LucasArts: The Magic Continuesâ¦
262941
Unless youâve been living under a rock, you&#39;re familiar with Star Wars creator, sometimes director, George Lucas and his production company Lucas Films.
582417
The script Allan Houston and the Knicks continue to write keeps getting curioser and curioser. Call it Allan in Wonderland, for Tweedledum may have had it pegged in Lewis Carroll&#39;s
104521
You have a motorcycle, you're besieged by demons, your head is on fire. How could a video-game maker botch a winning formula like that? By Lore SjÃ¶berg.
758000
Tycho: Keek directed me to a radical (and potentially even "badical") article on BioShock over at Gamers Wif Jobs. I've been wondering about the recent PR shift the game has gone through, because I don't just keep hearing that it is a "shooter first," but I keep hearing specifically that it is a "kick-ass shooter," even though it's a game where you learn about Objectivism underwater while helping jealous composers get revenge. I've never doubted that the game will be great, by whatever road it reaches that greatness. The recent WWE slant just had me curious about whether I'll be able to perform a suplex in-game. You may not think that is important, but it is totally important.(CW)TB
424911
Tycho:  Rhythm games aren't my forte, but I have a lot of inbuilt experience with meter which helps me fake it until I can build genuine skill.  And, as rhythm elements have crept into the entire medium, Tycho stock has been in a boom phase.  It's understandable, then, that while I soar and illuminate - and Gabriel sputters, bound to earth - tensions related to my prowess have begun to burn red-hot.  That is, until they cool again.  These things have a way of working themselves out in the fullness of time.          There's an incredible article over at Wired this month (and possibly also in the magazine?) about the Bungie's psychological approach to game design.  What a tremendous challenge it must be to retain authorial control in such a case!  As someone whose output is rarely screened by any agency, the whole thing gave me chills.  The right to fail nobly in a creative endeavor (as we sometimes do) is such a powerful luxury.  No such luxury may be extended to them, upon whose toil an entire platform rests.  God keep me from such a fate.          I keep hearing that Metroid Prime 3: Corruption isn't being promoted very well, but the person saying this always seems to know about it, and then when people share this complaint in the thread those people also seem to be "in the know."  It ships on the twenty-seventh of August, if you weren't aware - but since you almost certainly are, we needn't dwell on it.  What we should be dwelling on are the series of teaser vids that Retro has been trickling out.  Metroid's largely mysterious heroine has always been a huge draw for me, and going into deep detail about the character would actually damage the mystique.  But the universe she operates in need not be vague, which is why these clips are such a rich meal:  there's the Aurora Unit trailer that modernizes ancient Metroid canon in a classy way, and there's a treat at the end of the Valhalla trailer that ties it all together.  They both cover a setting that has gotten darker and more sophisticated, tones we don't typically associate with Nintendo.       We like to get kicks in on the post-Harmonix Guitar Hero, partly based on their "wacky" multiplayer concept - which ordinary gamers will probably love - but also out of a sort of tribal loyalty.  This having been established, they've built an authentically heroic tracklist that really has a lot of beef.  Going from the most recent Rock Band announcement out of Leipzig, both versions appear to have Radiohead's "Creep" and the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage," which is something of a comfort.  After seeing different songs on each game from Metallica and The Rolling Stones, I wasn't sure if they were already traveling down the catalogues securing exclusive weaponry.  I hope that the labels in this case see the old wisdom of arming both sides.
145019
Gabe: I know we don't talk about our game much. We really don't want to beat you guys over the head with it. Honestly we handle most of our big projects that way. We try to make coming here "easy" and I don't want you guys to feel like you're constantly being pitched something. Balancing that against the fact that if we don't tell you about things like new shirts and books you are less likely to purchase them is tricky. another reason for the lack of coverage is that we really weren't sure the game was going to be any good. We're doing a lot of the art and all the writing but the reality is that this was a collaboration with the Hothead guys and until very recently I wasn't convinced making the game was a good idea.Tycho said it best in a couple interviews "games look like shit until they look awesome." it's really more than that though because they also play like shit until they are fun. I remember getting the first build months ago and telling Tycho we should scrap the entire thing. The builds kept coming though and they kept getting better and better. I understand now that that's just how game development works. It wasn't until the most recent build that I finally saw something genuinely fun. The Hothead guys obviously knew what they were making but for me it was like looking at a sketch and not understanding how it could ever be a finished painting. I've played through it multiple times now and I can tell you truthfully that it's funny and it's fun to play. If you like PA I believe you will enjoy it. If you don't know about PA I think you will still laugh and If you hate us you'll hate our game. The game just hit beta and Hothead is polishing it more and more every day. I can tell you that what I see right now I'm honestly proud of. Tycho has written some of his best stuff for this game. Like me, he hates himself and hates the things he makes so he would never link you to this, but I feel like he deserves it. A while back Tycho spent a week at the Hothead studio writing non stop for the game. Ron Gilbert was up there as well and he posted this on his blog shortly after."Jerry from PA is up here as well doing the writing and it's a thrill to see him work.He's a top-shelf writer, right up there with Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman."I'm sure when Tycho sees I linked that he'll go right for his wrists, but it's true. An early build of the game recently made its way through the media digestive system. The result is that you will see coverage of it popping up at many of your favorite game news sites. Everything I've seen so far has been very positive but I guess that's the way it is with previews. I think the best place to go is Gametrailers as they simply post high quality video of the game being played. You can make your own decisions based on what you see. If you want more you can watch the 1up show where a narcoleptic Jedi will tell you that the game is "like not really like PA but also like totally like PA." Maybe that's helpful to someone? The Gamelife blog over at Wired also has a very complete write up of the game if you want more than just raw footage. It's funny, before the game I never would have thought twice about calling someone a narcoleptic Jedi. After I had typed it out though I paused. Am I Derek Smart now? Will this effect our PR persons relationship with 1Up and other media outlets? Will they savage us in their review and will that hurt sales? Should I not talk about the coverage at all?Even if all of that is true should I care?Obviously the answer is no. -Gabe out
114753
Gabe: ***STAR WARS NERD CRAP!***I've been meaning to mention Karen's new book in the Republic Commando series for a while but I wanted to wait until I finished it. I'm a ridiculously slow reader so I didn't actually wrap it up until a few weeks ago. If you're reading the series "True Colors" is out in stores and it's great. If you're not reading the series you should start at the beginning. Karen is essentially covering the Clone Wars like a real war correspondent would. Seeing as that was her previous job it makes sense. She's looking at the war and asking the questions a real journalist would ask. "Why do we all of a sudden have a clone army? Don't they take ten years to grow?" "How are we paying for this?" "Why doesn't anyone ever see veterans or wounded clone troopers returning home?" She is cutting through the Galactic/imperial propaganda and showing the war from the point of view of the soldiers. Star Wars fiction tends to be about Jedi. All the movies are about Jedi and almost all of the books tend to revolve around Jedi and their lives. Republic Commando is refreshing because it's not about Jedi. It's about soldiers fighting a war that the government will never let them win. The newest book also happens to introduce my new favorite Star Wars characters. Gaib and the Tk-0 droid are data bounty hunters. Essentially hackers for hire. So fucking awesome.  *** END OF STAR WARS NERD CRAP***  I also have some Child's Play updates for you. If you couldn't make it to the dinner last week or you just want to remember how rad it was, you can hit Kiko's Flickr for his pictures. As of last Friday we're up to $850,000 for the year. It looks like we'll have no problem breaking a million before we wrap things up in January.This is the last day for a very cool Heroes auction over on eBay. The auction was assembled by our friend Ollie who works on the show. He managed to get a pilot scrip signed by a bunch of the cast members as well as a bunch of other great Heroes collectibles.-Gabe out
704636
Gabe: I took the Wii home over the weekend and was able to put quite a bit of time into Zelda. There was what I would describe as a bru ha ha over at Joystiq when one of their bloggers claimed the game was a flop. He cited its terrible graphics as reason enough to dismiss it entirely. The response in the thread afterwards was heated with lots of people claiming that the graphics weren"t as bad as he claimed and that the game actually looked really good. Having played it all weekend I"m here to tell you that"s not the correct response.
438397
The follow-up to last year's hit game, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, offers more proof that sequels often pale next to the originals. While it boasts addictive gameplay and rich character development, the sequel suffers from numerous technical glitches. Game review by Suneel Ratan.
235776
We&#39;ve uncovered some additional info on the upcoming Electronic Arts&#39; title. Looks like this won&#39;t be another Catwoman.
324123
Tycho: Two new shirts today. One based on the Broodax Strips, which can be found here, and looks like this:   And another shirt based on the control scheme for Starfire Saga V: Laserion, which can be found here, and looks like this:   (CW)TB
760844
Tycho:  We grabbed a couple demos yesterday afternoon to see if we were missing anything, specifically Tenchu Z and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and came away with the expected comic materials.  I think Tenchu Z may get explored in a more robust fashion in Monday's strip, but after the loading is complete the demo flashes up one of those screens that is completely grown over with control instructions.  It wasn't even an especially bad one, and there are very, very bad ones, like the one in the demo for StarFire Saga V: Laserion.  It was merely an assault on the mind, paralyzing in its way.
676094
THE WRAPPER IS only just off Activision&#39;s Doom III and there are already a list of mods and cheats for the game. The mods are already top hits at Gamespot, including one which makes it possible to shine a
598055
Custom mods -- from cars to dental crowns -- show off a certain inspired devotion to George Lucas' sci-fi film series.
449735
Gabe: The mood in the office this morning is somewhat tense. We all spent the weekend playing FFXII and we came back today completely divided regarding its quality. I have to admit that after putting in nearly fifteen hours over the past two days I"m prepared to call it the best FF game I"ve ever played. I know that"s at odds with what I said on Friday but it"s the truth. Tycho and Robert are actually playing together and they"re at about the five hour mark. They came in this morning saying the game was trash and I can"t blame them. They"re knee deep in what I"d describe as the tutorial phase of the game. If you played Kingdom Hearts II you"ll remember that"s a game that doesn"t actually start until nearly eight hours in. I don"t mean like you don"t start having fun until then, I mean you literally don"t even see the title screen until you"ve dicked around with Roxas for eight fucking hours. FFXII felt the same way to me. It"s extremely slow to start but now I"m having a hard time putting the controller down.
661003
Gabe: I just have some random stuff to share here.Pokemon League night is next Tuesday at the Comic Stop. Matches start at six pm, but you can show up a little early if you'd like to trade cards. As always new players are welcome, just bring a starter deck. It's also a good idea to register at Go-Pokemon.com and bring your POP ID. A reader wrote in today to tell me that he was doing the New York Times crossword puzzle for January 30th and noticed this clue for 12 down:  "Tycho's pal in the webcomic 'Penny Arcade' (4 letters)." That's totally awesome. I'm sure the Force Unleashed will be fine. The time period around the original trilogy is just getting so crowded. Now Vader has a secret apprentice? I mean, it makes sense canonically to me. The Emperor had Mara Jade out there doing his dirty work. It's not unreasonable to think Vader had a similar arrangement. Also the very nature of Sith rule makes covering your ass a necessity. The hook for the game is fine and I don't mind the 3rd person action stuff. There are a few games I'd much rather see them make though. The fact that they have not made a sequel to Republic Commando is fucking criminal. That's not a joke either. I mean that someone over there should be put in jail for the rest of their life. RepCom was an incredible squad based shooter, and unlike most games in that genre it was packed with awesome characters. This games deserves a next gen sequel. The other game that needs a next gen installment is Tie Fighter. Seriously that game came out in 1994 and it's one of the best space shooters ever. And for fucks sake stop setting things during the movies. There's nearly sixty years worth of incredible content (minus the dark nest series) extending out past Return of the Jedi. You don't have to keep trying to cram stories into the same 20 year period. They're milking so much content out of that period that eventually we'll be playing a game as Luke where the goal is to repair vaporators on the south ridge. Hurry up you've only got 'till mid day!Rez is available on Xbox Live now. It's one of the best games ever made.   The most popular piece of clothing we've ever made, AKA The Black Mantle is back in stock. It's joined by its polar opposite, the Luminous Vestments. I have a feeling both will be sold out before I finish typing this.   -Gabe out
410722
Star Wars: Battlefront is an absolute blast and one of the most immediately satisfying game offerings yet from George Lucas' stable.