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Joystiq gets friendly with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
When it comes to multiplatform titles, the console versions usually snatch up all of the attention, leaving the DS titles out in the cold. With the big fancy features and graphics capabilities of the current-gen systems, many might have forgotten, or not known, that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is set to rock the DS as well as those other consoles we talked about. How does the game play? Well, you'll just have to head on over and find out!%Gallery-26970%
Joystiq hands-on: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS2/PSP)
The PS2 and PSP versions of The Force Unleashed are close siblings, and I recently enjoyed playing nearly-finished editions of both. Each follows the same bounty-hunting apprentice story and settings as the 360/PS3 game, although specific level design occasionally differs. Unlike 360/PS3 game, the PSP version gets two-player duel-mode fights against a local gamer, and it also includes five "historical missions" pulled from the movies. The PS2 version includes the full camera control of the 360/PS3, but not those extras.The PS2 and PSP games felt slightly scaled back from the 360/PS3, with fewer destructible objects or enemies in any one moment. But both maintained a fluid sense of battle, maintaining the visceral thrill of the Force powers. With the game's September 16 release, PS2 and PSP gamers will find a kinetic action title suited to their systems.%Gallery-26953%
Joystiq hands-on: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (DS)
The DS version of The Force Unleashed tries to cram all of the light-saber-rage from the consoles into a handheld package. You'll be disappointed if you directly compare the two. I recently tried a late version of the DS game, and I didn't think enough of the system's strengths and weaknesses affected the design. The DS game gives a 3D perspective of the action on the top screen with adequate visuals, but the chunky graphics steal some of the excitement. And since the camera can't be repositioned, you'll be regularly attacked by people just off-screen. Worse, player attacks are issued by tapping on icons, causing hunting-and-pecking through battles.Since The Force Unleashed is about going nuts with explosive superpowers, that sense of excitement got lost by scaling everything down to fit the DS. A wireless, four-player, local battle mode might make it a fun game to play with friends, but I wasn't able to test that feature. I hope the final game will grow on me after its September 16 release. But the time I had with this portable edition left me cautious.%Gallery-26952%
Joystiq hands-on: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Star_Wars_The_Force_Unleashed_Wii_Impressions_Unleashed'; 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-20587%
Poke the Force with Lightsaber styli
We're often wooed by game-themed styli, but never has the Force been with a touchpen so much as with these mini Lightsabers. Releasing on July 31st, these official Nintendo and Lucas Arts styli are sure to sell like hotcakes (we can think of at least one game they'll go well with). Yet if you plan to buy them, you'll have a tough choice to make -- should you get the three small replicas for $7.99, or the two slightly bigger light-up sabers for $16.99? Choices, choices.So far we've only seen these beauties available on Amazon through seller BD&A, but we're sure they'll hit other retailers as time passes. If you're too cheap to make the purchase, though, be sure to check out our guide for stylus alternatives.[Thanks, Kimiko!]Source: Nintendo DS Star Wars Light Up Lightsaber Stylus 2 PackSource: Nintendo DS Star Wars Lightsaber Stylus 3 Pack
Exploring the Force with Star Wars Galaxies
Both this week and last week the Friday Features on the official Star Wars Galaxies site have been all about the Jedi and their legacy. Last week team artist Christine Chugon walked us through the process of creating the amazing new heroic instance, the Tomb of Exar Kun. Kun was just recently added to the game in the Chapter 9 content patch. Chugon offers up the simple pencil drawing on lined paper that was her starting point, and takes us through the various steps required to bring the maze to life. This week's Feature is also all about the Jedi's world - this time a walkthrough of the new Expertise tree coming to the class in Game Update 3. The tree is split into two parts, representing the Light and Dark sides of the force. The Light side offers improvements in saber technique, a simple snare or two, and the 'mind trick' ability to confuse/de-aggro an enemy. The Dark side is much more straightforward, offering crit enhancements, the ability to drain life, the force choke snare ability, and the power to throw deadly force lightning. For further discussion of the new Jedi powers, check out the vigorous thread on the official forums.
'The Force is strong with this plumber'
Even on our best day of being totally hilarious and witty (we're still waiting for one day where we can at least be witty), we couldn't make up something like this. A combination of two things that just don't need to be combined like this hasn't been seen since someone decided to combine eggs and oil (we're not a fan of the mayonnaise, to be honest). We're not saying its a bad tattoo (well, maybe we are), but we like our Star Wars without plumbers (unless it's a funny skit about Mario cleaning the stalls in the Death Star bathrooms or something) and we like our Goomba-stomping Mario without the epic conflict of good and evil (man against beast goes down so much smoother for us).Actually, to tell the truth, we're surprised our minds haven't been blown so much that we forgot how to even post this to the blog.See also: Irresponsible kids express their love for each other, live to regret it
A world full of Death Knights
This little informal survey by Ralloszek over on the WotLK forums raises a pretty good question: is anyone not planning on making a Death Knight when the next expansion hits? We're going to end up with a world full of pale people in black armor wielding gigantic frostblades-- maybe Blizzard should call it "World full of Lich Kings."It's pretty easy to see that not everyone will switch their main (I don't ever foresee leaving my main, although I do plan to level a Death Knight as an alt), but even if people just roll them to check it out, it reminds me a lot of the Star Wars Galaxies "new game enhancements" where they made Jedi a playable class. If you can roll a Jedi as a class, why would you roll anything else?Of course, we could give Blizzard the benefit of the doubt here-- they haven't revealed much at all about the game's first Hero Class, so maybe it'll be so hard to get one that they really will be very rare, or they'll only be allowed in certain areas (so you won't see a pack of Death Knights swarming around the mailbox in Stormwind). We already know that they'll start at a higher level, so the good news is that you won't see Elwynn Forest flooded with a bunch of level 1 Death Knights. But as for other ways to keep what is supposed to be a special class special, we'll have to see what Blizzard comes up with.
Massively's gift guide for the Star Wars Galaxies player
They say pet owners look like their pets. There are enough people who put stock in their horoscope to see it put in the daily newspaper. Heck, even which Hogwarts House you identify with probably says something about you. So why not your Massively Multiplayer game of choice? Over the next few weeks we at Massively are going to do our level best to help you make holiday gift giving easy. We'll run down some of the player archetypes you might have among your friends, based on the games they play. We'll give you gift ideas perfect for that type of player and (if it seems right) even some in-game presents that might fit well with their play style.Today I've got a pile of gift ideas for that rare breed: the Star Wars Galaxies player. Playing a much-maligned game can be hard, but the folks still participating in the story of the galaxy far, far away have their reasons. Maybe it's the crafting, maybe it's the twitch combat ... maybe it's the awesome player housing. For that player - be they Jedi or Bounty Hunter, Sith or Savior - we have an idea that'll keep them happily humming John Williams music on December 25th.Read on for our gift ideas, and (please) toss out your own in the comments!
New details for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed revealed
After finding out that the newest Star Wars game would be gracing the Wii also, we were all kinds of excited. Then, we actually got to see some behind-the-scenes stuff and we found out what it was truly like to be excited. We're pumped for this game.Now, some more info on the game has trickled out of camp Lucas. Most of the information revolves around a couple of locations players will be able to traverse in the game, including a TIE fighter construction yard, the wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk, the planet of Felucia and also Raxus Prime, an interstellar dumping planet. There is also some details on the Apprentice's droid compantion Proxy.We'll save you the spoiler-worthy details here. So, if you want to know the juicy stuff, head on over to CVG. But, don't say we didn't warn you.
Mod community strikes back, restoring KotOR2
LucasArts may or may not be guilty of pressuring Obsidian into wrapping up Knights of the Old Republic 2 before it was ready, but the Star Wars licenser isn't standing in the way of independent efforts to restore the game to its originally intended glory. In another inspiring example of mod communities taking matters into their own hands, Team Gizka (named after the small reptilian creatures in KotOR) has been hard at work restoring much of the "lost content " that is noticeably absent from The Sith Lords. You can check the Restoration Project web site for weekly updates as they near completion of a PC patch that should give fans a more complete KotOR2 experience than the standalone retail edition. Team Gizka is also considering an Xbox patch, but a decision won't be made until after the PC update is released.See also: D&D fans fix Temple of Elemental Evil
MacSaber
MacSaber might be the coolest use of motion sensor in some Mac portables ever. Simply install this beta, and swing your MacBook (or other laptop) around. Suddenly your laptop is a laptop no longer, nay, it is a light saber!I must admit that I almost threw my MacBook across the room fooling around with this, but boy is it fun.[via Kottke]Update: To clarify, to the right is a screenshot of the program running. Swing your MacBook around, and make sure your speakers aren't muted.
