The Force Unleashed: The Multimedia EU Event of '08 (and beyond!)

Ah, I'm with you now.

Yeah, that's becoming an increasing problem in the video game industry. I miss the days where there was much more competition between developers. I remember how back in the old days it was usually the SMALL developers that were doing the revolutionary, ground-breaking stuff that made people do a double take and think "wow", like back when Rare came out with Donkey Kong Country. These days, it's fast becoming monopolised by one or two top sellers, with most of the rest being trash that either feels dated or is just plain bad.

This always happens at the beginning of a new generation of games consoles due to the technology still being expensive and experimental. But the 360 has been out, what? Five years now? If anything, we should be nearing the next generation of consoles, but the 360 and PS3 still seem to be the "next gen" consoles which is... odd. The technology (i.e. all the flashy motion-capture stuff for TFU, etc) is still insanely expensive, which is really stalling the competition in the industry.

The way things like TFU2 is still marketed as "next gen action games" just honestly baffles me. Motion-capture isn't next gen anymore.

It's saying something that we may actually get a second Zelda game on the same Nintendo console.

 

I don't know if that's really that much of a break from Banite doctrine.

Vader announces his intention to take charge of the issue of suit upgrades in Dark Lord. We don't get to see him do so, however.

 

That was a great scene....

 

Have TPTB said anything publicly as to which game ending is to be considered canonical? I would guess the light side, but with the dark side ending we at least get Rahm Kota out of the way to explain his absence in the OT. Can we say that the "Dark Apprentice" from the DS ending is still canon in the LS-ending continuity, especially in light of the unlockable cinematics?

On the Dantooine thing: they should have used another planet. Just call it "Koopeecheewawa" or whatever, it's not like it matters. Dantooine is the most irrationally overused planet in the EU ( and we have KJA to thank for starting that ). I would tend to think that if Vader was taken to a Rebel base on Dantooine, the former existence of such a base would not have been news in ANH - but maybe Vader wasn't made aware that it was Dantooine, or maybe plans were changed off-screen and he was taken somewhere else. I would like to think the whole thing was an intentional attempt to have the Empire find the location of a secret Rebel stronghold by "homing in" on Vader, and if that later turns out to be the case I hope it doesn't go down on Dantooine for the sake of consistency with ANH. Also, I could see TFU III opening with the "Dark Apprentice" freeing Vader as the first level.

A few plot points:

It?s listed in the cinematics as the ?cave of evil?, not the ?cave of whatever you bring in with you?. Of course, this is straight from TESB.

Yoda says to Staarkiller ( not an exact quote ): ?the galaxy has brought you here? instead of ?the Force has brought you here?. Interesting conflation of the galaxy with the Force, which tends to remind me of Ben?s exposition in ANH and also makes me think of some of Asimov?s later Foundation books. In a mathematical sense we could say that F = f(G).

It?s interesting to see that elements of Grievous? design seem to have lived on, in the cases of the ?terror trooper? and certain droids. This potentially gives us something resembling a legitimate progression in droid technology. ( Of course, we don?t see those droids in the OT, probably for OOU reasons, but you gotta love big robots. )

With Proxy-type droids running around, it?s sometimes hard to know who?s even human.

 

The dark apprentice has to be canon either way. They run the risk of completely ruining the 'whole' of the story. I also found it odd; in my initial review, when it came to Yoda and his choice of words.... Didn't catch the cave of evil thingy, good find Fenn.

 

Reality agrees with you

 

Who's to say Vader didn't already know about the Rebel base on Dantooine...

What I'm still hoping for, either through TFU3, an expansion pack or DLC, is to see Vader's "capture" all be a ploy to take him directly to the Rebels. Then, the Dark Apprentice busts him out the moment they get there. Cue Vader trashing the Dantooine base. Climax with Dark Apprentice vs Starkiller in which both die.

Ye olde Grand Moff may have not been aware that anything of value was on Dantooine, but something had forced the Rebels to already abandon it before ANH. Why not make that "something" the Dark Lord himself and/or his Dark Apprentice.

Of course, at the same time, it's arguable Tarkin did know, because he knew enough to know Leia was lying about one still being there.

And if there is any established reason why Vader categorically must not know about Dantooine, fair enough... then the Dark Apprentice simply frees Vader, then goes on to the "secret" Rebel base alone, Vader never learning its exact location, and the Dark Apprentice trashing the place by himself, with Starkiller dying in a blaze of glory, holding back the Dark Apprentice for long enough for the Rebels to evacuate. With the Dark Apprentice's death, it means the Empire never learns Dantooine's location, but it still gets the job done.

Vader? Freed. Rahm Kota? Dead. Dark Apprentice? Dead. Starkiller? Dead. Rebel base? Abandoned. Five birds with one stone.

 

I'm all for it Zor, just so long as it's Vader whose tossing said stone. I for one would like to see Vader withhold the Dantooine-intel from Tarkin, he isn't a much more than a chess pawn after all. Sure, he may think he runs that battle station, but.... the Sith don't share all their knowledge. Better to let Tarkin go off on a wild bantha chase, perhaps Vader never learned exactly how the final showdown played out between Kota, Rhett and Dark Rhett. DR kills Kota, and then the two clones execute the same counter move and simultaneously impale one another, but Rhett rigged the place to blow. Evidence vaporized. Something along those lines....

Edit:
One other thing, Dark Rhett very much reminds me of pre-stab, O-Rhett. He is truly the first of the clones who was pro-Sith just like Mr. "when do we strike?" was. All the others were overly emo about getting stabbed, force-wrecked and spaced. Dark Rhett was soo over it that it makes me ask the question what if Vader hadn't stabbed him from behind? Or did Vader know that was just a proxy droid projecting Palpatine?

 

Good to know I'm not the only one who wants to see (and play!) some Vader stomping!

TFU began with some Vader stomping... and it should end with some Vader stomping.

And even though I really, really, really pray that the Dark Apprentice is canon and not just some Infinities/Dark Side Ending anomaly, I've got to admit: even if Vader's on his own, there is something very cool about the thought of Vader pulling a ROTS-break out moment solo, minus the "NOOOOOOO!"

*pictures Vader ripping his restraints apart, lurching to his feet, and roaring "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!"

 

"You don't know the powwwahhh of the dARK sIDE of the FOhsss."

--Stop yappin and show me.

 

They should have had some ysalamiri in there. They could have been in the walls for all we know. Or they should specify that Vader's restraints include devices that will short out his life-support system if he tries to use the Force to escape. Or something. Ideally Vader should have been in a force field similar to the one used to hold Obi-Wan in AOTC.

 

All I know is I hope there is a conclusion to the story. A videogame is pretty much out of the question, bit there are still novels and comics.

Darth Vader must escape that holding pen to prove that the is the MASTER.

 

Movement-pressure-sensitive-electro-shock-bindings, anyone?

Or,

what Fenn said.

 

Put a thermal detonator in there, now that I think about it. Any shenanigans and KABOOM.

 

If they had any brains they'd secretly bail; right after putting that ship on auto-pilot, headed straight for the nearest sun. Seeeenior Vaye-dor will be none-to-pleased once he gets freed by the dARK clone.

 

I think Starkiller should be frozen in carbonite, so that he can be thawed out in the future to complicate plotlines in SW Legacy and beyond. Although it wouldn't surprise me in Fate of the Jedi.

 

None of the rebels felt like reinforcing Vader's restraints because the restraints that they used were designed to limit Force powers. The only problem with that is that Starkiller should know from first hand experience that Vader can easily break those restraints as he removed similar restraints from binding Starkiller himself. At the very least they were smart about putting Vader on Starkiller's ship as he is the only one close to Vader's power level in the Rebellion.

Regardless of all that we all know it is a foregone conclusion that Vader is going to break free, otherwise the events of the Original Trilogy can't happen. Personally given Vader's previous showcasing of being able to break restraints of the caliber that are currently holding him and the canon status of the evil version of Starkiller lying in wait to aid him I feel that Vader faked his defeat and is simply waiting for the right time for the Rebellion to bring him into one of their bases and wreak havoc. I feel that way because in the Dark Side ending Vader just gets up and walks around as if he had not been struck by Force Lightning, it gives me the impression that Vader held back during his fight with Starkiller and the Dark Side Starkiller was simply there lying in wait in the event that the Good Starkiller couldn't be turned over to the Dark Side and in that event he would have to die.

If the Force Unleashed III pulls the plot twist of Vader sacrificing one battle in order to win the war by capturing all of the Rebel leaders who are going to interrogate him in one sitting then the representation of Vader's character in this game franchise will have risen from "meh" to "awesome" in an instant. Also the Dark Side ending established that the Dark Side Starkiller was going to take the good Starkiller's place in the Rebellion and lure the leaders into a false sense of security and then capture them, even if Vader can't get free on his own the Dark Side Starkiller can still do that and then free Vader, so all in all Vader's cunning is going to deal a blow to the Rebellion.

 

You crazy.

 

Not to us, silly....


To VADER, he's a pawn.
Everyone was.

Credits, starships, bases, personel.... all, meaningless to Vader.
What mattered was finding/creating the perfect apprentice.

 

You still crazy.

I prefer the RoDV/Death Star interpretation that the two were professional colleagues and "friends" of a sort, hence why Tarkin had enough currency with Vader to give him orders and not die.

 

Or Palpatine told him, "Ixnay on the illing-kay arkin-Tay."

 

More like the Uberminch.

On the related topic of the difference between those with Jedi potential and those without, there is this from The Cestus Deception:

 

Naturally. Assuming a midi-chlorian count could increase, I'd still assume there was a practical threshold below which one would be unable to "get the ball rolling", so to speak. Though there would doubtless be exceptions.

 

The MaulKiller costume looks really good during the opening sequence on Kamino.... especially, the escape. Though I should add that: Luke with Yoda-as-a-back-pack, looks kinda creepy jumping out the window.

 

Maybe.

But who says the dark side gives one an understanding of Pig Latin?