Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Star Wars is like a gift that keeps on giving. Despite the movie series being done and dusted for a few years now, the Galaxy from a long time ago and far, far away keeps on expanding. Nevertheless, there is still something of a gaping plot hole, namely, the years between episodes three and four. Force Unleashed perfectly bridges that gap, with a fantastic story, a killer combat system and more Wookies than you can hurl a lightsabre at.

The plot revolves around Darth Vader's secret apprentice Starkiller, who is tasked with seeking out the last remaining Jedi in the galaxy and putting them six feet under. Not one for doing things by halves, Force Unleashed boasts a truly epic opening level, where you control the big kahuna himself, Darth Vader, as he stomps around the Wookie home world of Kashyyyk. In search of a fugitive Jedi master.

This is some insanely fun stuff. Using the force, Vader can toss enemies around like rag dolls, smashing them into the floor, walls, other enemies, hurling them into orbit, throwing them through huts and so on. What strikes here is that for just one special move, there are near-endless possibilities of how to use it.

For example, one level sees Starkiller attacking an imperial TIE Fighter production ship. When faced with a group of enemies, it's possible to lift one off the ground using the force and hurl them through a window, creating a space vacuum which sucks all his buddies out too. Simple, but effective and most definitely worth some laughs if you're like your humour a little on the dark side, you sadistic bugger.

Using the force aside, Starkiller unlocks new abilities as he progresses. Sabre throw is a popular choice, where you toss your weapon like a boomerang and if you're lucky it will get impaled in an enemies' chest, which is as brutal as it is impressive. The fighting system is ace, with a camera that rarely fails to keep up with the action, so you never find yourself getting blindsided by off-screen attackers.

Chuck in John William's original musical score from the movies and you have a match made in heaven. The plot is there, the voice acting is excellent. But that is not all, this is pure fan service, which means there are tons of unlockable database entries for every character, weapons and locations in the game and how they fits into the movie lore.

If that isn't enough, you can even customise your lightsabre, pick from a variety of outfits and engage in one on one sabre duels, which is particularly awesome on the Wii with the Wiimote acting as your lightsabre - The dreams of millions of thirty-something men everywhere become reality.

If you still need convincing that this is the Ewok's tadgers, then consider this: Have you ever wondered what it would be like to bring an entire Star Destroyer battleship down with your bare hands and a barrel full of the force? Get the game and find out, it's a lot of fun.