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The demo for LucasArts’ latest entry into the Star Wars videogame franchise landed on Xbox LIVE yesterday, and fan results are mixed.

For anyone who has avoided the recent marketing blitz, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is an action/fighting game developed and published by LucasArts for a number of platforms. Slated for release on September 16th for North America, the demo includes an early level of the game in what is considered its final, or near final, state. The game has been positioned as a darker slice of the classic saga, positioning the player as a secret apprentice to Darth Vader set on eliminating the remaining Jedi. The game itself takes place in the timeline between the third and fourth movies.

Weighing in at just less than 1GB the download takes a bit from Xbox LIVE. Initial impressions were very positive once the game started though. The opening cinematic is classic LucasArts, combining their vintage logo with something unique to The Force Unleashed. The main screen is clean and simple, and the demo opens with a quick cinematic summarizing the player’s part in the universe.

Graphically the game is a mixed bag. The frame rate is perfect throughout the demo, bringing a pleasant change of pace to the console experience. Not only is it consistent, but it’s incredibly smooth. However the graphics aren’t jaw-dropping. While good looking and clean, the graphics don’t compare to recent titles, and the colors appear so bright they border on cartoonish. The color palette is more at home in something like World of Warcraft than a dark game built around committing genocide.

Other problems appear once the play begins. The characters movement is incredibly responsive, to the point of fault. The camera has trouble keeping up with the character, leading the player to have to adjust it by hand on a regular basis. Additionally while the controls are simple enough, featuring a full mapping of basic functionality along with combo based lightsaber attacks, key game features disappoint. LucasArts has been quick to show videos of Force Throw attacks, exclaiming the fact the player can pick up and throw many various items throughout the game, including objects as large as TIE fighters. Unfortunately the game has so many objects that may be thrown selecting any given one is difficult, especially in the midst of combat. Worse yet once the item is picked up aiming it to collide with the desired target proves equally unintuitive.

On the plus side lightsaber combat is spectacular, with moves that are both superbly animated and plentiful. Some RPG elements are also present, permitting the unlocking of new force abilities and enhanced versions of existing abilities throughout the game, though the demo only teases at this gameplay element.

One sticking point that is a major disappointment is the fact that the game was dumbed down to keep a Teen rating. Not only is there no blood, which fits with the Star Wars lightsaber lore, but the lightsaber isn’t a one-hit weapon. Run-of-the-mill stormtroopers will take several hits to kill and then there’s no gratifying death animation. The Force Unleashed has no severed limbs or decapitations; the enemy just falls to the ground.

While keeping in mind that this is just the demo, it remains difficult to stay excited about Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The demo level proved itself decent looking and indeed a fun experience, but core gameplay faults like a poor camera and difficult controls are worrisome this close to release. If the entire game is more of the same it will stand as a good title, but not the great series opener it could have been with additional polish and a more adult oriented design.