The International House of Mojo

LucasArts.com has been updated with a new product spotlight for Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, which briefly appeared on Friday, disappeared on Saturday, and has now returned. The new site contains wallpaper, icons, and some interesting info. For example, it seems the big bad guard from The Shawshank Redemption is providing the voice of one of the main characters.

Dare I say it, but this site is a fairly good example of how Flash can effectively be used for web design in a non-annoying way.

Even more screenshots have been released for the upcoming online RPG Star Wars Galaxies, featuring some very impressive character models engaged in combat. Go to the offical website to gaze in awe. Thanks to Marek for the heads up!

IGN.com is publishing a diary written by BioWare Designer Lukas Kristjanson, who is working on the upcoming RPG titled Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Here's a highlight from the first entry:

Set 3,956 years before the Battle of Yavin (the destruction of the first Death Star in Star Wars: A New Hope), Knights of the Old Republic is right in the golden age of the Jedi and the Old Republic. 4,000 years might seem like the distant past, but the Republic has a history going back 25,000 years, beginning with the advent of hyperdrive and the initial bringing together of the galactic community. At game time, the last great battle between the Republic and the Sith Empire, the Exar Kun Sith War, is 40 years past, but the destabilizing effects of it are still being felt. There are many Jedi and Sith, but there is disorder and dissent within their respective groups. The player will find him/herself choosing a path between the two.

Deep down, I want to be a sith.

The theatrical poster for the IMAX version of Star Wars: Episode II was released on wednesday, and unfortunatly proves to be appropriate to the film's name. The sick joke poster shows everybody's favourite muppet ready to kick some serious landmark arse. Or as StarWars.com describes it:

"The biggest tiny Jedi Master looms large over several North American landmarks in artwork that recalls classic event posters of years past."

To view the abomination poster, click on the picture below or visit StarWars.com.

In what seems to be a pattern in the past week or so, Jedi Outcast for Gamecube and Xbox has gone gold. The game should be in stores around November 18th. There's also a new trailer on the official product spotlight, but if you've already played the game, there's nothing in it you haven't seen already. Also, I'm bored.

More goodies have been released concerning the upcoming massive RPG that is Star Wars Galaxies. The first ever screenshots of ingame combat have been posted on the official website. The screenshots are at a very high resolution and look very cool. The only other thing I can say is... poor Jabba palace frogs.

Kevin "Q-3PO" O'Hara has posted another weekly update about SWG here.

Those of you who feel hard done by about not getting in to beta 1 (grumble) will be pleased to know that he discusses the details of the second beta due out announced next week.

So if you haven't yet sent off your application, hurray up!

Source: Official SWG site

I was going to update with some "exciting" news but it turned out to be really widely know and boring... but I've done it now so... have it. The stores are now taking pre orders for the greatest Jedi film of the last 3 or so years!

Episode II attack of the [funny pun] both VHS and DVD are available to pay for and then get delivered to you a few weeks later... By which point you don't even remember any more and its really exciting, 'cause you get a call from work, and they are all like:

"There is a package for you here,"

And you go, "I don't remember ordering a pack.. wait.. is it from Toys R Us?"

"Well yeah... it is actually."

"... w00000000t"

....and so on so forth. So that's Star Wars Episode II, UK release date Nov 11th 2002, available for pre order now, and in the US, Nov 12th (my birthday) also available now and you can get it in other places besides Amazon funnily enough.

GameSpot.com has conducted a new interview with long time LucasArts employee Jon Knoles, who is currently serving as the director on Bount Hunter. Here's what Jon had to say about the upcoming Episode II game:

Star Wars Bounty Hunter is a story-driven, third-person action game. The game's plot, which centers around Jango Fett's hunt for a deranged dark Jedi, spans six chapters and 18 levels. A rendered cinematic sequence precedes and follows each chapter to draw players deeper into the game's original story, which takes place a decade before the events of Episode II and explains how Jango Fett was chosen to be the genetic template for a clone army. Throughout the entire game, there are 56 in-engine cinematics that drive the action forward and keep the story moving quickly.

Wow! That's cinema-tastic! You can read the entire four page interview here.

LucasArts.com updated its site last Friday like always, but since we were passed out all weekend, we're only getting around to mentioning it now. First of all, you can view a new game trailer for Bounty Hunter in some kind of weird .exe file. The trailer is quite impressive and shows off some very cool ingame action. On the educational side, you can look at the history behind Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb. Following that, there is a new screenshot from Gladius. And finally, check out this Full Throttle concept art under the 20th Anniversary site. Fun, no?

XboxGamers.com has published a new interview with with Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk of Bioware, the company making the upcoming RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The interview mainly focuses on why the developers chose the Xbox console instead of a Gamecube or PS2 system. I can't think of anything else to say about this one, so here it is.

LucasArts.com released an announcement today, stating that the upcoming Clone Wars game has gone gold for the Gamecube and will be in stores around October 29. No word on the PS2 version, but you can probably expect it soon after. Also, since there is an unwritten rule that all Mixnmojo news posts must have at least three sentences, this has been written as filler material. Enjoy.

The guys over at IGN have published this article with their hands-on impressions of the Xbox Jedi Outcast port. Judging from this and our own impressions, it seems the controls have made a surprisingly effective transition from a PC keyboard/mouse combo into a console controller. Here's a quote:

[The game] came off so well on the PC, that all the developers at Vicarious Visions had to do was put together a control scheme that made sense. That and keep the spirit of the PC original alive, thereby removing all anxiety Xbox owners might have because of the bad taste that Obi-Wan left in everybody's mouth.

Aww, why does everyone pick on poor Obi-Wan? Oh yeah, I remember now.

Fridays mean more updates at LucasArts.com. You can check out the usual things like new screenshots for XBox Jedi Outcast, a character profile for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and a new screenshot from Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb that just screams, "Hello! I am looking at a giant JPEG in the distance."

But in more interesting news, check out this background art scan from The Dig, which continues the LucasArts 20th Anniversary celebration. It brings back fond memories of sawing off the arm of a German scientist.

James Earl Jones revealed today that his voice will be featured in the last five minutes of Episode III. James of course provided the fantastic voice of the ever asthma suffering and dark lurky sorce of evil: Darth Vader. Hopefully Episode III wont stink as much a George's latest 'masterpiece'.

Mr Earl Jones' other works include Coming to America starring Eddie Murphy. Read more lovely Darth vader news on Ananova.

Do you like Galactic Battlegrounds? I mean REALLY like it? Then check out our friends over at Galactic Battles.com for an exclusive Q&A with LucasArts director Garry Gaber. Here's how it works: Stop by LucasForums, sign in, and ask your question. The moderator will then select various questions and present them to Garry in an interview. Note that you have to be a LucasForums member, but hell, you should be one already anyway! You wouldn't want to miss out on all the community fun, would you? Check it out.

Searching through Mojo's extensive photo archives has revealed a gem that we believe has never before been shared with our reading public. Feast your eyes on our very own founder and friend, James Spafford. (He's the one in the skull shirt, cowering in shame. Compare to this confident looking fellow, who must be an imposter.)

Mac Central reports that publisher Aspyr Media has reached the Final Candidate milestone for the Macintosh version Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Simply put, the game is very close to being released on the Mac platform. Here are some system specs for eager Mac gamers:

• Mac OS 9.1 or later (including Mac OS X)
• G3/400MHz or faster
• 128MB RAM
• 4x CD-ROM
• 665MB free HD space
• ATI Radeon or Nvidia-based hardware 3D graphics acceleration

Jedi Outcast for Macs is already available to preorder directly from Aspyr.

Another Friday has come and gone, meaning there has been another LucasArts.com update. The Clone Wars product spotlight has several new goodies, although none of them are terribly interesting. In Bounty Hunter news, you can now view the ILM-animated intro cutscene over at StarWars.com. There is also a new Bounty Hunter screenshot here, demonstrating how you can pick up some optional bounties in the game to earn extra cash (or credits or whatever.) And last but not least, you can look at some pretty cool new concept art at the RTX Red Rock product spotlight. Weeee!

The prolific Nightlight Productions, creators of the Grim Fandango-esque radio drama Tierra de los Muertos, has sold out big time begun a new radio drama series which is an outright parody of Star Wars. The first installment of Lost Cause I: There's No Hope! is available here. Listen...and learn!