Star Wars The Forced Unleashed 2 (DS/DSi)

It has been one of the most anticipated sequels of the year, but Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II was finally released to the public today.

For those of you who don't know, this game continues the story of Galen Marek, (AKA Starkiller,) a young human child who was kidnapped by Darth Vader and raised to become his secret apprentice for the Dark Side.

 However, StarKiller soon begins to realise that Darth Vader has only been using him as a tool to destroy Emperor Palpatine and seize control of the Galactic Empire for himself. He decides to turn against Darth Vader and the two of them engage in a powerful battle to the death...

In The Force Unleashed II, Darth Vader cannot face the fact that his apprentice has failed him. He kills Starkiller, but has the young man's body cloned and then imprisoned on the planet of Kamino.

Waking up in shackles, the cloned Starkiller has only fragments of the memories of his past life. Nevertheless, He manages to escape and sets out to learn about his mysterious past. But  Starkiller finds it difficult to know where to start his search. At that moment, a familiar name echoes in his mind and with little else to go on, he sets out to find the one person who is guaranteed to help him – Juno Eclipse.

The Force Unleashed II promises to deliver even more powerful gameplay with new powers such as the Mind Trick,which confuses your enemies and turns them against each other, and Force Fury, which enhances all of StarKiller's attacks and powers.

Even though this version of Starkiller is a clone, he still possesses all of the original Starkiller's powers, so there is no need to build up his powers slowly this time around. There are greater customisation options in this game and the use of  power-enhancing lightsaber crystals make battles more interesting.

 Furthermore, there are better Combo-Controls for Dual-Lightsabre attacks, and an all-new Precision Targeting System, which greatly enhances Starkiller's success against his enemies.

Players must skillfully manage Starkiller's combat techniques to defeat a variety of brand-new enemies, which will culminate in some epic boss battles.The Force Unleashed II  also contains more puzzles and makes good use of the in-game environment as well, giving the plot an even greater realism this time around.

LucasArts' President Darrell Rodriguez said: "Executive Producer Haden Blackman and his team have been able to build on the core foundation of the award-winning original [game] and create a powerful combination of engrossing story-telling and intense action. The Force Unleashed II gives fans an opportunity to wreak havoc on an even greater scale in the Star Wars universe..."
[Sourced: http://www.lucasarts.com/company/release/news20091212.html]

This game has made a number of  improvements since the original game, and if the success of its predecessor is anything to go by, then The Force Unleashed II is sure to be a big hit with fans over the the coming weeks. Overall rating: 9/10.