Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1 vs 2

Few days ago, Lucas Arts released the sequel of its third person action game based in the Star Wars universe. The Force Unleashed 2 is finally released and as before, Aspyr ported it to the PC. Let's see how is the second port and if the game, technically, is better.

First and foremost, Aspyr did a better job porting the game. In the first game, there was a buggy launcher, minimal options, no mouse selection and everything was really messed up. Even the videos were with wrong aspect ratio. All of those are fixed in the sequel. We have proper aspect ratio videos, PC menus that can be navigated via our mouse and some in-game graphics options (instead of the high option that was available in the first game). The only thing that Aspyr didn't fix, was the 30fps cap. It's annoying and we can't understand why Aspyr didn't remove it. Thankfully, 'jackfuste' from Rage3D made a 60fps unlocker and you can download it from here.


Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1

 

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2


Graphically, the game is similar to the first one. There are some improvements, like the HDR lighting and the improved LOD. The developers added some extra post-process effects like Blur, special FSAA and DOF that cause a general blurriness. If it annoys you and you want crisper graphics (at the same level with the first game), you can disable them.




Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1



Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2



Character models are as detailed as before. Self-shadowing is better used in the sequel and there are more particles effects than before. Also, the levels are bigger with more objects and detail. Generally speaking, the graphics are good and a bit better than the first game. You may notice in some situations some blocky shadows but if you pay attention, you will notice them in the first game too. This seems like a bug that occurs randomly.



Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1



Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2



The game is not demanding at all and if you were able to run the first game, you will not encounter any issues with the sequel. Both games use the same engine and we have to say that the Euphoria physics engine is remarkable. Contrary to some parts of the first game, every level in the sequel runs without framerate drops. Lastly, here are some high resolution screenshots of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2. Enjoy them!