On September 16th, fans of the Star Wars franchise will be treated to a rather ambitious video game: The Force Unleashed. Taking place somewhere in the nineteen years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, the game will focus on Starkiller, Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, as he hunts down renegade Jedi and other threats to the Empire. The game promises to make excellent use of ragdoll physics, adaptive lighting, and all of those other next-gen selling points.

But I’m not here to talk about that. I’m here to talk about how revered Jedi Master Shaak Ti looks like a whore in the game.

The last time I checked, most Jedi, male and female, wore simple brown robes. In fact, that’s exactly what Shaak Ti was wearing when she appeared in the prequel films, the Clone Wars cartoon, and so on. Now, I understand that being on the run from an evil empire out to murder you might preclude one from finding fresh clean robes whenever one wants, but does that automatically mean that Shaak Ti has to wear a tiny leather swimsuit? (Click the picture on the left to get a better view.)

I know exactly where this comes from: it’s classic comic book/video game female character design syndrome. An overwhelming majority of female characters in both of those media are specifically designed to be very sexy, sport massive boobs, and wear skimpy outfits. This makes perfect sense from a business standpoint, as both forms of entertainment are targeted at young men. I enjoy hot chicks just as much as the next guy, and I tend to laugh at the often over-the-top sexism. The reason I take issue with this in Force Unleashed, however, is that with a Star Wars product, you don’t need to use the “sex sells” tactic. It’s Star Wars, so it’s already going to sell!

Shaak Ti’s not alone in her wardrobe issues. Another character in Force Unleashed, a padawan named Maris Brood, doesn’t fare much better. She’s got skintight leggings on…and a few strips of what looks like electrical tape for a top. This trend continues in other Star Wars media, too; for example, in the excellent comic series Star Wars Legacy, one of the villains is a Sith Lord known as Darth Talon. She’s badass, she kills Jedi, she’s pure evil…and she runs around in a black bikini and go-go boots. C’mon, is that really necessary?

Like I said before, nothing makes me happier than a gorgeous woman. But when it gets so ridiculously silly and pandering that it detracts from the core product, then there’s a problem.