I have to ask, as you’re a fan of The Force Unleashed, what do you think of Starkiller’s Force powers in the TFU game, and also being in-canon, at the time?
Yes, the powers in the game were way over the top. I put it down to simply being “a product of its time” with the “boss baddies” and style of game familiar to many of us gamers from that era. The “Starkiller on Steroids” force powers didn’t detract from what was an enjoyable story, and fun video game, for me.
Yeah, Lucas considered TFU canon, “an actual chapter in the overall story line”. As I’ve mentioned previously on here this became my “Star Wars Prequel” for a time. The less said about the TFU2 the better!
The TFU book is actually a good read. It does start out a little simplistic and “gamey”, but after the initial chapters it expands upon what we see in the game, in some detail and does it very well, evolving the depth of the story and immerses you into it more, so the overpowered nature of the force powers and their effect do seem more believable, tolerable, and acceptable.
I, like many other other fans of the various “multimedia projects” from Star Wars was more than a little miffed when we were told our investment and commitment to these projects were no longer canon, or “an actual chapter in the overall story line”. Over time that sour feeling has eroded, with head canon has become a more popular and accepted way of thinking.
Edit - It still makes me laugh when I read people from Lucasfilm or on the print side of things now trying to claim that George was never involved or read any of the EU books or comics, or played the games. All easily disproved lies and some strange claims and retcons to be making on their part. I imagine they are quite adept at doing this with the practice they have had in this field.