The reviewers have already made their opinions known. The Force Unleashed is a middle of the road game as far as most people are concerned. Once again, I don't seem to be most people.
The game has it's issues to be sure. During my playthrough, I encountered one frozen and invincible opponent, one lockup, and one moment where specific sounds cut out. I did not encounter any eternal falls, but they do happen. These errors were a little frustrating, but there were ways around most of them that didn't require resetting the console. The sound came back within a couple minutes and the statuesque enemy didn't have to be killed to move on.
I agree these sort of things shouldn't happen that often in a major release like The Force Unleashed, but let me ask you this. Would you have tolerated them in any other game? Few games are without their glitches. Take the ever popular Saint's Row, riddled with bugs, yet they didn't seem to hurt the game much at all. Hell, they're making a sequel.
What I'm really getting at is that The Force Unleashed isn't Saint's Row. The game is mostly stable, but because of the hype surrounding the title, it's held to higher standards. Is it fair? Probably not. Will the average gamer feel the same way as the reviewers? I doubt it. The story and acting is fantastic, the gameplay feels a lot like God of War and the art direction is incredible.
If you're as big a Star Wars fan as I you'll probably be as pleasantly surprised by the story as I was. A well acted Star Wars plot is such a rare thing these days that most fans, including myself, gave up hope of ever finding one again. The Force Unleashed delivered everything the prequels didn't and made it playable.
The customizable options are sizeable. With interchangable crystals that give your lightsaber different appearances and abilities, upgradable force powers, combos and stats, there's plenty to keep you playing. The upgrades don't change the outcome of the game, they're more of a way to tailor the game to your style of play.
Rent the Force Unleashed at least. The demo doesn't really do it justice, taking place in the least spectacular location in the game. You won't be out a lot of cash if you don't like it, plus it can feel a little liberating to ignore the reviewers for once.
