Star Wars - The Force Unleashed

CVG has the news from the front cover of Game Informer's March edition: the next-gen Star Wars title LucasArts has been working on is called Force Unleashed. Set in the relatively unexplored time period between Episodes III and IV, you'll be taking on the role of a dark side agent assisting Darth Vader to hunt down the remainder of the Jedi. The game will use the much-touted Eurphoria physics engine LucasArts has been working on, and will feature a number of elaborate force-using effects. Highlights from the game may include (spoilers ... feel free to look away ...) a fight with Shaak-Ti in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and assisting Vader in an attempt on the Emperor's life. There's even talk of allowing you to play out 'alternate paths', in which the dark side ultimately wins the Galactic Civil War. No word on a release date, but the game will come primarily to 360 and PC. PSP, PS2, and DS ports are being farmed out to another developer.

Well now...

[navygeek]

I have to say, even as a minor SW geek, I'm intrigued by this. I like the idea of being a 'bad guy' from the outset, that isn't something you see a lot of in games - usually the game is setup so you play as the hero.

I remember wishing, back in the day when I used to watch cartoons like GI Joe, Transformers, and Thundercats - I believe this was last Thursday, that the bad guys would win one - if only to mix things up a bit.

I like being given a choice to be good or evil, a la the Knights of the Old Republic series, but sometimes it's just so much more fun to be straight up evil. The idea alone has me wanting to see/hear more - if the game play lives up to the theory, I may even buy this 350,001st Star Wars title.

That said, I do agree that seeing some of the older lines brought back to life would be wonderful. Guybrush Threepwood for Emperor.

Vader attacks Palpatine?

[MeanderingMind]

Am I the only one who finds the idea that Vader attempts to kill Palpatine before Return of the Jedi ludicrous and out of character?

Well... not that anything else that happened in 1-3 was in character...

X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter

[goten]

Am I the only one out here who wishes LucasArts would just bring back the X-Wing series with some updated graphics? No change in gameplay at all, but some nice new shiny models.

Re:Vader attacks Palpatine?

[SanityInAnarchy]

Why is it ludicrous and out of character? Vader's violent and out of control, no reason he wouldn't try to kill his master and be #1 -- in fact, that's basically what he wanted to do with Luke, if you remember. How can he "rule the Galaxy as father and son" if Palpatine's in the way?

Regardless, this isn't the first time they've tried this. Play through the Episode III videogame, and check out the alternate ending if you play as Annakin. (Spoiler: Annakin does not become robo-Vader (since he wins the fight with Obi-Wan), returns to his master Palpatine and kills him easily.) Indeed, if Obi-Wan hadn't burned away most of Annie's body, he'd be much more terrifying as Vader -- which does provide an explanation for how much worse a fighter Vader is in Episodes IV-VI.