
"The platforming makes you feel like you're playing as a toy come to life [...] it was rly rly fluid and awesome and that it felt perfect" ~GIR
"The combat sucks" ~GIR
The hype for this game is hueg. The first I ever heard of it was technically in the ads for the sith spikes/colour change lightsaber thingy (which technically comes from the game). There are ads for it, toys for it, lego for it, a novelization for it, makes me wonder if we're going to see a movie of it (hopefully not).
So I have the PSP and DS version (will get 360 version, EVENTUALLY. The PSP version is almost identical anyway, differences will be noted).
I love how the above image has NOTHING to do with the game.
Which brings me to my first point about the game
The lightsaber combat isn't as good as in the Jedi Knight games (Jedi Academy and Jedi Knight II). In the mentioned two games you could change your lightsaber stance and in Jedi Academy you could wield two lightsabers or a double bladed lightsaber. Ignoring that, the lightsaber combat in the mentioned games was good as all you needed to do was press the attack button and move around and your character would attack in a way that suits the direction (eg moving sideways would cause your character to spin around whilst slashing). In Force Unleashed you only use one Lightsaber and while you can unlock new combos, it's still not as good as it could've been. The main focus is on force powers and you may be able to get through most of the game using just them.
But the force powers are of course, the main focus of the game, and they're really impressive. You initially get force lightning, force push/grip, force repulse and lightsaber throw. All of them are quite impressive. Force grip lets you pick up any free object like debri or other enemies and throw them around. As you progress, you unlock more force powers but also unlock force powers that are combinations of the powers. For example, you can do a force push that explodes on contact, or grip an enemy and throw objects at the enemy while they are still in your grip. As long as you have enough force energy (the curse of the blue energy bar strikes again!) you don't really need to use the lightsaber, unless you're up against a large enemy or another Jedi in a duel.The game makes heavy use of quick time button press sequences and they are sometimes required to defeat certain foes.
You can customize your lightsaber. In the PSP version instead of compressed etc. modes on the lightsaber you instead collect crystals that are different hues of the lightsaber. You can also collect and use different hilts. It ads a little bit more of a replay value running around the level looking for stuff.
It has quite a few platforming segments, fairly average stuff, nothing too challenging. Though the PSP version suffers from not being able to move the camera (a recipe for disaster in a 3D game). You often find yourself having to stop running just to let the camera adjust, otherwise you could run into a pit and die (the penalties for dying aren't too harsh).
One thing I note in the PSP and console versions is that you can play as many characters from the Star Wars universe, and many from the game's plot as extra skins. If you're playing as someone other than a costume of the main character then cutscenes will be disabled but hey, you can play as the freakin Emperor. With a pink lightsaber.
Oh yeah, the DS version is controlled with the Dpad for moving and the touch screen for everything else. There are minigames instead of button press sequences, the force combos are done by sliding the stylus over the icons, the ability to use the force on your environments is limited and overall, I didn't like it.