.
Currently it lasts for 30 seconds but Blackman says they’re still balancing the duration. When under the effects of Force Fury, Starkiller can defeat a large enemy with only a couple hits from one of his powers. Force Fury also makes all of his lightsaber slashes into ranged attacks, allowing him to tear up a squad of stormtroopers in seconds.

Blackman said that the TFU2 team has tried to inject puzzle elements into the game to liven up the combat. Certain enemies have distinct behaviors and abilities that force you to stray outside your normal hack-and-zap routine. For instance, riot troopers are soldiers with staffs that can easily deflect your saber attacks but are weak against Force powers.

The demo also introduced large robots that spray liquid carbonite at Starkiller in an attempt to freeze him in place. The bot has an enormous shield that the player must first pry away with the Force. He’s still a formidable opponent in melee range, though, so Starkiller hung back and bombarded it with ranged attacks. Here we were introduced to another ability of Starkiller’s: he can grab troopers, charge them up with Force lightning and use them like a big grenade.

A truer example of a puzzle came later in the demo. Starkiller needed to cross a gap and the solution was to knock over a nearby tower. He accomplishes this by grabbing TIE Fighters out of the sky and slamming them into the tower. Anyone who suffered through the Star Destroyer sequence of the first TFU might be skeptical of any other set-piece sequences in this series. For what it’s worth, Blackman stated that the Star Destroyer scene’s failings were a result of compressed testing and that they’re giving their quality assurance team more time for the sequel.

While Starkiller put on some impressive displays of strength in the demo, this was only an early stage so we haven’t seen the depths of his might quite yet. Remember that massive beast in the first teaser trailer? That’s what Starkiller will be fighting soon after this level. Also, LucasArts showed us a brief cinematic where Vader hired the legendary Boba Fett to take down his former apprentice. The most exciting showdown, though, may come when Starkiller travels to Dagobah, the swamp planet where Yoda lives.