The game takes place approximately six months after the events of the first game,[2] and a year before the film A New Hope (the original Star Wars film).[3][4] The Force Unleashed II is described as the "dark entry" in the series,[4] and a more personal story for the game's protagonist than the first game.[2] Players control a clone of Starkiller, the first game's protagonist and Darth Vader's secret apprentice who sacrificed himself after helping to form the Rebel Alliance. Vader's attempts to breed a perfect apprentice from the original Starkiller's DNA leads to the creation of the clone who, possessing his predecessor's memories and realizing he will similarly be betrayed, escapes Vader. While on a quest across the galaxy to understand his identity and escape from Vader's influence, Starkiller becomes caught in the war between the Alliance and the Galactic Empire.