Move over, George Lucas. "Star Wars" fans get to do what they've always dreamed: Explore those galaxies far, far away for themselves in "Star Wars" The Force Unleashed."

Take everything you know about "Star Wars" games and throw it away. You're in for a whole new story and experience. You play as Darth Star, Darth Vader's secret apprentice. He found you when you were a child on Kashykk, raised you, and sends you on missions in which you hunt down his enemies, the Jedi. You go by the name Starkiller and have your own ship.

Now remember, you are top-secret. About two people know about you. This means that anybody who sees you -- besides Darth Vader and your pilot, Juno Eclipse -- must die. That includes all the rebels and the Empire. So get ready to fight literally anything that moves!

One reason this game is so different is that LucasArts put so much more effort into it. The gameplay is great. Starkiller can manipulate almost anything with The Force. And there are four difficulty levels (apprentice, warrior, lord, or master) so you can play as mean as you want to. The voice acting is pretty good for a video game, too. The music (some by "Star Wars" composer John Williams) just flows with the amazing, film-like graphics that never spaz on you.

For people who complain you can't play with your friends online, well, look how much work went in this game. The designers have three animation engines running at the same time. You level up through force spheres and gain powers like force lightning and new combos and so on by defeating enemies. You also can unlock lightsabre modifications that change the color of your laser and change its power. One of my friends is obessessed with his black lightsabre. It is pretty cool.

Now I'm not going to ruin anything, but I'm just letting you know there is a good ending and a bad ending so be ready to pick. For anyone very knowledgeable about "Star Wars" (I myself only know the movies and stuff my brother and my friend talk about), you'll meet characters such as Rahm Kota, Shaak Ti, and other familiar (to some) names. The gameplay is basically running around and smashing and killing things but it's not as bad as it sounds. It is actually really fun, picking up things with the Force and throwing them around. I once threw a TIE fighter at a guy!

I am going to give this game a 9 out of 10 because I really enjoyed it and it is my favorite "Star Wars" game yet. I wish it were longer and can't wait for the next one. See ya!

Liam Gascoin, 13, one of the nation's youngest gaming critics, writes exclusively for The Times. Reach him at TheVidKids@aol.com.