The Nintendo versions of the game exclusively allow players to use motion controls to control Starkiller's attacks and participate in multiplayer battles.
The enemies, which number over 50, have various strengths and weaknesses developers faced the difficulty of effectively placing them throughout the game's varied environments. Additionally, enemies learn from the player's character's attacks using the same attack on different characters can sometimes lead to the player's character doing less damage. The game includes enemies that are easy to overcome game difficulty arises from presenting these enemies in large numbers that can wear down the player's character. Players can casually run and gun through the game, but the game rewards those who take a stealthy, more tactical approach. The gameplay is intended to be easy to learn the development team included "horrible" gamers to help ensure the game's accessibility. Experience points earned by killing enemies and finding artifacts can be used to increase Starkiller's powers and traits. The game has a combo system for stringing lightsaber attacks and for combining lightsaber attacks with Force powers. Developers treated the main character's lightsaber like another Force power, and wanted to ensure "something visceral and cool" happened with each button-push. The Force Unleashed is a third-person action game in which the player's character's weapons are the Force and a lightsaber. A sequel, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, was released in October 2010. As of February 2010, the game has sold over seven million copies, and it is the fastest-selling Star Wars video game. The game was a bestseller in the United States and Australia, with over one million copies sold its debut month. Reviews for The Force Unleashed offered generally mixed to positive responses, praising its compelling story, robust physics, impressive art and soundtrack, while criticizing its frustrating gameplay. The game introduces a new protagonist, "Starkiller", as Darth Vader's secret apprentice, who is tasked with hunting down Jedi while killing rebels and Imperials alike in order to hide his existence from the Emperor, but soon starts to slowly redeem himself to the light side of the Force. The project bridges the first two Star Wars trilogies, acting as an origin story for both the united Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Civil War depicted in the Original Trilogy. An Ultimate Sith Edition of the game, containing new and previously released expanded content, was released in November 2009, which also came out on macOS and Microsoft Windows. LucasArts released downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. The game was released in North America on September 16, 2008, in Australia and Southeast Asia on September 17, and in Europe on September 19. It was initially developed for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles and on iOS, second-generation N-Gage, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Java-equipped mobile phone handhelds. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is an action-adventure game and part of The Force Unleashed project.