Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

It’s funny to be here a year later and having to review the exact same game that I reviewed last year, but for the most part, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition on PC is the exact same as its console brethren.  The only thing that truly sets it apart from those releases and what gives it the “Ultimate Sith Edition” title is the addition of three new missions that were not available in the original console release.  Whether this is a worthwhile addition will depend on your love or indifference to The Force Unleashed and Star Wars brands.

In case you missed it last year on the console, or you are a dedicated PC player, Star Wars The Force Unleashed has us playing as Vader’s Secret Apprentice.  Vader found the boy planet side on Kashyyyk, under the protection of his father, who happened to be a Jedi.  It might just be me, but it seems that a lot of Jedi have ignored that whole, “no procreating” rule.  After a great cinematic, you begin your quest to take out the last remaining Jedi, who are standing in the way of the Emperor goal of galactic conquest.

It sounds a little contrived, and at times it can be, but the story is the strongest point of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition.  Coming from authorized Lucas cannon, the game sews up loose ends between the two trilogies, and along the way, creates some great characters that I would really enjoy seeing more of in future extended universe titles.

The big thing with this title coming to PCs is that it was only a year ago those PC gamers were told there was no way this game could come to their platform and still be playable.  Well apparently a year can make a huge difference, although you would be hard pressed to prove that to anyone after playing Star Wars: TFU on PC.  The graphics are good, but never stand out in anyway.  I have no knowledge of this, but it would not surprise me if this ended up being an exact port of the 360 version, as they look very similar next to each other.  Little details seemed a bit sharper, but not enough to really say that this port is a huge leap over its console cousins.

If you are a fan of costumes, you are in luck as the PC version of Star Wars: TFU Ultimate Sith Edition ships with at least two to three dozen different costumes.  To some this is a passing feature, but I did like some of the alternate uniforms you could use, including the animated style of The Apprentice.

As mentioned, the main draw to this release is the addition content.  There are three new missions that you can play though, and thankfully, the team at Aspyr made then selectable right at the start of the game, meaning I would not have to play through the game in some weird mode to unlock content.  More developers need to realize that some people might just want to get to the new stuff, especially when it comes to a game that is a year old.  One of the levels falls into the continuity of the main storyline, with The Secret Apprentice heading into the remnants of the Jedi Temple, to look for more information on his father.  The level was painfully difficult at first, but that might have been more about controls than anything else, but we will get to that in a bit.  Also, there are two alternate timeline missions that have you as the right hand man to the Emperor.  First you are dispatched to Tattoine, where you work your way through Jabba’s palace and more, with a culminating battle with Obi-Wan in docking bay 94 at Mos Eisley Spaceport.  The other takes to you the caves of Hoth, where you track down what is left of the Rebel Alliance and crush it.  Of course, nothing goes quite as planned and a guy named Luke Skywalker gets in the way. All of extra missions will add about 2 to 3 hours of gameplay to initial 6 to 8 hours in the regular game. 

While the entire package is a good game for PC gamers, it suffers at the most important part of the game – controls.  Mouse and keyboard controls are atrocious.  Most of the powers are mapped to places that are beyond the reach of normal hands.  It seemed like I needed at least two extra fingers to get to all the control options.  I also noticed that the game seemed a lot more difficult using the mouse and keyboard, with me dying far more often that I remember.  Switching out the mouse/keyboard to an Xbox 360 gamepad, I immediately noticed an improvement in the controls.  I started enjoying the game leaps and bounds more than I was at first.  So if you are lacking a gamepad, you will be upset with the default control scheme.  Also, the game seems a bit glitchy at times.  I have had textures disappear, and enemies perform some weird physics behavior.  All of these issues take you out of the experience, and it is upsetting, as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed tells a great story that most Star Wars fans will enjoy.

At the end of the day, the Star Wars fan in me wanted to give this game some high marks, but the PC Gamer in me came back to reality and remembered all the little issues that came up while playing.  Star Wars the Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition is not a bad game, but one that lacks a set of polish that would come from an A-list title.  Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition gets 3.5 out of 5 Aeropausonauts.
Check out Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition and other PC reviews at Test Freaks.