Disney isn’t just sitting on the games made by LucasArts as many feared when they bought LucasFilm. They’ve made a deal with GOG.com to sell six old Star Wars games, three of which aren’t available on Steam. Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance, and Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds are now available to buy, while Star Wars Battlefront II, Star Wars: Dark Forces, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords have been brought from Steam. These follow a few even older Star Wars games being rereleased last fall. And enticingly, GOG is promising another six LucasArts games over the next ten days. Maybe a few non-Star Wars games, please? Read more…
True Detective is my new Breaking Bad, in that it’s an intense, thoughtful, well-written, deliberately-paced show with outstanding production values that I can’t stop thinking about all week. Even now, I’m mulling stuff over for this Sunday’s final episode. (Each season will have its own characters and story arc, so everything is wrapping up in episode eight.) The guys at Dorkly had some different detectives on their mind, however, and decided to mash up True Detective‘s distinctive, amazing opening sequence with LucasArts’ classic adventure game Sam & Max Hit the Road. The game, which stars an anthropomorphic dog and rabbit (er, lagomorph) as freelance detectives, fits surprisingly well with the creepy opening. They only do about half, but they make up for it by mocking up one of Rust’s more notable diatribes using the in-game graphics. I love the interaction between Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, so I’d totally be down for a game featuring the two of them. Read more…
It was a semi-sad day when Disney closed Lucasarts recently — the studio was no longer the home of strong adventure games and other creative experiences, but it still seemed unfortunate. But we all knew that it couldn’t mean the end of Star Wars games; the official statement even said that Lucasarts would adopt a licensing model. Now we know where that license is ending up: in Electronic Art’s hands. Read more…
Next week, Lucasfilm LTD., Octagon and Nerdist Industries will be teaming up to host Course of the Force, a relay run benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Star Wars-themed race will take place over four days down the course of Southern California, starting on July 7th and finishing in San Diego on Wednesday July 11th, aka San Diego Comic-Con’s preview night. Each leg of the race will be capped off with special Star Wars events, parties, and live Nerdist broadcasts which can also be viewed remotely via YouTube or StarWars.com. To register for the event, visit the official website.
Set to be officially unveiled next week at E3, LucasArts has begun talking about their next big game, aimed at hardcore Star Wars fans: Star Wars 1313. It’ll be centered around criminal organizations and the grimy underbelly of Coruscant on Level 1313. You play as a bounty hunter navigating this treacherous area, and rather than deal with the the same Jedi and lightsaber business from every other Star Wars game (according to LucasArts) this will be noticeably separate from that. It’ll be a third-person “cinematic action adventure” so who knows what that means, but we’ll find out when E3 rolls around. Read more…
While watching this trailer for Kinect Star Wars, a few choice words came to mind, but if I had to choose one, I think I’d just ask why. Of course, I think it’s pretty obvious why LucasArts and Microsoft have done this. They’ve said it themselves — they’re appealing to the lowest common denominator. Well, congratulations, mission accomplished. More embarrassing footage after the jump. Read more…
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly three years since Namco Bandai’s Soul CaliburIV hit the market. Better known for its quick, combo-driven gameplay, and scantly clad femme-fatals, the latest entry in the series shocked us all when Namco Bandai teamed up with LucasArts to include several guest characters from the Star Wars universe. Some details have finally emerged regarding its long-awaited sequel.
I had written that I wasn’t entirely sure how they’d go about creating a sequel to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, but after viewing the trailer, I had a basic grasp of the premise. You play a clone of the previous hero who scrafices himself to save the rebellion. Subsequently, this extended production dairy delves a little deeper, giving us a better understanding of exactly what they have in mind for this upcoming sequel, from introducing narrative to characters we’ve seen before, such as Yoda and Boba Fett. If this piques your interest, the demo is now available for download on both Xbox Live! and Playstation Network.
At first, I found myself wondering how they managed to create a sequel seeing as the first Star Wars: The Force Unleashed had such a definitive pair of endings. Not to spoil anything — Episode IV pretty much does that for you, seeing as it takes place between episodes III and IV — but it’s either you or Vader at the end, and we all know how that turns out. So, naturally you’d think the game would be a sequel in name only — guess again. The game apparently takes place after the first, and as this trailer reveals, you play a clone of the previous hero. Again, you can probably guess the ending, but on the bright side, you’ll get more of that over-the-top gameplay we experienced the first time around. Of course, I don’t think anything is as over the top as using the force to crash a Star Destroyer, but who am I to judge.
I, for one, never really cared for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The art aesthetic never really spoke to me, and I suppose I can understand why — it was being marketed to kids after all. To me, trying to sit through an episode is like having to experience Jar Jar, or the Ewoks, for extended period of time. My personal tastes aside, the series certainly has its fair share of fans, both young and old. Given the current climate of social networking and the subsequent move toward casual gaming, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to cash in. Read more…
You’ll have to forgive me, but with the release of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge Special Edition only a day away, I felt it was probably a good time to show you exactly what to expect. The trailer above is a perfect example of the quality you can expect from LucasArts upcoming remake, in terms of voice acting, as well the visual enhancements. While I talked a little about that last week, I could only really illustrate so much with the screenshots. So, please take some time and check out this fantastic trailer — you won’t regret it.
Monkey Island is a series that has always held a special place in my heart, as it was one of the first point-and-click adventure games that I truly fell in love with. Unfortunately, the genre has fallen by the wayside in recent years. Developers have shifted their focus to first-person shooters, mmorpgs and casual gaming. We can’t really blame the developers, though — World of Warcraft and Bejeweled practically print money. Adventure games, on the other hand, don’t come with a monthly fee. As a result many developers lack the incentive to develop the games we all grew to love so many years ago. Thankfully, the guys over at Lucas Arts haven’t forgotten us just yet.
The Star Wars Battlefront videogame asks the big question: What’s it like to be an everyday character in the Star Wars universe? The answer is that it looks action packed! This is a teaser trailer for the latest chapter in that series which is titled Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron and is designed for the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. Of course what you’re seeing above sadly isn’t the actual gameplay, but it shows the level of love that Lucasarts has put into this game which is due out on November 3rd. Below is a beautiful promotional illustration followed by actual screenshots from the game (which feature a nice variety of settings): Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 2, 2009 in Videogames
There’s always something so rich about the games that LucasArts releases and Tales of Monkey Island for the Wii keeps to that tradition. Shown above is the official trailer and below is a sample scene which shows the “Launch of the Screaming Narwhal”. The developer of this game is Telltale Games which was founded by a team of former LucasArts employees who were working on the ill fated Sam & Max: Freelance Police project. I really love how they brought a cartoony feeling to a 3D world in what little I’ve seen of this game so far: Read more…
Frankly I wasn’t that crazy about the last three Star Wars films (three words: Jar Jar Binks) but of there are two things that George Lucas still knows how to do well it’s merchandising and preproduction art. These illustrations are for the upcoming second PC MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic — and I must say the images do inspire one to want to play with this mega multiplayer online title.
