OTHER TECH

KICKING ASS WITH THE FORCE

While Unleashed does have a gripping story, it is a game and so has to be fun to play. But rather than make another button-mashing, lightsaber hack-and-slash adventure, Blackman said that his team created gameplay that revolves around "over-the-top powers" - in other words, "kicking ass with the Force."

Whereas the Star Wars movies have shown the Force used with restraint, Unleashed throws the governor away and encourages players to confront objects and enemies and not just push or pull them but repel and lightning-blast them into submission. For instance, you can snatch up a group of Stormtroopers and launch them hundreds of feet, or you can reach out to a TIE Fighter and send it crashing into other ships, destroying them all. Of course, no Force user would be complete without a killer set of lightsaber moves, and the game serves up wicked combos aplenty. As the child of two Jedi, the Secret Apprentice has "the potential to be the most powerful Force-user ever," according to Blackman. "He's up there with the top tier." Impressive. Most impressive.

A defining moment in the game that demonstrates the Secret Apprentice's massive power actually came about by chance. Concept artist Amy Beth Christenson related, "I overheard someone asking Haden how powerful you would be, and he said, 'You have so much Force power, you could pull a Star Destroyer out of the sky!' That stuck in my head, and I had to draw it." Watching the finished scene made me want to beg Lucas to get back into the movie studio: "Go make that film!"

EPISODE III.5

For my first demo, I was led into LucasArts' Premier Theater, which has 298 seats, a 50-foot screen, and the latest Christie D-Cinema digital projector. Besides being used for screening films being considered for Academy Award nominations, the theater is also the site for weekly team meetings and testing, to see how the game holds up in a true theater environment.

I assumed that Unleashed was developed in 1080p, but designers told me that the in-game technology is already pushing the next-gen consoles to their limits, and that graphics were held to 720p to keep the frame rates up and the animations smooth and cinematic. Watching the trademark Star Wars opening text scrawl on the massive screen, I felt like I was about to watch Episode III.5. Graphically, the game looks spectacular even when blown up to 50 feet, so rest assured that it will look stunning in your home theater regardless of its screen size. In fact, the high-def, widescreen vistas beg to be shown on a large screen!

Unleashed wastes no time thrusting you into the action, opening with the dramatic image of Vader walking out of an Imperial Shuttle, his black cape billowing behind him as laser bolts crackle by. He has just landed on the Wookiee home world, Kashyyyk, in the midst of hunting down rogue Jedi around the galaxy. With that, control of Vader is handed over to you, giving a glimpse of the awesome powers and true potential of the Dark Side that will be available later in the game. After single-handedly decimating the Wookiee resistance using phenomenal Force powers to blow apart anything in his path, Vader eventually encounters the character destined to become his Secret Apprentice - and the exciting story is underway.