Force is with you!

Byline: DOUGLAS YOUNG

TITLE: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed FORMAT: Xbox 360 PUBLISHER: Activision PRICE: pounds 49.99 It's been a while since anything Star Wars related has thrilled me.

Not since George Lucas cheapened the galaxy with his underwhelming prequels have I longed for any Star Wars experience.

However all this has now changed. From the time I placed the Force Unleashed disk in the drive, I've been scything down stormtroopers with glee.

And it's the variety of ways to kill your enemies that makes this a heap of fun.

Whether you pick up an enemy and throw him into a wall, drop him over a chasm or slice into them with your lightsaber it's all good.

Youl upgrade your force powers and choose to boost you Jedi skills. So whereas my enemies stood little chance to survive to begin with I can now use my lightsaber combined with force lightning to blast my foes. Ok, it's not a fair fight but you're playing an apprentice of the dark side.

Your biggest challenge will come from the larger foes you'll meet: imperial walkers, giant rancors or end of level Jedis you are sent to kill.

Levels are beautifully done but are very linear. It puts you on a set of rails and lets you fight you way along the track. There are times when you're encouraged to gain a Jedi holocron, (a cube where you'll gain extra experience or a bonus). These, however, are few and far between. The other thing that sets TFU back is the lack of multiplayer on Xbox 360 and PS3. Normally once you're fed up completing the single player you can jump onto Xbox Live to try out your new skills on your mates. So you're restricted to playing through the different difficulties of single player. That said I've enjoyed the TFU. The force is definitely strong with it.

*****DOUGLAS YOUNG