THQ‘s apps in Apple’s App Store are usually overpriced and not very creative. Most of the THQ apps rely on Star Wars fans to cough up a relative high amount of money to purchase a relative small amount of gameplay for Star Wars themed applications. For example, THQ’s ‘Star Wars: Trench Run’ costs 3.99€ and offers about 20 minutes of unique gameplay. It’s not much different for THQ’s ‘Star Wars The Force Unleashed’, which originally cost $9.99 when it was released first. It’s usually available around 5€. THQ has now lowered the price to 0.79€ for a limited time.
The game has mixed ratings and comments in the App Store. I have played the demo version, dubbed with the addition ‘lite’ some time ago. While it’s not really that bad, one of the main drawbacks of the game is the rather lame MIDI style sound quality and not so great graphics. I have last heard this kind of in game sound while playing at my dad’s 286 PC when I was fifteen. Also, the game is rather short. It offers six chapters of gameplay (worth around 1.5 hours of entertainment).
The purpose of the game is to draw gestures with your fingers, using the right timing, which will make the game character perform different force moves on opponents. It’s not really the most interesting gaming experience. There are cutscenes interrupting the game. Dialogue text is not spoken, you have to read it from the screen. The cutscenes cannot be interrupted, which is rather annoying because they are not that good.
In general, I would advise everybody to avoid spending any money on THQ apps (probably all of them are a ripoff). For a price of 0.79€ it might be worth to check out if you’re a die hard Star Wars fan. Don’t expect too much though.