Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Ultimate Sith Edition
Now, I’ve reviewed Star Wars: The Force Unleashed once before. I loved it. It was fantastic and really got me back into the Star Wars Universe again. Now, What if the Dark Side had won? What if the rebellion had never come to pass? Well, LucasArts is going to be releasing a new expanded edition of The Force Unleashed called the Ultimate Sith Edition. Basically you are going to get the original game as well as all the downloadable content (DLC) and an all-new exclusive bonus level.
Now, apparently this fall a new DLC is going to be released that continues The Force Unleashed storyline in a new “Infinities” story that takes place in an entirely new and alternative universe direction. It reimagines the Star Wars Universe with the Secret Apprentice killing Darth Vader (rather than letting him live in order to adhere to the Star Wars canon) and taking his place by the Emperor’s side, becoming the most power Sith Lord in the universe. This particular Mission Pack is takes place on Tatooine and will include battles with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bobba Fett.
The Tatooine DLC will also be included in the Ultimate Sith Edition however, there will also be a new exclusive level that won’t be available as DLC that concludes the “Infinities” storyline that will take place on Hoth with the Secret Apprentice taking on Luke Skywalker. Now that is going to be awesome. I’m not exactly excited about “re-buying” a game and having to beat it all over again, but it’s going to be hard to say no. I’m really excited. No news on a release date yet, and for more information you can go here. Enjoy some still frames from the new levels below.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Now, I’ll be the first to say that playing an MMORPG (”Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game”) is a bit intimidating to me. I look at World of Warcraft (”WOW”) and Everquest, and people are just addicted to the games. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea. Meeting fellow players online and going on quests together. Working on a team for a common purpose. The genius behind it cannot be overlooked. But, playing a game that has no end is just scary to me. It’s like once your hooked, it’s impossible to quite. Heck, my brother got to the point with WOW that he literally uninstalled the game and threw the install discs and everything he had associated with the game down the trash shoot. He simply couldn’t stop playing it and it had become distruptive to everything else in his life. Personally, I have taken the approach of stopping even before I start.
This, however, brings me to Star Wars - The Old Republic. Incredible!!! Now, if you’ve read this blog since the beginning, you know that I absolutely loved playing Star Wars - The Force Unleashed. Now, at heart, I’m definitely a Star Wars fan. I’m not a hardcore fanatic, but definitely a fan of George Lucas’s universe. And after watching the trailer for the new Star Wars MMORPG, I’d be lying if I wasn’t at least a little bit tempted to take the plunge. The game is being developed by BioWare and it is there first attempt at a MMORPG. If the trailer is any indication of what’s to come, there’s a good chance I’m sold. See for yourself below and enjoy!!!
Final Fantasy Dissidia
All I can say is WOW!!!
Also, in case you couldn’t figure it out, the video is mirrored so that it wouldn’t be blocked by YouTube. Enjoy.
Happy April Fool’s Day
April Fool’s Day is always an interesting day to follow the news. So much stuff gets “announced” that sometimes you find yourself caught up in some of the excitement…even though, most likely it is for nothing.
The movie studios had a number of HUGE announcements today:
- Warner Bros announced that a new Matrix movie was in the works entitled: The Matrix Resurrection (/film)
- The new Iron Man 2 trailer shows the title begin “Iron Man 2: Shock to the Heart” (Cinematical)
- Johnny Depp is apparently in talks to play the Riddler in the new Batman 3 movie entitled “Battle for Gotham”. The is also talk of bring Heath Ledger back as the Joker using CG wizardry. (JoBlo)
- Zack Snyder is in talks to direct a Star Wars reboot. (MovieWeb)
- Robert Pattinson has walked off the set of “New Moon”. As a result, production has shut down. (ScreenRant)
- George Lucas has decided that he wants to revisit his Star Wars universe again on the big screen with a new Legacy Trilogy. (MovieBlog)
Honestly, though, the one I really wanted to be real was the video and news release done by IGN concerning Super Smash Bros Brawl and DLC. The release states that Nintendo will be making available through Wii Expand - which is a new download service to be offered by the company - an expansion back, or add-on, for the game Super Smash Bros Brawl. This content will turn the game into a Mortal Kombat style game with gore and blood galore!! I was pumped at the idea of using Ike’s sword to sever a certain plumber’s head clean off. But, alas, it seems it was only an April Fool’s prank. You can check out the news release and video of the so-called game being played here.
Hope everyone had a fun day!!
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Trailer
I’ve recently beat Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3) and let me say that it was incredibly fun. Having all the powers of the force at your disposal in never before seen ways was amazing. Playing the game, you almost felt like you were a Jedi…or in this games case…a Sith.
For anyone who hasn’t heard of this game, it was developed by LucasArts and has become part of the Star Wars canon taking place between Episodes III and IV and follows a new protagonist name Galen Marek (aka Starkiller). What is interesting about this particular protagonist is that he is Sith Lord Darth Vader’s secret apprentice.
The development of the game engine and physics were quite interesting. The game used LucasArt’s proprietary “Ronin” game engine and then integrated “Havok” for rigid body physics, Pixelux Entertainment’s “Digital Molecular Matter” (DMM) for dynamically destructible objects, and NaturalMotion’s “Euphoria” for realistic non-player character artificial intelligence. The result is awesome. You never experience the same reaction twice an opponent. It was cool to force grip an enemy and then watch the enemy grab hold to a nearby object and hold on to it for dear life. Good times.
Gameplay was easy to pick up and fun. Even though some of the actions could seem repetitive, the combo capability and the artificial intelligence of the enemies varied the game enough to my liking. In addition, you earn experience points by killing enemies in unique ways so there was incentive to get creative.
What really got me hooked to the game was the story and the main character. Think about how messed up you’re going to be being trained by a guy (Vader) who, in his mind, has lost everything. Talk about becoming the target of his anger. The story, in it of itself, was a story of a fallen, mislead hero who finds his true calling and redemption. The redemptive hero has always been a story arc I have liked, so maybe that’s why I was drawn to this game so much. However, the concept art was incredible. This guy not only was a badass, but looked the part as well. I was hooked.
Here’s the synopsis of the story. [Don’t read it if you plan on playing the game at all and don’t want to spoil it for yourself.]
Vader discovers a Jedi’s child while on a mission, and because the force is strong with the child, he decides to raise him as his secret apprentice unknown to Emperor Palpatine. Upon reaching adulthood, Vader begins sending his apprentice on missions to hunt down the remaining Jedi as training for his ultimate goal - assassinating the Emperor. However, the Emperor’s spies find out about the apprentice and Vader is forced to kill his apprentice; throwing him into space. Vader, though, secretly dispatches droids to retrieve and revive him. Six months later, the apprentice is given a new mission: make contact with those who resist the Empire and foster a rebellion among them to distract the Emperor so that Vader would be able to make his move and destroy the Emperor. With a new mission now, the apprentice breaks into various Imperial facilities and rescues his pilot and love interest Juno Eclipse, Jedi Master Rahm Kota, Princess Leia Organa, and Senator Bail Organa. Over the course of these rescues, the apprentice learns the Jedi ways from Kota and develops a “kinship” with those he has been saving despite his initial dark intentions.
Senators Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Garm Bel Iblis meet to plan a rebellion against the Emperor and Vader attacks them and Kota by surprise arresting them with the intent to bring them before the Emperor himself for interrogation and eventually death. Vader then reveals to the apprentice that he was never meant to overthrow the Emperor, and that from the beginning he was the Emperor’s tool to expose his enemies. The apprentice is able to survive Vader’s attacks and escape. Upon ascertaining the senators’ location: the Death Star, the apprentice starts on one final mission.
Once inside the Death Star, the apprentice duels against Vader in an effort to rescue Kota and the senators. Upon initially defeating Vader, Kota attempts to fight the Emperor, but is blasted by the Emperor’s force lightning. At this point, you - as the player - choose to whether to seek revenge and finish off Vader or save Kota from the Emperor.
If you decide to attack and defeat the Emperor, Kota will stop you from finishing off the Dark Lord and killing him in hatred. However, the Emperor does a surprise lightning attack and the apprentice is forced to absorb it in order to allow Kota and the senators to escape. The apprentice dies and is martyred as a result, inspiring the newly formed Rebel Alliance. This is the canon ending.
If you decide to attack and kill Vader, the Emperor offers to let you take Vader’s place at his side. However, this offer is contingent on the apprentice proving his loyalty by killing Kota. The apprentice instead attacks the Emperor who in return crushes him with the Rogue Shadow (the apprentice’s ship). The story ends with the apprentice’s broken and crushed body being grafted with armor so he can serve as the Emperor’s assassin until he can find a new apprentice.
There a presently some rumors out there that they might make this into a movie which would be cool, but I doubt the rumors are true. Regardless, the game I found more enjoyable the any of the prequels that Lucas did. It definitely got me pumped up for Star Wars again.
I also bought the book - an adaptation of the game - to help fill in the blanks that the game left out. I’m excited to start reading it. The book will definitely complete the whole experience for me.
Here is some really cool concept art for the game:
