Lego Star Wars
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Transformers PSP in disguise
Savage Entertainment is working on a PSP Transformers game based on the movie. Savage has previously made Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Scooby Doo for the PSP, so they have experience with Sony's portable. Based on Micheal Bay's upcoming Transformers movie, Transformers: The Game the title will feature Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream among other well known robots and give players the choice to play Autobot and save the world or Decepticon and try to take it over. Each Transformer has their own set of skills and abilities and players can choose at any moment to move from robot to vehicle form. Over the course of the game, players will travel through fully destructible environments and each character's scale and weight will affect how they fight. You'll use range and melee combat to fight your way to your ultimate goal. The console versions are being created by Traveler's Tales of Lego Star Wars fame and all versions are said to have similar content, which is very good considering how well Lego Star Wars worked on the PSP. Of course the PSP edition has exclusive content. This time it comes in the form of an expanded storyline and multiplayer. The last Transformers game (for PS2) was quite enjoyable and I have high hopes for this rendition. Anyone else looking forward to this game? [Via IGN]
Feral Interactive product update (Macworld Expo)
U.K.-based publisher, Feral Interactive made the trip to this year's Macworld Expo, eager to sell its product to Mac gamers. The company's booth holds many kiosks showing Feral's latest -- or in-progress -- ports, including Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, The Movies, and Imperial Glory.Feral head, David Stephen updated us on the status of its games; Lego Star Wars, Colin McRae Rally, and Fable: The Lost Chapters will ship this Spring. (A few technical glitches that delayed the latter two titles have recently been fixed.)Stephen is also excited about the newly shipped The Movies because of updates Feral was able to make to the PC version. For example, Mac gamers have more format options when exporting completed movies. Also, because Feral wanted Mac gamers to be able to share videos on the PC-game's Windows Media site, the Mac version includes a copy of Flip4Mac's WMV Studio -- normally a $50 utility -- to render in that Windows codec.
Lego Star Wars uses the force, sells 1.1 million copies
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy has sold over 1.1 million units in just over a week. That's a lot of LEGO blocks. Someone please keep this information away from George Lucas, if at all possible. Or else we could be seeing LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Enhanced With New CGI Midichlorian Edition. Still, possible future linings of Lucas' wallet aside, kudos to him and LucasArts for continuing to put out new editions of this game, which really have an irreverent take on the Star Wars universe. The back of the box alone features Darth Vader wearing Princess Leia's bra from her slave girl outfit. That's hot.
UK sales charts, September 9-16: Lego leads the board
Despite entering the charts at number three last week, Lego Star Wars II has proved a popular favourite with the British public, rising to snatch the top spot from Dead Rising this week. The rest of the chart follows in similar vein, demonstrating only a slight shuffle from last week's positions. Several Xbox 360 titles are selling well, but the multiformat nature of Lego Star Wars may have tipped it to the top -- that, and it's Lego, man. 1. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy 2. Dead Rising 3. Saints Row 4. Cars 5. Test Drive Unlimited 6. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training 7. New Super Mario Bros. 8. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories 9. Lego Star Wars 10. The Sims 2
Metareview - LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Traveller's Tales was on to something when they decided to take the popular LEGO brand of Star Wars toys and make a video game based on our favorite bricks. The resulting LEGO Star Wars was a novel, family-oriented romp through the galaxy far, far away. LucasArts was more Force sensitive this time around and assumed publishing duties from Eidos for the sequel, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. Overall marks are only slightly higher than the first game, but critics agree the stronger source material makes The Original Trilogy worth its weight in galactic credits. GameSpy (90/100) thinks the sequel's enhanced "born to build" features will appeal to the kid in all of us: "There are a lot more LEGO elements scattered throughout each stage than there was in the first game. By blowing up LEGO objects, you'll often be able to rebuild the scattered bricks into new items that can be used to reach otherwise hidden areas. It really gives you the feeling that you're playing within a living LEGO world." 1UP (80/100) knows the only substitute for a good blaster is a good ship: "While the vehicular stages vary in terms of quality, the mere fact that so many exist really adds to the scope of the game. Lego Star Wars II offers a surprising amount of playtime, and is much larger and longer than the original game (which was one of its biggest criticisms)." GameSpot (77/100) discovered that fancy next-gen visuals not make one great: "The current-gen console versions all look slightly better than the original Lego Star Wars, while the PC version looks a bit better than those, since it can run at much higher resolutions. The Xbox 360 version has the most graphical flair, with better reflections, better explosions, and a cool lens-focus effect. It's definitely the best-looking version, but it's also got a very minor frame rate problem that crops up when there are a lot of particle effects." See also: Batman to LEGO brick consoles everywhere
Use the next gen Force
Xboxygen sent us word of these spiffy design sketches from the upcoming next gen Star Wars game. Big beautiful and ripe for your desktop, they look pretty sweet if you ask us, and we're pretty sure you did. Also, just in case you missed the concept video for the upcoming game -- which shows off force powers in beautiful next gen glory -- you can check it out after the break.
Batman to LEGO brick consoles everywhere
With the release of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy being close enough for us to start using words like "imminent" and "impending," it's hard not to "imagine" the possibilities brought on by the next franchise selected for LEGO-fication. CVG reports that the world's greatest detective has been chosen by Traveller's Tales to star in the next instalment of the lighthearted series. Following in the square footsteps of the Star Wars games, Batman's blocky adventure is sure to be an amusing parody of everything we've come to know about the caped crusader, Gotham City and its noticeably deranged inhabitants. "Where does he get those wonderful toys?"If you'll recall, it was just last month that Jonathan Smith of Traveller's Tales confirmed that more LEGO games were in the works. Congratulations to Joystiq commenter 32_Footsteps for correctly pinning Batman as the next victim of geometric simplification. We'd dole out some sort of prize, but we think having Batman busting blockheads and battling a juxtaposed Joker is reward enough.
More Lego games planned, says Star Wars developer
Computer & Video Games is reporting that the next issue of British magazine PC Zone contains an interview with Traveler's Tales development director Jonathan Smith in which he confirms the company is planning more games based on combining the Lego license with established films. Traveler's Tales is the company behind Lego Star Wars, the surprise hit that has already spawned an announced sequel/prequel covering the original trilogy of movies.The C&VG article doesn't mention which movies will be Lego-fied, but the author is clearly hoping some sort of Lego Indiana Jones is in the pipeline. What film (or game) franchises do you think would benefit from the Lego treatment?
Star Wars 30th anniversary game, TV shows update
The Force was strong at the Licensing 2006 International trade show in New York last week. Lucas Licensing is coming off a record year of $3 billion in worldwide retail sales of its Star Wars consumer products. And despite the end of the movies, the franchise appears stronger than ever.In addition to this year's launch of Lego Star Wars II and the DVD release of the unaltered original trilogy, fans of the Force will have a 30th anniversary game to look forward to in Fall 2007. Lucas reps also confirmed both the CG-animated and live-action Star Wars TV shows are scheduled to debut in 2008.Now, if only they could get Galaxies out of its galactic funk.See also: E3 euphoric over Indiana Jones 2007
360 BC update "in the next few weeks"
Thanks to the folks at the Gamerscore Blog, we've learned that the next Xbox back compat update "should be out in the next few weeks." In his earlier blast against BC, Peter Moore proclaimed that nobody is concerned about it anymore, but thankfully the gentler Gamerscore peeps have set the record straight, stating: "We know for a fact that there are lots of people who continue to care about backwards compatibility, including the 'Emulation Ninjas' who are working full time on the updates. And those of us posting on this blog. And, of course, many of you." We suppose quarterly updates to the BC list aren't TOO bad (hey, they sure beat semiannual dashboard updates), but getting more than a dozen titles to work each time would definitely help a lot more for those with original Xbox favorites they'd prefer to play on their new machines. Personally, this blogger would like to see the following titles added to the list: Dead or Alive Ultimate, Doom 3, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Project Gotham Racing 2, LEGO Star Wars, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Soul Calibur II, and Capcom Classics Collection. It may not be realistic to expect Street Fighter support when Hyper Fighting is set to hit Live Arcade sometime in the near future, but one can (vainly) hope. [Via Major Nelson's blog] See also: Xbox BC not a priority, says Moore No Black on 360 till MS makes it so... or a sequel comes out US 360 backward-compatibility list shrinks A video tour of the Xbox Live Spring update SFII on Xbox Live: what's taking so long?
Portable LEGO Star Wars II details
Pro-G has some new details on the handheld versions of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. DS owners will have bragging rights with wireless 2-player co-op mode and 4-player versus mode, as well as customized touch screen controls. PSP gamers also have the co-op mode, in addition to a timed challenge mode that features unlockable characters from the first game. Unlockables are cool, but could introduce some continuity problems for the uninitiated. Then again, keeping track of all the Star Wars timelines ain't like dusting crops, boy! There, I said it.All eight versions of LEGO Star Wars II are scheduled for a September 12 release date.
LEGO Star Wars II jumps onto the Xbox 360
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy will now be making an appearance on the Xbox 360, along with its earlier announced platforms (which include pretty much every current-gen system). Whether creating a Han Solo-Greedo, lightsaber-wielding humanoid hybrid is really the wisest course of action or not is a debate best left to the fan community, however. (A green HanGreedo on the 360 -- it could work.) Our only hope is that the original LEGO Star Wars will make its way onto the official Xbox backward-compatibility list by the time the sequel's released in September. Getting those unlockable characters from the prequels onto the next generation would be awfully nice. (Transferable saves? Even better.) The complete Lucasfilm press release follows below. See also: LEGO Star Wars II out with OT DVDs Sept 12 Original Xbox Games Playable on Xbox 360 (last updated in March)
LEGO Star Wars II out with OT DVDs Sept 12
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy will be out this fall when it releases with the unaltered original trilogy DVDs on September 12th. Sure, the limited-edition double dipping on the theatrical version of the films may rile movie collectors, but fans do want Han shooting first on their Star Wars DVDs. (The "theatrical" release will only be available until December 31st.) The simultaneous release of game and film on DVD follows in the tradition of the Star Wars Battlefront games releasing alongside the special-edition release of the original trilogy as well as the retail launch of Episode III. The special-edition versions will also be included on each two-disc set. [Thanks, Spindash54, Phil Theobald, Princess Zelda, John, & Jonathan] See also: More LEGO Star Wars II character details Trailer with Yodarth, See-Chewpio, and Princess Obi-Wan Kejawa Hands-on with LSWII; visual mix-up with Diablo 3 ad snafu at IGN Wicket W. Warrick's blog on the game over at 1UP.com Wikipedia entry on "Han shot first"; also, the PvP T-shirt
More LEGO Star Wars II character details
Three new screenshots and a number of new playable character descriptions have been released for LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy... and Lucasarts has decided to share the LEGO love with us! Excerpts detailing the new characters and their abilities follow after the jump, as do the three screenshots mentioned, which capture Chewie, Han, Leia, and even Obi-Wan doing his best non-canon work (as can be seen in the Free Play shot aboard the Blockade Runner featured here). If you played through the original LEGO Star Wars on consoles or the PC, you'll be able to import its unlocked characters into the sequel, which should come in handy to begin General Grievous's training with Yoda. (More prequel characters = more sequel lightsabers.) And if you unlocked that secret (but short) bonus level--after completing all the mission requirements in the prequel--you know that you'll need to get your hands on the sequel. Anyone else lookin' forward to more LEGO action this fall? [Thanks, Chris]
More pics from LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
A few more screenshots from LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy have been posted for our viewing pleasure. Move along quickly, as these very well may be the droids you've been looking for (especially if you've had the privilege of playing the first game, as millions already have). We were originally going to link to an IGN developer diary on the title by director Tom Stone of TT Games and producer David Perkinson of LucasArts, but it turns out that most of the info given was actually spilled by David in an interview we covered near the middle of last month. Which leads us back to those lovely new LEGO screenshots--three they may be, but they do cover all the bases: Luke and Obi-Wan takin' in the town, the Millennium Falcon doin' its best speedy getaway, and the Dark Lord of the Sith chokin' up some Rebel scum. Lovely... truly lovely. [Via Eurogamer] See also: LEGO Star Wars II: Developer Diary LEGO Star Wars II: Return of the Original Trilogy
LEGO Star Wars II: Return of the Original Trilogy
IGN has netted an interview with David Perkinson of LucasArts to discuss--brace yourself--LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. If you loved the first game, you may be equally enthralled by the sequel. Key highlights from the interview include: The game is set in the world of the Original Trilogy (Episodes IV-VI). For those of you who don't know about the first 3 Star Wars films, shame on you. Over 50 new characters, plus the ability to import characters from the original LEGO Star Wars, bringing the total to just over 100 choices. Character creation: mix-and-match LEGO body parts from all of your unlocked characters. 2-player Co-Op mode, no online multiplayer, and DS players can enjoy 4-player Co-Op as well as a single-cart versus mode. Completely reworked vehicle system; non-droids can now enter and exit any vehicle they see at any time, and are free to roam about: "If you want to do the trench run in the Millennium Falcon, or even on a landspeeder, you now can." Sweet. Chewbacca can now rip off LEGO arms as a melee attack. Super Sweet. The title is being developed by Traveller's Tales, who worked on the original (and just recently began development on Super Monkey Ball Adventures), and should be released this fall for PS2, Xbox, GameCube, GBA, PSP, Nintendo DS, and the PC. [Thanks, Princess Zelda] [Update: Forgot a word; thought I'd add it back in.]
Holiday 2005 best bets for Mac gamers
While PC gamers are up to their armpits in Strog, exploring new ages and civilizations, and infiltrating Nazi strongholds sequel style, Mac enthusiasts can only sit back and wait as Aspyr, MacPlay, and MacSoft prepare ports of today's Windows hits. In the near future, Intel Macs might make it easier to share the love, but until then there's plenty of fun to be had with these stocking stuffers for your G5s and Minis: Call of Duty: Deluxe Edition Civilization III Complete (coming soon) The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer LEGO Star Wars Myst V: End of Ages (Limited and Collector's Editions only) Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 Sims 2 University Star Wars: Battlefront Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse Tiger Woods 2005 World of Warcraft Zoo Tycoon 2 With the exceptions of Stubbs and Rise of the Underminer, this roundup looks like last year's PC shopping list, but hey, there's something for everyone. Check out Apple's gaming page for more titles.
