Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Joystiq Podcast 063 - S.N.A.X. editionhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/29/joystiq-podcast-063-s-n-a-x-edition/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/29/joystiq-podcast-063-s-n-a-x-edition/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/29/joystiq-podcast-063-s-n-a-x-edition/#commentsFiled under:


We've finally harnessed the power of our combined snacking knowledge to create a regular, completely non-game related segment on it. Oh, sure we're still talking about video games like Force Unleashed, Too Human and S.T.A.L.K.E.R., but snacks (S.N.A.X.?) really steal the show.

Thanks to Evan Minto, Jordan Wasilka and Max Varenik of the JPAG for the trifecta of photochopping greatness.

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Hosts: Chris Grant, Ludwig Kietzmann and Justin McElroy

Music: "Get Ready for Love" by Nick Cave, "Red Eye" by Ben Kweller

For fans: Joystiq Podcast Facebook group

See all of this week's links after the jump.

News:
Rock Band 2 getting full albums from Foo Fighters, Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, more
Joystiq Political Corner:
Controversial Space Invaders 9/11 piece
McCain in POW Bros.

BIG THREE:

3. Gearbox/Halo 4 rumor
2. MAG???
1. Tabulator comparing the PS3 SKUs

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]]>force-unleashedjoystiq-podcastjoystiqpodcastpodcastsstalkertoo-humanJustin McElroy2008-08-29T13:30:00+00:00Republic Commando('s head) cameos in Force Unleashed demohttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/22/republic-commando-s-head-cameos-in-force-unleashed-demo/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/22/republic-commando-s-head-cameos-in-force-unleashed-demo/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/22/republic-commando-s-head-cameos-in-force-unleashed-demo/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Here's a fun Star Wars nugget that you may not have noticed during your numerous play-throughs of the new Force Unleashed demo. Above a tunnel in the TIE fighter area of the demo you'll find -- the head of Republic Commando's Delta 1138! Eeegah! ... No, no, we're kidding, it's probably just his helmet.

Tipster and head hunter SpikeDelight tells us "This is almost surely a hint towards a next-gen sequel to the game," but we're not sure we'd go that far. Still, it's cute, right?

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]]>demoseaster-eggsforce-unleashedstar-warsJustin McElroy2008-08-22T11:00:00+00:00See excerpts from The Art and Making of The Force Unleashedhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/picture-it-excerpts-from-the-art-and-making-of-the-force-unleas/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/picture-it-excerpts-from-the-art-and-making-of-the-force-unleas/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/19/picture-it-excerpts-from-the-art-and-making-of-the-force-unleas/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


click to Unleash the gallery
LucasArts has sent us a rather hefty excerpt from The Art and Making of The Force Unleashed book (itself a whopping 224 pages) that came out this week. We're guessing it doesn't end with a note on the dev team being cut.

Click above to peruse the gallery (Protip: Click on the Hi-res button on each gallery page to view a high-resolution version of the image). A demo for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed drops this Thursday, with the full game arriving mid-September.

Gallery: Excerpt: The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

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]]>force-unleashedjoystiqfeaturesstar-warsstar-wars-the-force-unleashedthe-force-unleashedRoss Miller2008-08-19T14:00:00+00:00Star Wars: The Force Unleashed trailer runs freehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/10/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-trailer-runs-free/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/10/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-trailer-runs-free/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/10/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-trailer-runs-free/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


LucasArts released a fancy new trailer for The Force Unleashed and, although many of the people who made it aren't working at the company anymore, the empire must march on to get ready for the Sept 16 launch.

Feel free to peruse our hands-on impressions of several versions of the game (Wii, PSP/PS2, DS) after you've checked out the trailer featuring -- what we're guessing, by the looks of it -- is the PS3/Xbox 360 version of the title. The Dark Apprentice can be found force powering it up after the break.

Gallery: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed



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]]>force-unleashedhttpgamevideos.comvideoid19872lucasartsstar-wars-force-unleashedthe-force-unleashedAlexander Sliwinski2008-07-10T21:30:00+00:00Joystiq hands-on: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/07/joystiq-hands-on-star-wars-the-force-unleashed-wii/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/07/joystiq-hands-on-star-wars-the-force-unleashed-wii/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/07/joystiq-hands-on-star-wars-the-force-unleashed-wii/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

For good and bad -- or should I say light and dark -- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Wii is clearly a Wii game. Side-by-side with the PS3 and 360 versions, the Wii graphics disappoint, and the complexity and frequency of enemies feels scaled back. But the Wii motion controls are regularly interesting, mapping many of the game's controls into gestures. The simplest ones feel great, like punching the Nunchuk forward to do the Force-push.

After recently playing late-development versions of all four game editions--360/PS3, Wii, DS, and PS2/PSP--I think the Wii game holds up as well as any of them. I had fun throwing enemies, shooting them with lightning, and hitting them with the lightsaber. And while the Wii holds its own, I'm mildly concerned that the final game could be repetitious, just cutting down waves of attackers. Hopefully the many different attacks, and Wii-specific two-player duel mode, will keep the game interesting.

Gallery: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)

The Wii controls are the same between the duel mode and single-player game. The analog stick steers movement, Remote flicks swing the lightsaber, buttons activate some of the Force powers, and gestures embellish on those special attacks. There's a lot of depth to the controls, and while I never quite felt synced up with the lightsaber--a flick up didn't always swing up as it was supposed to--the variety was impressive.

"In a Wii-only trick, I could even levitate certain gun turrets, walking and auto-firing at enemies while I sliced at them with the lightsaber."


Other attacks turned my physicality into on-screen destruction. A button-combination and downward thrust with both hands unleashed a shock-wave bubble around me, shaking away wookies. I grabbed other enemies in the air with the left trigger, and then impaled them with a thrown lightsaber through a flick-and-A combination. In a Wii-only trick, I could even levitate certain gun turrets, walking and auto-firing at enemies while I sliced at them with the lightsaber.

I enjoyed the physicality of these controls. In some cases, such as the simple Force-push gesture, I liked them more than the buttons-only consoles. (The PS3 has no motion controls in the game.) And I liked the timed gesture prompts in certain boss fights, where I twisted a controller to match the command to advance a cut-scene, God of War-style. But I'll have to play the finished games before I can decide if the rest of the gestures are as easy as tapping button combinations.

I eased my way into the game's visuals. Essentially, the textures looked good enough, but almost every edge ended in ugly, stair-stepping jaggies. Wii-only gamers will likely be satisfied, but multi-console players will make a big compromise with this version.


click to embiggen
Otherwise, most of the game matches the 360/PS3 version. The stories follow the same paths, and the levels are set in the same areas--the Wii even gets a few extra stages. Specific areas vary slightly, with fewer background objects on the Wii. But most of the puzzles are even the same.
LucasArts has been (over)hyping the physics and behavior engines on the 360/PS3, but I didn't miss them in my Wii session. The physics felt realistic enough when I tossed crates at groups of enemies or blew open locked doors.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed should be an authentic Wii game, even though it's also being released on all platforms besides PC. While I'm not yet sure if the physicality is an improvement over the 360/PS3 version, the Wii gestures kept me engaged and entertained. Whenever the game began to feel monotonous from the rushing, feeble enemies, I switched to a new, impressive power. Hopefully that variety will carry through the finished version, due September 16.

Check out our newly-unleashd Star Wars: The Force Unleashed hands-on impressions for Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2/PSP.

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]]>dark-sideforce-powersforce-unleashedgesturejedijoystiqfeatureslight-saberlightsaberlucasartsstar-warsstar-wars-the-forcestar-wars-the-force-unleashedthe-force-unleashedwagglewiiZack Stern2008-07-07T12:00:00+00:00How to use the Wii remote in The Force Unleashed duel modehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/05/how-to-use-the-wii-remote-in-the-force-unleashed-duel-mode/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/05/how-to-use-the-wii-remote-in-the-force-unleashed-duel-mode/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/05/how-to-use-the-wii-remote-in-the-force-unleashed-duel-mode/#commentsFiled under: ,

Oh boy, we're really worried now about the plethora of Wii-itis and other Wii-injuries stories coming in September. We've already written about our hands-on time with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Wii, specifically the duel mode, but G4TV has a video of LucasArts producer Dan Wasson showing X-Play's Morgan Webb how to use the control scheme in duel mode.

To summarize: the game recognizes five different directions -- left, right, up, down and "stab" -- for different lightsaber strikes, while force powers are done with the nunchuk and can be combined for combos. We could easily see how this might get out of hand (literally) in heated multiplayer matches, what with someone getting strangled with the nunchuk wire and another hapless Wii remote sent through a big-screen TV. Help us, Wiimote Glove Kenobi, you're our only hope.

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]]>duel-modeforce-unleashedlucas-artslucasartsnintendostar-warsthe-force-unleashedwii-motewii-remoteRoss Miller2008-05-05T16:25:00+00:00The Force Unleashed for Wii gets exclusive contenthttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/28/the-force-unleashed-for-wii-gets-exclusive-content/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/28/the-force-unleashed-for-wii-gets-exclusive-content/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/28/the-force-unleashed-for-wii-gets-exclusive-content/#commentsFiled under: ,

While the Nintendo Wii's hardware may be sub par compared to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 - and is unlikely to enjoy the full potential of three physics engines - motion control enthusiasts will be able to enjoy five exclusive levels in the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

According to Krome Studios' Ed Tucker (via CVG), "On the Wii we have places where the story veers off and we go and explore something, take the game in a different direction, like the Jedi Temple level." Krome is handling the Wii, PSP and PS2 versions of the title. No mention of exclusive content PS3 and Xbox 360 owners might have.

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]]>force-unleashedLucasArtsnintendostar-warsstarwarstheforceunleashedwiiRoss Miller2008-01-28T17:30:00+00:00