The Caskey.Com

There are many defining moments in the youth of our world and each firmly direct them in a particular path. My youth consisted mainly of one science fiction saga after another, consistently feeding my need for all things nerdy. The main driving "force" for this era in my life was a little trilogy by the name of Star Wars. It was an earth shattering monument to the creative voice of a new age.

I ate the shit up. I loved the universe, the story, and most of all, the force. It was this incredible overwhelming power that connecting everything in existence and gave those trained in its ways the ability to become gods. Yet, with its overwhelming focus as a destructive force in the minds of most, I became overly fascinated with its resemblance to a religion. A religion, that could be physically tapped into and used for both the wills of good and evil. All it took was the training in the ways of your chosen path.

This was a mind-blowing concept for a 5 year old and loved every facet of its creative inception. But, after my short attention span faded, I focused my attention towards what every other child was excited about, overwhelming power. So, when word of a computer game that explores the use of these powers was on the horizon... I instantly became computer adept and prepared myself for the awesomeness that was to come.

Now you've got to remember that this was in the dark ages of computing and PC gaming was only a spec on the minds of technology aficionados. Yet the concept alone was enough to get me firmly grounded as a computer geek and a gamer.

The next couple of years reverberated off of this original concept and many great titles of Dark Forces were given life. Yet the force was an add-on to the gameplay and was never really fully explored. Time progressed further and valve sprang to ranks of gaming overlord and produced a revolutionary title that focused heavily on physics. Seeing this with my drop-jawed expression, I said to myself, "Now's the time for a force oriented game!" And somewhere in the cosmos of the LucasArts empire, my voice was heard and the greatest incarnation of Star Wars gaming was created. George Lucas' idea was finally going to be realized in its fullest extent.

The Force Unleashed was the rumored title, and videos of physics demonstration had leaked across the web. Needless to say, I was in geek heaven, dancing on cloud nine with a dash of ecstasy thrown in. Waiting for over a year for the title to be released, I was finally graced today with playing through most of its gameplay.

Getting through half of the first level, I was overjoyed knowing that this, is how the force is supposed to look. You have absolute freedom of force powers and at a whim can destroy an entire complex without touching a single enemy. Not, to mention this game has one of the best storylines every produced in a mainstream environment. Even surpassing the previously popular title KOTOR (knights of the old republic).

Even though George Lucas seems to have lost his mind, its good to know that his original vision is still being maintained with the good people over at LucasArts.