Star Wars - The Force Unleashed 122
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.
Wow...? (Score:2)
Didn't have much to say about it, was interested to see what everyone else had to say. Apparently nothing.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
I want it on the Wii!! there was a mock-up video [youtube.com] on youtube about what it'd be like to fling clone troopers through walls by swinging your wiimote. I WANT that.
And since we're on the Wii + StarWars subject.. when are they going to release a lightsaber [gamasutra.com] duel game [1up.com] for the wii? I mean, It's clearly what the console was designed for
Re: (Score:2)
Great another (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Curse of Monkey Island - http://www.dvdcrave.com.au/products/product.jsp?pi d=21597 [dvdcrave.com.au]
Full Throttle - http://www.dvdcrave.com.au/products/product.jsp?pi d=32813 [dvdcrave.com.au]
Grim Fandango - http://www.dvdcrave.com.au/products/product.jsp?pi d=6505 [dvdcrave.com.au]
Sam & Max - http://www.dvdcrave.com.au/products/product.jsp?pi d=32814 [dvdcrave.com.au]
Jedi Knight + Addon - http://www.dvdcrave.com.au/pr [dvdcrave.com.au]
Re: (Score:2)
No Wii? (Score:5, Insightful)
On the plus side, it is refreshing to be the bad guys. Just let us Wii owners (there are alot of us, possibly more than you thought would be)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I'm sure you can still push decent graphics out of it, but Lucas is a graphics snob, and he will want the best. Regardless this game is real heavy on the use of physics, which requires a top-notch processor, which the Wii does not have.
This is what I feared, the Wii would be very popular early on, but the truth is that good graphics sell. When people initially saw screenshots for Oblivion two years ago, no one believed a console could push
Re: (Score:2)
And so, they're publishing it on the PS2...
As far as I can tell, the real reason why they're hesistant to release this on the Wii is because of all the expectations gamers have of a "1337 l1gh754b3r g4m3". Everyone wants to see the Wii remote used for some sweet lightsaber ac
Re: (Score:2)
I doubt the Wii can handle the physics in that engine. They could have just outsourced the Wii port to someone else as well, but I imagine they will make a seperate, in-house Wii game down the line.
However, LucasArts also said they only want to release 1-2 Star Wars games a year now, as to not oversaturate the market.
Battlefield was the best selling Star Wars game of
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
The Wii won't be abandoned, but customer demands will in fact be very different two or three years down the stretch.
If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say this physics engine has been two or three years in the making, and is largely the backbo
Re: (Score:1)
In your world, maybe. Out here, there are plenty of us who care about the fun factor a hell of a lot more than what the game looks like.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm not speaking of my personal opinion, but rather an industry rule.
It is a simple, cold-hard fact. Games with poor graphics do not sell.
They can be fun, and I prefer good-gameplay over graphics personally. I can't tell you the number of times I've played Fallout, Ultima 7, Planescape, etc. over modern RPGs.
Right this moment I'm running through Shadowrun on the NES, Breath of Fire, and Worlds of Xeen again for nostalgia because modern RPGs are lacklust
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Bull. Games can sell well without great graphics if they got other things right. Would you call The Sims, GTA or Animal Crossing a pinnacle of graphics? Hell, games don't need to do anything right except for marketing, look at Enter The Matrix.
Re: (Score:2)
That makes the game seven years old. Now compare it to graphics of other games seven years old.
The graphics were rated an 8 on average by most reviewers.
GTA was hailed as having absolutely incredible graphics for the time in which it was released, and Vice City is one of the best looking games ever on the PS2.
Honestly, I never played Animal Crossing and I can't comment on it, but you brought up some really bad examples.
Re: (Score:2)
And even though it meant leaving behind all the work people had done on their Sim creations, people spent money and jumped to The Sims 2, because graphics trump all.
I spend a good portion of my time talking to professional game developers. Try telling that that graphics don't equate directly to sales or a lack of sales, and you'll get laughed at.
As for Vice City, it averaged 9.6 in reviews, and mo
Re: (Score:2)
when are people going to learn that graphics aren't the end all for games. This generation it just way too expensive just to enjoy these graphics. the P
Re: (Score:2)
People don't drop 10,000 on a high-end plasma because they don't care about graphics. If graphics didn't matter, then console makers wouldn't literally lose money on hardware to push the graphics envelope.
Go to any major games review site, and the first thing you'll read in most any game review is a discussion on the graphics.
A good looking ga
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, but about 10% of households in the US have HDTVs. When you leave the US, the numbers get lower.
Re: (Score:2)
And we passed the 15% mark in 2005. That was two years ago. Last I saw they predicted over 80% penetration of HDTV in homes by 2010.
I'm looking for current numbers...
"Between 2006 and 2007, HDTV is positioned to jump from roughly 30% to about 50% of all U.S. homes."
http://www.natpe.org/memberresources/natpenews/arc hives/200504/leadstory2.shtml [natpe.org]
There you go.
Re: (Score:2)
the gamecube was still more powerful than the PS2. It was lack of third party support that killed the cube. the wii might not have a huge graphics leap over the last gen consoles like the 360 and PS3 have, but that doesnt mean you can't get great games with awesome graphics out of it. The friggin PS2 and DS are still sellin like hotcakes! Why? awesome games.
This quote manages to both be technically correct and a spectacular example of missing the point.
It was indeed lack of third party support that killed the Cube. By the same token, it was massive third party support that secured the PS2's overwhelming victory. However, and this is the important point, there is *no* indication that this situation is likely to change during this generation. Moreover, once the novelty value and hype/astroturf that accompanied the release has vanished, the Wii's situatio
Re: (Score:2)
Vagrant Story
Resident Evil 4
Shadow of the Colossus
FFXII
Smash Bros: Melee
Zelda: Twilight Princess
I guess you just need to excuse my fanboyism. Perhaps its only wishful thinking that people will look past ultra realistic graphics.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
You really need a separate game with the Wii in mind.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Are we also forgettting that Havok 3.0 also comes BUILT-IN to the Wii? No one gives it enough credit; true, it's not overpowered (I also need to remind you th
Re: (Score:2)
Blind fanbois don't impress me.
Try using some facts next time.
And the PS3 is literally about 23 times as powerful as the PS2.
I just tried Google searches for Wii and Havoc, and Wii and Havoc 3.0
Nothing. So I tried the technical specs on Nintendo's site, and then Havoc's site. Nothing.
I did find an article on how the Unreal 3.0 engine will never come to the Wii, because the Wii isn't powerful enough to run it.
Re: (Score:2)
The Unreal 3 Engine won't run on the Wii because it lacks the basic power to run it. Those are facts.
And you still have no clue what you're talking about. Havok is being used in some Wii titles. Try reading your own links.
The Wii doesn't come with Havok built in.
Don't try to talk shit when you have no clue what you're talking about it.
Re: (Score:2)
Saying that it is built into the console means that it is built into the console, not that a dozen or so titles have it licensed.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
If the controller had force-feedback, you could simulate at least some resistance of hitting your opponents or their weapon.
I wonder if the PS3 will ever have force-feedback in their controllers. Because of the patent-suit they lost, they will have to invent a new form of force-feedback.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
"Only Imperial Stormtroopers are this precise."
Though I just realized that in most LucasArts games, you've fought droids quite a bit. LucasArts didn't want the games to be viewed as violent or bloody.
This game should be a big departure in that department.
Re: (Score:1)
The parent is completely correct. Without some sort of feedback when your weapon strikes your opponent's blade/weapon, this will feel odd, and probably affect the duels quite badly.
Re:No Force Feedback OH PALEEEZE (Score:5, Insightful)
Just think about what happens when you swing your lightsaber, in this theoretical game, at your opponent and he parries. On the screen, he catches your blade with his and, to all intents and purposes, it stops moving. In the living room, meanwhile, there is no such physical impediment for you to encounter. Your momentum carries through your swing, even if the Wii-mote gives you a buzz of force-feedback. The result is that you are now positioned completely differently to your on-screen avatar. Even if the game has some code to tell it what to do when this happens (which would be difficult - probably impossible - to implement to everybody's satisfaction), the illusion of being in an actual lightsaber duel is lost. With eps 4-6 style "slow" duels, this is bad enough. The moment you try to simulate an eps 1-3 style fast-moving duel this way, the whole thing becomes a soggy mess.
Re: (Score:2)
With Jedi Knight 2, which had, to my mind, the best implementation of a lightsaber I'd seen to date, the rules were fairly simple. Primary and secondary fire for different types of stroke, combined with directional movements, to give a basic armament of lightsaber moves. Within this f
Re: (Score:2)
I've studied fencing and I believe that even without resistance, if the game could properly recognize and translate the basic forms for thrusts, slashes, parries, and feints then it would work perfectly fine. It wouldn't even need to be completely free form, just have four different types of each for the four quadrants of y
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
What if someone comes in, records it, then posts it on the internet...boy will you look stupid
Re: (Score:2)
What if someone comes in, records it, then posts it on the internet...boy will you look stupid
Re: (Score:1)
Re:No Wii? Or Why the Wiimote is with you ... (Score:1)
OOhh! oohhh! (Score:2, Funny)
Well now... (Score:2, Interesting)
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 Repu
Re: (Score:1)
Hmm, thinking in terms of absolutes? That's Sith-thinking right there, sounds like you're well on your way!
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I never followed Thundercats that closely, but I believe 'Worlds Without End' - a two-part episode involving a paralell universe - should at least partially sate that why-can't-Cobra-carry-the-day-for-once? hankering. To this day, I still would not mind seeing how said paralell world got the way it
I've had trouble... (Score:2)
I'm shocked that Lucas of all people would allow a game that caters to the Dark Side fan-base so much.
I'm light-side for life, but my wife's panties will no doubt get wet when she sees this.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
"Despite playing on the side of the Star Wars saga's "bad guys", the player's role is somewhat sympathetic, not only because he lives in fear under the shadow of Darth Vader and other unforgiving superiors, but also because the game's portrayal of the Empire--dictated, of course, by the player's superiors--focuses on its role as a guardian of order."
Even with Bounty Hunter, you played the villian in a somewhat good-guy role, hunting down other bad guys.
And for the record, we need a next-gen X
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
I agree wholeheartedly, and have quite a few ideas for this game...
First, engine. I'm not sure anyone's topped Freespace 2, so that'd be a good basis.
Yes, we want the unfolding campaign(s); bonus points for branching missions, as well as success or failure in a given mission (or optional objective therein - see Tiberian Sun), or choice of mission branch, affecting subsequent missions (Ace Combat X do
Re: (Score:1)
Re:I've had trouble... (Score:4, Funny)
If any of us had any doubts about your ability to attract women before this comment, we have none now.
Re: (Score:2)
360 and PS3, not PC (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
full article text (Score:1, Informative)
The first details of LucasArts' PS3 and Xbox 360 Star Wars project have finally emerged, from the latest issue of US mag Game Informer.
It's called Star Wars: Force Unleashed and takes place between Episode III and Episode IV, when new Sith on the block Darth Vader is out to wipe the galaxy clean of runaway Jedi.
As Vader's apprentice, you're on a secret mission to dive head-first into the forbidden Dark Side of the force, take out the emperor and rule the galaxy as master and apprentice
Re: (Score:2)
That's not an advertisement, it's a warning, much like that blue oval on the front and sometimes back of many American cars.
Vader attacks Palpatine? (Score:3, Interesting)
Well... not that anything else that happened in 1-3 was in character...
Probably a protection mission (Score:2)
Maybe you're spotting Vader lifting weights?
Re: (Score:2)
"You play Vader the Nutritionist in this exciting, and educational, Lucas Games release!"
Re:Vader attacks Palpatine? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:1)
What sith wouldn't want to kill their master and take over? It's totally in character.
Re:Vader attacks Palpatine? (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
Re: (Score:1)
Him somehow being allowed to live if the attempt failed is somewhat harder.
SWG (Score:2)
From TFA: There's also the suggestion of being able to control your own pack of Rancors, the gigantic beasties that Jabba the Hutt likes to keep under his gaff.
Take heart, fellow Creature Handlers!
Re: (Score:1)
CH was my favorite profession in SWG. Sure I wasn't the most uberleetyeah nerd on the block, but it was fun running around with my three bio-engineered Rancors. If you've never seen a height-maxed Wookiee carrying a T-21 rifle dancing with three Rancors in step behind me - well then my friend, you simply haven't lived... (or you got a LOT more sun than I did during the year and a half I played SWG).
Lucasarts...Please get it right... (Score:1)
Not that THAT has ever happened before on a Star Wars game. On a Nintendo platform. Or any other platform.
Finally! (Score:3, Funny)
X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (Score:2, Interesting)
Try MMOG Re:X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Euphoria-physics-engine (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.videosift.com/video/Euphoria-physics-en gine-GC-2006-demo [videosift.com]
Looking Good.
Still waiting for Wii-enabled light saber duels (Score:1)
No, the cat does not "got my tongue." (Score:1)
And please make the light sabers power-uppable with crystals and whatnot like KoToR. That, too, is sweet.
Whatever happened to playing the Good Guy? (Score:1)
Watch me be right! (Score:1)
Official website (Score:1)
They have some good looking concept art there, but I'd like to see in-game stills.
Also, this looks interesting:
Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) by Pixelux Entertainment
What is DMM? DMM -- exclusive to LucasArts for any game releases through September 2008 -- brings an unprecedented level of realism to the new generation of consoles by making completely interactive environments that react as they would in real life. From crumbling walls to shattering glass and e
Re: (Score:2)
Secondly, what's the point in claiming the Wii might not have the power to cope with it when you follow it up with mention of the PS
Re: (Score:1)
Whaddaya say they make a kindof addon-sword to attach to the current Wii-mote, of course this still wouldn't work singleplayer, but you might get some nasty multiplayer with a couple of those things!
Re: (Score:2)
Concerning your controller argument, it seems less about precision and more directed at the lack of games that use the remote as anything but a replacement for hitting buttons. The best thing to do would be to rent/buy Wari
Re: (Score:2)
There are currently very strong signs, of which this story is one, that developers *are* hesitating to port games to the Wii. Sure, it's by no means universal and you can find counter-examples, but the simple fact is that more or less every cross-platform game scheduled for the Wii is a shovelware movie-license. These have never been made on cutting edge technology and most of them, for now, are still essentially last-gen games in every respect. Moreover, as we saw with the J
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I mean, I do wish they did a native Linux verison. In fact, with most of the Jedi games (using the Quake 3 engine), it would've been a simple recompile. Then again, the Quake3 engine does REALLY well under Wine (better than native Windows), so I guess it's not all bad...
And by the way, the game+Linux
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)