Editor’s note: This review was written by Tim Lester, a student at Full Sail University. Tim grew up in the mountains of Virginia and grew to love videogames at a very young age. Playing anything from Mario to Sonic — and all things in between — he knew he wanted to bring people happiness just as videogames had given him happiness. Joining the Navy right out of high school in 2000, he spent five years in the military and was deployed overseas twice, returning with only a scar on his right leg from a mop bucket — despite war times. He now lives in Southern California, pursuing his dream of becoming a videogame designer and dreaming up stories to tell gamers all over the world. He also considers his parents his biggest influence on his creative nature.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a brilliant platform game from Lucas Arts that helps fill in the gaps between Star Wars: Episode 3 and Star Wars: Episode 4 and helps to answer many questions fans have had for years. Questions such as who formed the Rebel Alliance? What happened to the Jedi who survived Order 66? And who are the people behind the Rebellion?

The game begins on the Wookie home world of Kashyyyk shortly after the fall of the Republic. As Darth Vader, you are searching for one of the remaining Jedi in the galaxy. With the force as your ally, and your light saber at your side, you slice, push, choke and throw your way to your enemy — and the beginning of the story.

After defeating the Rogue Jedi, you discover he has a son who is stronger with the force. So strong that Lord Vader believes the Rogue Jedi’s master is nearby. After killing the father, and the Imperial Army witnesses to the child’s existence, the child becomes the secret apprentice of Vader. Without a name, the child becomes known as either The Apprentice or by his code name, Starkiller.

After years of training, Starkiller is deemed worthy of using the dark side of the force and is sent in search of Jedi generals Rahm Kota, Shaak Ti and Kazdan Paratus. Faithfully following Lord Vader’s orders of killing any who sees him, Starkiller is soon betrayed and nearly killed by Vader, and Juno Eclipse, the pilot of Starkiller’s ship, is labeled a traitor.

Vader saves Starkiller and orders him to seek out those who oppose the Emperor and to sever all ties to his past. But not all Sith are without some good, as Starkiller seeks to save Juno and escape the ship they are on, which is on a collision course for a nearby star. And so, Starkiller seeks to form the Rebel Alliance and bring about the end of the Emperor.

However, not all is as it seems. Searching out General Rahm Kota, who was believed to be one of the first victims of Starkiller’s previous missions, he finds the now-blind Jedi and recruits him to help form the Rebel Alliance.

The gameplay matches the story well as it shows the player just how dark the times are under Imperial control. Although the Emperor rules the galaxy through fear, there are few who will rise up to bring back peace and order. These brave souls, most specifically Starkiller, battle through a crumbling TIE fighter manufacturing plant, a junk planet, a forest planet and even the first Death Star.

The junk planet of Raxus Prime is probably one of the best representations of what the galaxy has been through prior to The Force Unleashed. Discarded droid parts, wrecked starships, old engine parts and even rivers of radioactive hyperdrive plasma make up the terrain and show no mercy to Starkiller — or the inhabitants of the planet.

The gameplay can be simple or tactical, depending on how you enjoy playing platform games. It is possible to get through the portions of the game in which you battle with your light saber by repeatedly pressing the attack button, but you can also string together combo attacks to deal extra damage or stun your enemies. Using the force is good in the sense that you can upgrade your powers, but throwing objects toward other objects can be a little taxing. The aiming system takes much getting use to, and I personally nearly had to buy a new television because of it.

On the downside, the controls can be extremely clunky at times. Having used several different controllers, I experienced issues with double jumping and the game not recognizing commands until I was either dead, almost dead or just gave up. Force Throwing isn’t much better. At one point, you are trying to pull an Imperial Star Destroyer from the sky while fighting off several TIE fighters. To defeat the fighters, you have to Force Throw explosive items into them, and unless you know exactly how to work the clunky control for it, it may take you several minutes to destroy each wave.

Lastly is the loading screen, which is every gamer’s worst nightmare. If you die — and you will die — the game will reload the level from scratch, which can take quite a while sometimes. There may not be as many loading screens as are found in other titles, but there are definitely enough to dull the experience.

If you are a Star Wars fan, The Force Unleashed is a must-play for everyone. The story is wonderful and will help to fulfill your desire to know what happened in the 20-plus years between Attack of the Clones and A New Hope. But pick it up used, as chances are you will want to throw it out of a window or stick it in a microwave by the time you are done with it. But if you are looking for a platform game to waste a weekend on, look elsewhere, because the controls will have you begging for a refund.

Happy gaming, and “May the force be with you.”