Could Red Five be standing by for an assault on the Death Star Wii? The latest issue of EGM contains a rumor that LucasArts has licensed out its Rogue Squadron games – the orignal N64 title plus Rogue Leader and Rebel Strike for GCN – to an unnamed publisher that is updating their visuals and control schemes for Wii as we speak.
The rumor also goes that all three games will be released together as a compilation. With Nintendo's recent announcement of the "Play on Wii" series of waggle-infused GCN remakes, added to the fact that the series was a console-exclusive for the company, we have to wonder if the mystery publisher might be the Big N itself.
We'll definitely be at the event and you can check out the other side of the invitation after the break (location details covered to prevent LucasArts and BioWare from force choking us).
Before beginning this post, we have a number of important announcements to make:
It is currently October.
Sandwiches, when prepared correctly, are delicious.
Salt is salty.
There are five items in this list.
You are currently reading Joystiq.
What's that? You're not sure why we're announcing things you already know? Perhaps you'll be equally flabbergasted by a rumor that LucasArts and Bioware will likely soon reveal the Knights of the Old Republic MMO that EA CEO John Riccitiello already totally confirmed. The rumor originates from a blurb in UK newspaper Daily Star, the author of which claims he's coming stateside to check the title out at LucasArts HQ. If the author is on the level, we certainly expect one of the two developers to "reveal" the title before his article goes to print. Perhaps they can still surprise the eleven people on the planet that don't already know about it.
Though it's fun unleashing the Force, wouldn't it be better if you could unleash the Force while pretending you're a good Jedi that has completely lost his mind? The people at LucasArts seem to think so: They'll be releasing new costumes for The Force Unleashed's single-player campaign this fall, including Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Kit Fisto. We've put an "in-game" picture of Fisto after the break, but he looks more like he's been pasted in from the cover of a Star Wars novel.
And later this year, look for a new mission in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, where the Apprentice will "learn more about his father, and while searching through the rubble of the destroyed building he must confront his inner demons."
Neither the price nor specific dates for either of the DLC packs has yet been unlea-- err, revealed. We'll keep you posted.
When LucasArts production assistant Vicki Miller says she's going to walk you through some new areas of Fracture – the action game banking on its geo-deformation being wicked cool – you watch. Not because she's an industry luminary or anything ... she's just so darn nice.
Said video walkthrough takes viewers to the desert southwest and Washington, D.C. What ensues is a bunch of frantic shooting and upheaval of earth, yet, somehow, Miller's soothing voice-over makes it all seem like everything's going to be just fine. Her hypnotic suggestion alone won't sell the game, however; you should try out the recently released demo to see if the game's ker-azy gameplay gimmicks are your thing.
Sure, many Bothans developers lost their livesjobs, but The Force Unleashed has gone on to sell 1.5 million units worldwide in less than a week, making it the fastest-selling Star Wars game of all time. The figures are based on the first five days of sales across all platforms the game is available on. LucasArts states it shipped more than 4.3 million copies of the game globally, but the demand now requires more units to be manufactured.
The reviews are in for The Force Unleashed, and though the title promises unparalleled Force-based action, it seems that most of the praise being heaped on the game is for its story and how well it nails Lucas' universe.
That doesn't mean that the Force is wrong with this one, though (we've been waiting for months to use that). The consensus is that throwing wookies about like Congenital Generalized Hypertrichosis-stricken Ken dolls is a never-ending font of fun.
Eurogamer(70/100): "It gets an extra point, then, from this Star Wars obsessive for the story and the mostly magnificent recreation of the universe. As a fan you will want to experience what The Force Unleashed has to offer. It's just a shame that while there are occasional moments of brilliance when everything falls into place, they're not quite enough to back up the game's delusions of grandeur."
Game Informer(88/100): "The Force Unleashed isn't the ultimate Star Wars game - KOTOR is still king in my book. But, as advertised, it amplifies this mystical power in new ways to delivers exciting gameplay and unforgettable Star Wars moments. It'll leave you wanting more, but take my word for it, it's worth playing just to see Vader Force-throw wookiees."
Giant Bomb(60/100): "Overall, the story is the main thing that I'll remember about The Force Unleashed--I found it to be more satisfying than the last three movies combined. ... That said, it's unfortunate that the game isn't a bit more even, because the constant flips from too easy to too hard really drag things down and prevent The Force Unleashed from being great. But even with its lengthy list of caveats, The Force Unleashed is still one of the best Star Wars games to be released in quite some time."
1UP(C):"A more appropriate name would've been Star Wars: The Force Mildly Contained -- rarely does the Force truly feel like the ultimate weapon, something that separates you (Darth Vader's not-so-secret apprentice) from the rabble of stormtroopers, Rodians, and Felucians."
It's not just stormtroopers and trees that have been splintered by Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, but download records as well. LucasArts announced that the game's Xbox Live demo has force choked download records for the service, surpassing a million downloads in just eight days following its August debut -- a feat one day better than the previous record according to the company.
Boasting further, LucasArts adds that together with the game's PSN demo, The Force Unleashed appetizer has been downloaded more than 2.3 million times worldwide. Most impressive, though we wonder how many people gave up their place in line camped out waiting for the game's September 16 release in order to actually try it out.
Hoping to shatter our notions of shooters and the rigid environments they take place in, LucasArts' Fracture is set to debut in demo form via the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network on Thursday, September 18th. If you recall (and let's face it, you probably don't), Fracture's biggest back-of-the-box bullet point is "Terrain Deformation," which allows players to reshape the landscape in the midst of frantic combat.
The interactive teaser is an opportunity to "create cover, solve puzzles and revolutionize battlefield tactics," says LucasArts, shortly before reminding us that Fracture will dash onto the retail stage and break its metaphorical leg on October 7th in North America, and October 10th in Europe. Let's hope big "L" steps up the marketing campaign just a tad before then.
To put it mildly, it's going to be quite a while before you see an Indiana Jones game on home consoles. The team (if there still is a team) has gone dark and LucasArts has had some troubles as of late. To put it less kindly, if we see it before the next decade our faces will melt off Raiders-style.
But that doesn't mean you'll be completely without video game Indy. Apparently, the PEGI has just rated Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings for the DS and PSP. A perfect way to kill the time until a console release? Or just a painful reminder of Indy's absence? Here's hoping for the former.
The Force which compels LucasArts to concoct more ways to utilize the Wiimote for lightsaber gameplay will be with it ... always. According to the latest EGM rumor section, "Quartermann" brings unconfirmed word that the Star Wars factory is looking to follow up its Wii version of The Force Unleashed and The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels with yet another lightsaber-centric game, this one utilizing Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus accessory.
You may recall that LucasArts was one of, well, pretty much every Wii third-party left feeling a bit ... seventieth-party by Nintendo's choice to unveil MotionPlus to them on the same day as the public. According to the Q-man, now that the company has access to the tech for development purposes, it wants to make the bestest lightsaber game ever. Might we suggest it be called: Star Wars: Lightsaber Duels – This Time It's Not All Spazzy, Really!
The demo takes place during one of the first levels in the game, known as the "TIE Fighter Construction Facility" -- we assume it's the same area featured in the recent batch of previews for the title. It will also contain a training mode which will allow the player to get a firm grasp on the Force Grip power. However, we know the question that's on everyone's mind -- will any of those adorable Ewoks be present? We can only hope.
We can only imagine how dejected you must feel right now, sitting at home with a tummy full of popcorn and a heart brimming with disappointment. Your friends and family inquire about the reason for your sorrows, until they notice the tear-soaked ticket stub for Star Wars: The Clone Wars lying on your dresser. No amount of playing with your highly collectible Mego Han Solo seems to help -- your infatuation with George Lucas' epic space opera is dwindling, flickering like a candle in the unforgiving wind.
Allow us to offer you this minor consolation -- a sextuplet of videos from Lucasarts' upcoming dark side frolic, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, via GameTrailers. The trailer above is one of the best pieces of media we've seen from the title, showing some familiar faces from the series and ... what's this? A romantic sub-plot? After the break, we've got fivevideoswhichapparentlyhighlight one of the first levels from the game. Before pawning your collection of X-wings in protest, we highly suggest checking them out -- they might just rekindle your once unflappable Lucas-love.
We headed into the wonderific CGI fray known as SIGGRAPH this year, and ultimately decided that we need to start checking this out more often. The technical conference just entered its 35th year, with the acronym being for Special Interest Group on GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques. While it's evolved into a pretty glorified job fair, they still show off new and impressive technology, have a large section focusing on papers relating to innovation in the field of computer graphics (like this year's "Simulating Knitted Cloth at the Yarn Level") and feature a fun Computer Animation Festival component filled with dozens of short CGI films in competition.
The only gaming companies we noticed in attendance were Activision, LucasArts, and THQ, which mostly offered "we want to hire you!" booths, but a lot of the tech behind games was being shown as well. NVIDIA was demoing "the world's first fully interactive GPU-based ray tracer," and the Mova Contour system was showing off their futuristic looking rig. Plus, it now seems like everyone and their uncle is creating 3D printers that pump out plastic models, but that doesn't mean we don't want one.
Read on after the break to find out more, explore the gallery below, and be sure to watch the video that got the biggest laughs, just ahead.
We already heard that third-party devs were nonplussed by Nintendo's surprise MotionPlus reveal at E3, but we really wanted to hear about one developer in particular: LucasArts. Game Informer follows up its earlier online posting with a writeup in this month's issue (the Arkham Asylum one) specifically referencing the Star Wars dev: "LucasArts in particular wasn't happy at being kept in the dark."
Something tells us that's an understatement. The developer's Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels game was not only built specifically for the Wii and shown off in Nintendo's E3 presentation, it was built in response to the intense clamoring from fans hungry for a 1:1 lightsaber game. With the game set to hit retailers this November, and the Wii MotionPlus arriving the following Spring, if you're holding out for 1:1 Jedi-ing, your only hope now is a sequel.
