The International House of Mojo

Blog site Gone Is Gone posted a little piece recently about Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. I don't know how close they are to insider knowledge, but they managed to get hold of a few new screenshots which are now up in our gallery.

Now sit down and twiddle your fingers or whatever you do to pass the time. We're in for a loooong(er) wait.

More Maniac Mansion goodies in the works? Well, it's hardly likely. Most probably LucasArts just renewing an old trademark.

Read the full scoop at Kotaku, or peruse the thrilling Trademark application in all its glory here.

What chance a MMMMOG?

Source: Kotaku

To those it may concern (like my ten year old cousin), the two games based on this summer's The Clone Wars that LucasArts is putting out will be released on November 11th, also the DVD/Blu-ray street date for the film.

For those who missed it or simply had something better to pay attention to at the time, like the speed at which their front lawn was growing, the two games in question are The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels and The Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance, the former being a Wii exclusive and the latter being a DS exclusive.

The only possibly notable thing about these releases is that Jedi Alliance is the first game to be developed by LucasArts' Singapore animation studio (the same folks responsible for the Clone Wars movie and TV series), and also the fact that the Wii MotionPlus was announced only after Lightsaber Duels could take advantage of it may have pissed off LEC or something.

Anyway. I just figured you might need something to read while your AVS pre-order was being processed.

According to Joystiq a Wii compilation is in the works featuring not only remade / enhanced versions of the Gamecube's Rogue Leader and Rebel Strike, but also the old N64 Rogue Squadron title.

If it pans out it'll be nice to get back in the cockpit again, even if it's Larry Holland's Star Wars Space Combat sims that are the real benchmark amongst fans.

Source: Joystiq

The game you have all been waiting for, Fracture, an original LucasArts IP is out today for Xbox360 and PS3.

If you want more info on it, there's a LucasArts VIP area open to the public here. While there you can also check out VIP areas for Indiana Jones and The Force Unleashed.

You can get a Fracture demo for each platform via the usual channels.

Source: LucasArts

Well, the wait will be on October 21 when LucasArts and BioWare formally unveil the gaming world's worst kept secret.



From the teaser postcard sent to a bunch of Game Sites (not including Mojo, one assumes) it is fairly obvious we're in store for a Loom MMO.

Source: Gamespy

Luke Skywalker, that guy from that one movie, will make an appearance in Force Unleashed via Downloadable Content, according to Wired (who, in turn, credit IGN). There will be two packs of DLC, one that features classic characters like Luke and Obi Wan Kenobi; the other one will add one new mission to the game.

Does this mean that Luke has travelled back in time, slept with some woman who then gave birth to Darth Vader, thus making Darth Vader and Luke have a hell of a weird father-son relationship? Did I just totally spoil Empire Strikes Back for you? And did I just totally rip-off Futurama? The answer: probably revealed along with the release dates and price tags for this extra content.

Source: Wired

It's a slow news week so we report to you... wired and every other gaming website in the world is writing up that over 1.5 million people (but no PC gamers, naturally) have unleashed their paychecks and pocket money on STFU during its first week of release.

Congratulations all round to the LucasArts marketing department.

In other tangentially related news, TT Games who have brought you LEGO incarnations of your favourite LucasFilm movies (and 'Attack of the Clones') have just released LEGO Batman in the US with other territories following around October 10.

Source: Wired

Hey, you. This is the last week to send in your reader opinion about Day of the Tentacle. So quit putting it off you slackers.

Remember, you wouldn't just be wasting your time on some disposal internet fluff! This is history we're making here. Think of the article as a time capsule where your thoughts will be preserved and enjoyed for years to come. Future generations are in your debt.

Penny Arcade be havin' anot'er plain with t' land-goose in... actually, I'll just talk English.

Penny Arcade have made a comic about Fracture, the new game from LucasArts, and it's a hoot (the comic, not the game -- tho' the game might be good too).

In other news, Metallus from the planet Molton Elements has sent word that MSNBC have picked their five favourite pirates in computer games, and Guybrush Threepwood ends up in spot five, though I'm sure it's a chronological list.

Mr Brush is popular in the article's comments page, despite, apparently, having a difficult name to pronounce.

As someone once said to someone: "it's French, honey. It's pronounced Gay-brush."

... in demo form. If you're still not sure about LucasArts' only original IP this year, now you can give it a go on Xbox Live before the game's release on 7th October. This means one thing - Sam & Max Wii will be wiping the floor with it.

If you're one of the people interested in this game you probably don't need to be told this, but today LucasArts has released the long-awaited Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS and PSP.

It is my hope that this experimental and low-key game finds its audience.

Some of the dedicated Indy fans over at the excellent TheRaider.net have noticed product pages for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. At first glance, the page doesn't possess anything of value, containing placeholder cover art and a purported release date of March 1st, 2009 (whatever), but upon scrolling down you'll see an official product description (too long to reprint here, though I'll add it to the database entry).

Sure, this doesn't contain all that much info that we didn't already know, but we've never had an official company line for this game yet, and considering the scarcity of the information surrounding Staff of Kings in general, this marketing spiel is probably worth reading for those hungry for any details. Also, despite the fishy listed date, this is surely an indication that the game's release is somewhere on the horizon.

Major things to point out is that the NaturalMotion and Digital Molecular Matter technology as seen in The Force Unleashed and boasted about during E3 2006 teasers (two and half years old, for God's sake) are still quite present, despite some past rumors to the contrary. Note that it is also claimed that you will get to play through key moments from the movies in the original trilogy. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that clash with the whole Having An Original Story thing? Or is it some sort of side mode? Ah well, there will surely be plenty of time to speculate as LucasArts continues to maintain silent on all things Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, which few probably thought would still be in development at this point when it was announced in 2005.

Update: According to Kotaku, we should expect to see LucasArts re-announce the game next week. (Thanks black_sheep and neon_git!)

At the beginning of this year, it was rumoured that a developer called A2M were working on a version of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings for less powerful consoles (Wii, PS2, PSP and DS) much like how Krome Studios have done with The Force Unleashed. The rumour suggested that their version not only had a smoother development than the LucasArts version but that it was going to be released this year to coincide with the home video release of Indy IV.

It seems like this might actually happen, as the European ratings board PEGI have just rated the game for handhelds. It's possible that the Wii and PS2 versions will be released with the next-gen LucasArts version, but the handheld versions were deemed different enough to be released earlier.

Interestingly, they've been given a surprisingly high rating: 16+.

At the very least, this does confirm that the title Staff of Kings is correct. Now, why haven't LucasArts said anything? Even the Clone Wars games haven't been rated yet!

UPDATE: Well, well, well. Since this was spotted, several sites have starting discovering new info. Here's two things I don't think anyone's noticed:
1. A2M confirmed that they were working on an Indiana Jones title for LucasArts, so that rumour's true.
2. That PEGI page has REMOVED the rating for the PSP version of the game. It did seem odd, as the PSP version is likely very similar to the PS2 version, for that one to be released. The radically different DS version alone makes more sense.

Kotaku also have a few interesting points, such as the possibility that the Nazis will be once again Generic Soldiers. Oh, and we got quoted by TheRaider.net. Woo!

Source: Siliconera

Former LucasArts employee and current Autumn Moon boss, Bill Tiller, has taken some time out from developing A Vampyre Story to talk to adventureclassicgaming.com about the development of the two aborted Full Throttle sequels.

My opinion is that there existed some major difference of opinion between the team and a particularly influential person, who didn’t like the direction we were going. And in the end those differences could not be resolved. So in the end instead of a team that had worked on Full Throttle 1 working on the sequel, LucasArts went with a team that hadn’t worked on the first game instead. And again, in my opinion, that was a mistake.

The article is peppered with beautiful "Payback" concept art by Tiller. It may not be new, but I don't think I've seen it all before.

Source: Adventure Classic Gaming

For those interested, the Force Unleashed demo is now available for the 360 and PS3.

Impression? Certainly reminiscent of the Dark Forces games, a lot of cool powers available off the bat, and it quite possibly has the potential to be a very fun game. On the flip side, the controls are, in my opinion... funky...

Additional Note from Gabez: Penny Arcade celebrate the arrival of STFU's demo with this most amusing comic

At E3 this year, Nintendo unveiled their new Wii peripherial - the MotionPlus - which gives absolutely perfect 1:1 control and which the Wii was supposed to have done in the first place.

According to the latest issue of Game Informer magazine, a lot of developers are annoyed at Nintendo for keeping this a secret from them, and the most vocal of them is LucasArts.

According to GameInformer:

LucasArts in particular wasn't happy at being kept in the dark - especially since it created Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels specifically for the console. The game was even included in Nintendo's press conference, the setting in which the Wii Motion Plus was introduced - which the game doesn't use, much to LucasArts' dismay.

While I understand LucasArts' annoyance, especially as swordfighting was one of the minigames used to demonstrate the device at E3, if they'd waited until MotionPlus was available Lightsaber Duels wouldn't be out until late 2009 - way after the Clone Wars TV series has finished.

Source: NeoGaf

You probably think of CHUD as a site about movies, but they'll also occasionally report about game-related stuff, such as when they spread the love about Sam & Max. And considering how much traffic that site gets, good on them for that.

Anyway, one of the CHUD guys was visting LucasArts/ILM HQ for whatever reason and couldn't help but notice some unrevealed concept art for the elusive game. For obvious reasons said images couldn't be shared, but here's a summary of their findings:

- Art with Indy and the staff of Moses shows Indy striking water with the staff, with Nazis in the background.

- The same elephant chase art that's been around for a while is up, so the elephant ride/chase could still be a go.

- In addition to San Francisco locations include India and China; I was hoping the elephant chase might take place on Lombard St. Sigh.

- One piece shows Indy looking at the Golden Gate Bridge being built. Previously we'd heard the game takes place in 1939, but the bridge was finished in 1937.

- Art also shows a Zepplin called the Odin.

- The response to inquiries about the title Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings were met with a smile and 'the title is not announced'.

If we were talking about any other game these tidbits would be nothing to write home about, but this is about as big a deal as news on the upcoming Indiana Jones game gets.

LucasArts' utter failure to promote Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings at E3 does not mean that the game is in (more) trouble, according to the probably-not-lying San Francisco based game studio when GameDaily inquired about the game's status. Here's the whole piece since it's not that big:

During our E3 demo with LucasArts this morning (Clone Wars, Fracture and Force Unleashed), DailyGame was able to confirm that the Indiana Jones videogame first shown at E3 2006 is still "very much" in development.

Rumors have swirled that the Indiana Jones game for PS3 and Xbox 360 had been cancelled, either because it missed the window tying it to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, or because recent layoffs had put development on hiatus.

That's very far from the truth, says LucasArts.

Apparently, the Indiana Jones PS3 and Xbox 360 game is "very deep into development," with a team "working very actively" to bring the game up to a form for public/media consumption. And, because the game shares an engine with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which ships this fall, such a display may not be as far off as you might think.

The progress the development team is making has apparently been paying off in strides, as one LucasArts representative told us that "the game looks great." With any luck, we'll be able to determine that for ourselves in the months ahead.

It might also be worth mentioning that Lucasfilm is supposed to have significant presence at next week's Comic-Con, where according to rumor they'll be unveiling their Crystal Skull home video plans.

Source: DailyGame

It sure seems like the long rumoured EA/Bioware / LucasArtrs MMO set in the "Old Republic" has been confirmed.

...EA CEO John Riccitiello has confirmed that the Bioware MMO is tied to Knights of the Old Republic and hinted towards a stronger involvement with Lucasfilm.

Speaking to Portfolio.com, Riccitiello proclaims, "We've got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development."

"And the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about, in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it."

When pressed for clarification as to whether this referred to a Knights of the Old Republic MMO, Riccitiello answered, "Yes."

So, there you go.

Source: Portfolio.com