Critics regarded Star Wars: The Force Unleashed as something of a mixed bag. The controls for the game were admonished (Zero Punctuation said lightsaber combat was like "trying to follow an aerobics routine with both your arms tied to different windmills") along with the general lack of deadliness of Starkiller's lightsaber. While the physics for the game were impressive in some ways, they were also criticized as buggy and "loose." The acting was generally praised, but the story itself drew mixed reactions, some saying it tied together the two trilogies in an unintuitive, contrived manner. The review averages for most versions of the game generally hovered around 70 percent on GameRankings.com.

"After the credits roll, Force Unleashed isn't the end-all, be-all interactive Star Wars experience but it manages to showcase some interesting new game technology and is a mostly fun virtual slugfest that's worth killing a few hours to experience," reads GameDaily's 7-out-of-10 review by Libe Goad. "It will at least inspire you to dust off those Star Wars DVDs and relive the magic all over again."

Claim your destiny
As LucasArts' biggest release of the year, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was heavily promoted across all media. The marketing included a fairly extensive TV campaign, emphasizing the role as Darth Vader's apprentice and your Force abilities, along with subtle measures, like Starkiller's inclusion in Soul Calibur IV. The game's release also came during a heavy promotional period for Star Wars in general, as the Clone Wars animated movie and accompanying TV series were debuting in roughly the same time period.

While the long worked on Force Unleashed is out and is already a bona fide success, it's unclear what future there is for the franchise. Reports have suggested mass layoffs from LucasArts, and the company may look to license out future projects to outside developers. The story for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed also does not lend itself to a direct sequel, unless LucasArts is willing to wander into the realm of "non-cannon." However, we're confident of one thing: so long as there is Star Wars, there will be Star Wars games.