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Macworld has published a new hands-on preview of Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition, a new action title coming to Mac courtesy of Aspyr Media and LucasArts.

Developed and published in North America by Aspyr, the title combines the original Star Wars The Force Unleashed videogame with three new levels set in iconic Star Wars locales and a host of new costumes and character models. This special edition of the game will show players "the deepest, darkest side of the Force in a story that puts them on a collision course with Luke Skywalker himself."

The first level we played through occurs early in the game. Set in a TIE Fighter factory, the Secret Apprentice has been charged with tracking down a powerful Jedi Knight hiding out somewhere amongst the moving assembly lines, stormtrooper detachments, and open airways of the base. Obviously, the TIE Factory level enables you to have an awesome opportunity to create some mayhem.

While the level has a linear progression, how you dispatch your foes is completely up to you. You can fry your foes with lightning, throw them into oblivion with Force push, or slice them up using your lightsaber. Or, because the controls are built on a combo system, you can do all of the above in a complicated chain. As you play, you’ll level up the Secret Apprentice’s potent abilities to fit your fighting style, unlock costumes, and gain life back by defeating foes. When my favorite moments of this factory level was watching the Secret Apprentice pull down a TIE Fighter using Force energy and then throwing it at a group of oncoming stormtroopers. Yep, it’s more fun to be evil.

While game critics have fretted over the hack and slash combat of the title, I found that in the hands of someone capable, the combat was smooth and the chain combos artful. Its amazingly fun to rip through a series of stormtroopers and finish the last one with a dramatic saber stab. The Ultimate Sith edition features more levels in classic settings with more costumes and (apparently) better-balanced enemies, only furthering my optimism for the title.

Macworld: Force Unleashed Preview

Aspyr Media

Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition

Buy Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition

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