We've seen two levels of the game so far - both filled with placeholder enemies lacking anything approaching sophisticated AI, and still very early in layout. The first, seen prior to our meeting with Blackman, took place on Felusia - the fungal bloom planet. From what we could gather from the early build, only a handful of the world objects had true DMM properties applied.
 
Nous avons pu assister à la présentation de deux niveaux pour l' instant : chacunes comportant des ennemis avec une IA plus qu' approximativement proche d' etre sophistiqué et loin d' etre terminé. La première prend pace sur la planète Felucia ( Avec des plantes géantes). Elle démontre les capacités du DDM ( digital Molecular  : l' interaction avec le décor très poussé).
 
Felusia featured enormous toadstools and towering alien foliage sprouting out of the yellow, mossy ground cover. Most of the enemies and buildings were placeholders, merely incorporated to test out the level design. However, with the inclusion of DMM-enabled objects and euphoria-enabled 'troopers positioned throughout the world, we were given a taste of the simulated physics. All of this, as Blackman explained, is about giving players "really, really dramatic payoffs for using The Force creatively." Unleashing The Force should be impressive and above all, fun.
 
Sur la planete Félusia on peut y trouver des champignons géants ainsi qu' une vegetation " alien " divesifiée. La plupart des ennemis étaient plaçés aléatoirement et avec interet pour démontrer le level-design. nous avons pu assister à une dimulation du moteur physique. Tout ceci pour montrer que le joueur pourra utiliser les pouvoirs de la forçe d' ue manière innovante et créative. faire exploser la force e sera impressionnant.
 
The apprentice was able to lift and hurl Stormtroopers around with ease. Flinging the hapless grunts into large, rubbery mushrooms and fronds resulted in wobbly, jelly-like reactions to the impact , just as one might imagine from a giant fungal growth. Alien planet realism, baby! That said, the action seemed a little stock-standard at this early stage. Putting aside the fact that the interface hasn't been implemented yet, and that the enemy AI is merely placeholder, we couldn't shake the feeling that the environment didn't seem to provide the depth and potential for damage and manipulation that early pre-visualisations hinted at.
 
L' apprenti que le joueur controle, peut soulever avec aisance les storptroopers et s' amuser avec eux facilement et les balançer sur les éléments du décors. La physique est vraiment époustouflante de réalisme. L' action semble à un état d' avançement peu avançer pour l' instant, l' interface n' a pas été encore implémenté. Et l' IA est aléatoire et approximative. Nous n' avons pas senti le fait que l' environement contienne une profondeur de dégats assez important ainsi qu' une manipulation plus interactive que la première vidéo qui a été dévoilé à ce jour.
 
Thankfully, the second level was a vastly superior showcase for DMM. Taking place on a space-based TIE Fighter construction plant, possibly as a training level, the improvements were striking and immediate. The apprentice, under instruction from Vader to wipe out the Rebel infestation aboard the ship (while leaving no Empire witnesses), is planted on a metal bridge suspended around the perimeter of the room. Across the other side, part of the metalwork was already severely tweaked, arcing down towards the ground. Under a rain of blaster fire, the apprentice began his path of destruction.
 
Heureusement le second niveau était plus parlant, prenant place dans une base spaciale, ou un hangar à Tie Fighter. Sans doute un niveau d' entrainement. On voit déja des améliorations immédiates. L' apprenti sous les instructions de Vader , qui veut qu' il élimine des rebels à bord, se trouve sur un pont metallique , et commençe sa mission d' anhilation et de destruction.
 
Automatically deflecting fire with his lightsaber, held in reverse behind his arm, he was able to Force Lift the Rebel scum, sending them hurtling over edges and into walls and steel handrail, all of which dented and warped in a very lifelike manner. Launching his lightsaber across the room, he was able to knock one of the suspended platforms down, causing the euphoria-active AI troops to scramble and cling for their lives, before eventually losing grip and taking the plunge.
 
Il dévie automatiquement les tirs avec son sabre laser, tenu à l' envers derrière sa main , il a pu soulever le soldat rebel et l' envoyer balançer contre des structures , et des murs qui réagissait convenablement et naturellement. lançant son sabre laser à travers la salle il peut ainsi couper et detruire la plateforme ou le pont, cuasant ainsi les stormtroopers à s' agripper comme dans la demo d' Euphoria, avant de lacher prise et tomber.
 
All the while, in the centre of the warehouse, a vertical conveyor belt lifted TIE Fighters through the room. These were plucked off the line and tossed around like baseballs; the wings denting and hull crumpling with impressive effect.
 
Pendant cette scene, au centre de la salle, un tapis roulant verticale faisaient circuler des Tie Fighter à travers la salle.
 
Later, after blowing out the doors with a tremendous Force Push, making his way through corridors and out to a massive open-plan bridge, the apprentice demonstrated several other impressive abilities, including gravity defiance and Force Lightning. Impressively, TIE Fighters swooped and spun through the void and could be plucked from the air to be used for the apprentice's devices, or objects and enemies could be hurtled into them with spectacular result.
 
Plus tard, apres avoir détruit les portes avec le pouvoir de la force ( force push),continuant sa route à travers un corridor et vers un pont dans un lieu ouvert. L' apprenti démontra d' autres capacités impressionnantes incluant, la force de gravité et le force lighting ( foudre) utilisant des tie fighters pour se debarasser des ennemis. tout cela avec un resultat spectaculaire.
 
The demonstration ended with a battle in an enclosed space with an AT-ST bipedal walker. Arguably the one scenario with the most potential ended up being the most disappointing, and a good example of the issues that are faced when developing with a technology like DMM.
 
When battling the walker, there was no slicing of the legs with a lightsaber slash, no lifting it off the ground and slamming it into the walls, no tearing it limb from limb. Instead, you're forced to hurl steel crates at it until a cutscene is eventually triggered, wherein it is crushed into a ball of scrap metal and presumably man-flesh by your incredible Force powers. After the freedom of Force powers in the earlier sections, it was puzzling to see the limitations imposed in this boss scene. Heck, we can lift TIE Fighters, so why not an AT-ST? Chucking crates isn't really 'The Force Unleashed'.
out and trained by Darth Vader himself in the years following the end of Episode III. The young man has a knack for The Force and a dark slant to his attitude - making for a less-than-typical lead character for a Star Wars title.
 
The plot thread follows Vader's hopes to bump off anyone standing between him and his rightful place on the cushy throne as supreme ruler of the universe. As his apprentice, the player is a tool to be used to exert Vader's commands. You'll act as an agent for the Dark Side, bumping off the remaining Jedi and unleashing hell with The Force. In the process, you'll take advantage of four core powers - Force Grip, Lightning, Push and Repulse. Our understanding is that the more you combine and experiment with these powers, the more experience you'll receive and the stronger they become.
 
Several characters were revealed to us during our visit, and their casting has been partially confirmed. Juno Eclipse, the obligatory leggy blond love interest, is an imperial pilot in charge of ferrying you from place to place on your private cruiser. There's the requisite hominoid droid whose name has yet to be announced; Shaak-Ti, a Twi'lek warrior; and Maris Brood, a positively sexy Zabrak female packing dual lightsabers with tonfa-shaped handles.
 
General Kota, on the other hand, is a more traditional Jedi. By rank, he is a General; he wields a blue lightsaber and his combat style has been likened to that of a samurai. Brian Keane, accomplished stage actor, has been confirmed as actor for this role, and his face has also been mapped for the in-game character.
 
Gamers looking for a straight-up, good-versus-evil experience can expect a darker, more violent and aggressive slant during the game. The missions themselves seem to revolve around complete annihilation of the Rebel Alliance threat, as well as any Imperial Stormtroopers (who are technically your allies) who might stand as witnesses to your covert schemes.
 
Part of establishing that vision meant developing and sticking to a core mantra - something that would sum up the experience for players and enthusiasts of the series. As Blackman explained, "The experience is all about 'The Force unleashed'. What does this mean? It's not just about using Force Push to knock over a Stormtrooper or a couple of droids. It's about hitting that Stormtrooper like he's been hit by a cannonball - sending him backwards and thrashing through columns and breaking glass and denting metal."
 
For Australians, it is encouraging to note that Queensland-based developer, Krome Studios, is handling the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions of the game. Says Blackman, "We're so proud of what Krome has done with the PS2 version. They've managed to squeeze every last drop of power out of that system. Even next to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version, it looks great."
 
That said, it's going to be the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game that lead the charge. These are being developed using the same base tools that George Lucas' special effects house, Industrial Light and Magic, use for films. Their collaboration with ILM also stretches to the knowledge-base that both teams are now able to freely share - further blurring the lines between game and film creation.
 
The other area of concern is the lack of lightsaber interactivity. Blackman assured us that his team is working on this, and he'd seen some gameplay of cables being sliced through just that morning. However, it was worrying that The Force Unleashed seems to leash you in many ways that fans won't like to hear.
 
Walls, doors and boundaries of that nature cannot be sliced into or through with your lightsaber. At this stage, we were told that the idea of creating fully-destructible levels created too many headaches for level designers, and the idea of people throwing stuff around with The Force was much more appealing anyhow. Fair enough, but we've got to tell you, as fans ourselves, there's nothing we'd like to do more than jam our lightsabers into a steel barrier too thick to be Force Pushed and cut a red-hot, molten passage through it. Remember the opening scenes of the much maligned Episode One? That's what we're talking about. And that's what DMM should be providing.
 
In all likelihood, the LucasArts team is all over these issues. They're gamers as much as game developers, after all. Levels like the dense forest world of Kashyyyk and the scrapyard planet Raxus Prime will undoubtedly provide innumerable opportunities for the DMM technology to flex its muscles. After all, there aren't many wooden doors and brick walls on Super Star Destroyers.
 
While DMM has a few teething problems, euphoria, on the other hand, is impressive from the outset. Like DMM, the proof-of-concept areas were a little more impressive and exaggerated than in-game, but we imagine that, as developers become comfortable with the idea of independent, reactive AI, increasingly clever level design will take better advantage of the features.
 
We were led through an open test area where an AI character could be made to run at the camera. While pursuing us to no avail, boxes were hurled at him, which he deflected, ducked, dodged and occasionally got clocked by. What was impressive about this demonstration was the fact that all of the character's reactions, outside of his constant running, were entirely unscripted, natural reactions to his situation. If a box was hurled at head-height, he might choose to knock it up and over himself. If it was at waist height, he might weave around it, or slap it to the side. Placed in an actual game level, it makes for characters that don't have to be animated to react to return-fire, know when to jump over obstacles, can cling to ledges, and impressively, can keep their footing and balance naturally if the ground becomes unsettled.
 
In some ways, we're even more excited by the potential in euphoria than by DMM - particularly if LucasArts choose to pursue a very controlled, sparingly-implemented application of the technology.
 
When it comes down to it, DMM won't drastically change the way we play games unless the developer chooses to allow it to. If molecular matter is only inherent in some objects and not others, then there's a danger that it will be seen as a fancy effect in a world that still has arbitrary rules. In other words, the player is still leashed. The euphoria tech, on the other hand, can be implemented smoothly across all NPCs, bringing a new level of realism and physicality to motion that will be both subtle and impressive.
 
Coupling DMM and euphoria with LucasArts' two major licences, Star Wars and Indiana Jones, is a wise partnership. Both will allow for different aspects of the technology to be demonstrated. Our guess is that material properties, such as wooden beams splintering and brick walls crumbling might find better implementation in Indiana Jones, whereas metal denting, warping and bending, rubbery plants and wires might be more suited to colliding spaceships and duelling Force Users. Either way, there's a stack of potential in utilising both of these new technologies in The Force Unleashed - for both gameplay and cinematic effect. We'd be very surprised if the game isn't extremely impressive by the time release rolls around. Let's just hope that George Lucas, Hayden Blackman and their team stick to their mantra and truly let gamers unleash The Force.