There's a new Jedi in town -- Darth Vader's secret apprentice, and like the dark lord, this one isn't so concerned with staying on the 'light side' of things. Imbued with over-the-top Force powers that Obi Wan and the rest of the crew could only dream about, this new, mysterious character will be taking on Vader's enemies in that galaxy far, far away with the release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (SWFU).

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In a recent demo of the game at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, the game's developers showed off these new powers in action. The key to keeping things interesting is using the powers in tandem with others, the more complicated the combo, the more Force points you'll build up. Force Grab seems to be the lynchpin of every good combo – hoist an enemy up in the air, then use a light saber to finish them off. Or, hold them up in the air, hit them with a bolt of lightening and then toss them off the nearest space station balcony. It sounds brutal, and it is in that T-rated, no blood sort of way. Then the best part -- use the "Payoff" cam to watch enemies fall to their demise.

Like many games these days, you'll have to build on your powers. Considering you're tapping into the Dark Side, that doesn't mean you'll be stuck slaughtering swamp rats for hours to hone your skills. This leveling up in the game seems to be designed to be easy enough for anyone to jump in and comprehend. While there's talk that Darth's apprentice might go to the Light or Dark side, we've been assured 12 times over that this game is "not like the Knights of the Old Republic" games where you have a definite choice between good and evil.

As an unabashed Star Wars fan, the game looks fantastic. It's hard to be rational when you see Storm Troopers, Jedis and X-wings rendered on an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. While the game's not a free-roaming experience, the environments still feel big and open, like there's potential for exploration. We took a tour of an X-wing construction facility, checked out a planet with jungles and then traveled to a junk planet to fight a deranged Jedi and his army of constructs.

Boss battles against powerful enemies will put your mettle to the test, and -- taking a note from the God of War series -- will include timed button-mashing sequences that will set off some cinematic finishing moves. Right now, you won't be punished for messing up the combo, but you won't get the pleasure of seeing the big finish either.

Taking off the Star Wars fan goggles, it's hard to judge whether Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be the innovative video game masterpiece that LucasArts wants it to be. We could easily see this turning into a series of performing Force combos on combatants, taking on a boss and them moving to the next level. Rinse, wash and repeat.

While that's certainly not what we're hoping will happen, time will tell if the Force is with this new chapter of the ever-expanding Star Wars universe.