A stripped-down campaign and repetitive gameplay make The Force Unleashed II a very disappointing sequel.
A brief tutorial reintroduces you to main character Starkiller and his role as Darth Vader's secret apprentice. From there, the game opens up with a bang as you freefall through Kamino's rain-soaked skyline, dodging electrified pylons and blasting through anything that could slow your fall. After crashing through a skylight into a Starkiller-shaped crater, you get your first real taste of the refined combat system. Starkiller fights with dual lightsabers this time around, making his standard and heavy attacks a frenetic whirlwind of flourishes that are very gratifying to wield. Force powers are much easier to use than in the original thanks to improvements made to the game's targeting system. Though you'll still run into the occasional issue, expect to spend less time struggling to aim attacks at your desired victims. The game's excellent physics engine makes using these abilities an absolute joy: if there's anything more satisfying than levitating a group of stormtroopers, pumping them full of force lightning, then blasting them over a cliff, I've yet to find it.
It's a shame that the game doesn't make much effort to keep the combat fresh. You'll fight the same stormtroopers and mech units over and over throughout most of the game. Certain enemies are resistant to either your lightsabers or your force powers: while this is meant to make you switch up your tactics, it turns some end game encounters into frustrating nightmares. When both types of resistant enemies attack at once, it's very difficult to hit the correct enemy with the right attacks. Starkiller has a Counter ability that helps in these situations, though any fight is easily winnable if you use nothing but this move.
The only other new addition to combat is Force Repulse, which when charged up sends out an expanding wave of destructive energy around Starkiller. With every other force power available very early on, the gameplay fails to progress in any surprising way. Though the level designs are beautiful and atmospheric, they too suffer from repetition. The original game was a planet-hopping adventure with a huge variety of environments; the sequel has only three (arguably four) different locales.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II follows Starkiller in his search for Juno Eclipse, his old starship pilot and love interest, as well as for answers about his past. Strong voice acting and gorgeous cutscenes help enhance a plot that's clearly been stripped to its bare bones. You can literally feel where portions of the game were abandoned during development. When Starkiller rescues an old friend, the friend argues with him and asks to be dropped off on the next habitable planet. After no more than a five-minute gameplay interlude that can't rightly be called a level, this character is back on Starkiller's spaceship exclaiming how glad he is that Starkiller decided to go back for him. Several characters from the movie series also make cameos that build up to confrontations that never happen.
There are quite a few unlockable costumes, lightsaber crystals and challenge maps to be discovered while playing through the main game. The challenge maps make you test your skills wielding force powers in difficult and surprising ways, though they feel like little more than an attempt to pad a game that sorely lacks content. There's a lot of fun to be had messing around with Starkiller's force powers and dismembering enemies with a few vicious swings from your lightsabers. However, a laughably short campaign and lack of variety make Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II an unworthy follow-up to the potential of its predecessor.