Video Game Vintage Title: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II is an action-adventure platform video game developed and published by LucasArts. It is the second installment of the The Force Unleashed multimedia project, and the sequel to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed . The game was released in the United States on October 26, 2010, and throughout Europe on October 29 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii consoles, as well as the Nintendo DS and iOS portable devices.

Players control a clone of Starkiller, who himself was a secret apprentice to Darth Vader in The Force Unleashed. The clone embarks on a quest to find his identity and find Starkiller's love interest, Juno Eclipse. Production for The Force Unleashed II transpired over an approximate period of nine months; while it possesses some similarities to the previous game, producers modified several aspects such as the sound effects and gameplay. Sam Witwer again provides the voice and likeness for Starkiller, and several cast members return to voice and provide likeness to their respective roles.

The Force Unleashed II produced varying responses from critics, who despite adulating the sound design and aesthetics, were concerned with several gameplay elements and an underwhelming storyline. Aggregate scores range from the 40�70% range at websites GameRankings and Metacritic. During the first few weeks after its release it placed fifth or higher in sales for several regions.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Plot

The game takes place approximately six months after the events of the first game, and a year before Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The Force Unleashed II is described as the "dark entry" in the series, and a more personal story for the game's protagonist than the first game.

Players control Starkiller's renegade clone, a failure of Darth Vader's attempt to create a perfect secret apprentice. After a vision that Darth Vader will kill him due to his inability to kill a test droid, the clone escapes from captivity on Kamino. After eliminating his stormtrooper captors, Starkiller embarks on a quest to understand his identity and to find his template's love interest from the first game, Juno Eclipse. Meanwhile, Darth Vader has hired Boba Fett to track down Juno Eclipse to lure Starkiller out of hiding. Starkiller rescues Jedi Master Rahm Kota from a gladiatoral arena, and encounters Yoda on Dagobah. After encountering strange visions on Dagobah, Starkiller rushes to Juno's ship, only to arrive just as Boba captures her.

With help from Kota, the Rebels launch an all-out assault on Kamino. Starkiller crashes a ship into the planet's shield, allowing Kota to stage a ground assault, while he goes after Juno. In a confrontation with Vader, Juno is thrown out of a window, crashing to the ground. Starkiller, thinking Juno is dead, attacks Vader viciously, cutting off his hand and defeating him. Kota arrives with his men, and tells Starkiller not to kill Vader: he wants to interrogate the Sith lord for the Empire's secrets, then put him on trial, and then later execute him. As in the first game, this allows the player to choose either the light path or the dark path:

If the player chooses the dark side, Starkiller raises his saber to kill Vader, only to be stabbed by a shrouded figure who uncloaks behind him. Kota attacks the figure, but is driven back and force pushed over the edge with numerous troops. As the figure removes his cowl, Vader tells the dying Starkiller he lied when he said the cloning process had not been perfected, revealing the figure to be a dark, perfect clone. Starkiller takes one last look at Juno's corpse and dies. Vader instructs the kneeling clone to take Starkiller's ship and kill the remaining leaders of the Rebel Alliance. Downloadable content released in December 2010 expands on this ending, with Starkiller's clone participating in the Battle of Endor in which the remnants of the Rebel Alliance desperately attack Endor in the hopes of destroying the Death Star II. The dark Starkiller is sent to eliminate the threat and kills Ewoks and Rebels (including Han Solo and Chewbacca) in the process. Eventually he finds Princess Leia Organa, who is revealed to be a Jedi, waiting for him and duels her. Starkiller succeeds in killing her. Meanwhile, the Emperor scolds Vader for creating the dark copy of his failed apprentice and subdues him with Force Lightning (calling him Skywalker). The Emperor then orders Captain Sarkli to kill the dark Starkiller.

If the player chooses the light side, Starkiller lowers his blade and allows Kota's men to capture Vader. Starkiller discovers Juno survived the fall, they kiss, and the two travel into hyperspace together aboard the Rogue Shadow, taking Vader prisoner. Starkiller confronts Vader again saying that because he made the conscious choice, of his own free will, to spare Vader's life, he is finally free of the Dark Lord's control. Vader's response is that as long as Juno lives, Vader will always have control over him. Unknown to Starkiller and Juno, Boba Fett pursues in his spacecraft.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Gameplay

The Force Unleashed II is a third-person action game in which the player's character's weapons are the Force and a lightsaber. The game has a combo system for stringing lightsaber attacks and for combining lightsaber attacks with Force powers. Like the original Force Unleashed, experience points earned by killing enemies and finding artifacts can be used to increase Starkiller's powers and traits.

The Force Unleashed II refines gameplay elements from the first Force Unleashed, and adds more variety with such features as puzzle solving. Combat was modified to include the ability to wield dual lightsabers, which can dismember or decapitate enemies. The game also adds more Force powers, such as "Mind Trick" and "Force Rage".

Reception
The Force Unleashed II performed under expectations. In the United States, it sold 500,000 copies within its first two weeks, thereby becoming the fifth best-selling video game of October 2010. The Force Unleashed II was the fifth-highest selling game of the week in the United Kingdom, denoting sales of 56,064 copies. In Sweden, The Force Unleashed II was the third best-selling overall game of the week; the PlayStation 3 version of the game topped its respective chart, while the Xbox 360 version trailed behind Fable 3 as the second-best selling Xbox 360 game of the week.