The International House of Mojo

There's an new video interview over at IGN with Simon Pegg some LucasArts guy about the big Euphoria DMM NaturalMotion Looky-Looky Bonanza that will be Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Watch it here.

And yes, he does say that they're trying to reach as large an audience as possible - which is meant to explain why they're cutting out the Star Wars staple of lightsaber-dismemberment, but doesn't explain why there's an N-Gage version of the game but not a PC one.

Oh, and there's no new footage and they're still reusing that really old concept art.

GameTrailers' riveting Star Wars Retrospective now turns to the X-Wing/TIE Fighter series that defined the series on PC, and which we'll never see again in these days of dumbed-down console gaming. It also starts with a nice look at the birth of LucasArts with some adventure gaming thrown in (with what seems to be Maniac Mansion Enhanced instead of the original).

Watch it here, and weep for a lost age.

Next episode: strategy and battles! It's War!

This is the guy playing Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. I am not joking.

For those two of you still denying that Star Wars: The F***est Uppest wasn't slipped a whole year in order to ride off the back of the next big event in the SW universe - The Clone Wars movie and series - then prepare to have your beliefs mocked as Empire reveals that the film will be out August 15th, within a month of TFU.

Also, this interview at IGN reveals that characters from the game will appear in the series. Hmmmmm!

GameTrailers have added the next instalment of their Star Wars Retrospective, and it's the one we've all been waiting for: the Prequel games!

See the spiritual sequel to Jedi Knight turned into a shite Xbox launch game that embarrassed LucasArts so much they didn't even spend money on decent cover art! See the lowest point Star Wars has ever sunk to in Super Bombad Racing! See LucasArts' reputation as a quality games developer go entirely down the crap-hole!

Still, it's not all bad. The next episode's entirely focused on the X-Wing/TIE Fighter games!

The latest episode of GameTrailers TV focuses almost completely on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed with a load of interesting new stuff.

Highlights include being able to actually play Darth Vader and, a personal delight for me, discovering that LucasArts are actually going to be composing a load of new music for the game and not just re-using the films' scores. All Star Wars games with original music have been great (Dark Forces, KOTOR 1 & 2, Republic Commando), so here's hoping!

There's also a nice bit around 12.10 where the presenter embarrasses the LucasArts rep by showing him just how much of the plot is spoiled by the toys already released. They don't mention however that the reason all that stuff is already out waaaay before the game is that TFU was supposed to have been out last year. Oh, and they mention Spaceballs, which is always good. Here you go.

The GameTrailers Star Wars gaming retrospective has now unleashed its Second Episode, which you can watch here.

It follow the early days of the NES, the Super Star Wars series, the other arcade games... then for some bizarre reason jumps right ahead to GBA and then Lego Star Wars II. Presumably this is all to cover just games directly based on the original trilogy. That doesn't explain Apprentice of the Force or Flight of the Falcon however.

Have you ever seen Darth Vader turn into a giant fat-faced scorpion? A JVC platformer that doesn't mention the Dark Lord of the Sith at all? LucasArts not being mentioned either? You will do... you will do!

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has been demoed again at GDC (that's the Game Developer's Conference, and yes, I know we haven't mentioned it so far), and producer Haden Blackman spoke about it again. Thankfully not using the words "kicking ass with the Force".

Instead he talked about the perils of multiplatform development, and used it as his excuse for the lateness of the game.

The problem was, once LucasArts finally had enough PS3 dev kits to supply the staff members that required them, 360 development of The Force Unleashed was months ahead. Worse still, the 360-optimized early version of the game "didn't translate well" when ported onto the PS3, given the differences between the hardware architecture of the two consoles and the complexity of PS3 development. This led to more complications and pushed the simultaneous launch of The Force Unleashed back further.

Frankly I think LucasArts should have done what everyone else is doing - just release the 360 version first.

(Considering Haden then goes on to apologise for bugs in the demo, I think it's a pretty feeble excuse - I'd much rather he'd said 'the game was delayed because we wanted to make it as good as we can' rather than 'PS3 programming made us late')

At the end he briefly mentions how LucasArts considered making it in the Knights of the Old Republic universe or even a Wookiee game, before George Lucas, the master of dialogue, gave possibly the most ironic comment ever:

"I tell you guys about the importance of dialogue, and you pitch me a game with a hero that can't talk?!"

Well, if a new Indy movie's fair game for Mojo, then so too is a new Star Wars movie, right? RIGHT?

As posted on starwars.com

A new era of Star Wars entertainment begins in 2008 when Star Wars: The Clone Wars, from creator George Lucas, premieres as an all-new feature film in August, followed by the television series debut in the fall...

Produced by Lucasfilm Animation, Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes audiences on incredible new Star Wars adventures, combining the legendary storytelling of Lucasfilm with an eye-popping, signature animation style. Star Wars: The Clone Wars will open in North American theaters Friday, August 15. International release dates will be announced soon.

So, Peter Hirshman, how's about that Clone Wars era Star Wars space sim? Totally Games'd be up for it!

However, Larry Holland is still here and that's the important part, since he's the vision behind the series. Of the people that worked on any of the Star Wars games, only Larry, Robin, myself, and Kevin remain.

I'd love to work on another Star Wars space sim if the opportunity presented itself. But that is not for us to decide, unfortunately. The game market for space sims have dried up and with it the money.

Albert Mack
Lead Programmer, Totally Games

Huh, Peter? Huh? You know what you said before is bullshit.

Source: Starwars.com

It's somehow rare for the world of LucasArts to make it into the pages of Penny Arcade, the webcomic so incredible they even have their own videogame being made by Ron Gilbert, mostly because LucasArts haven't released a game in years.

But with new Force Unleashed videos come new easy shots of parody. I think this comic gets it spot on. It's quite moving, too.

If you want to see the occasionally great, occasionally incredibly silly video that inspired it, go here for a quick gameplay montage.

In what I can only assume is a big (force) push in marketing as we head towards a release date, LucasArts has allowed GameTrailers to interview them about Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. There are three separate parts to the interview:

1. Game lead Hayden Blackman chats about the game, and takes his cues from the poster behind him. Still, he does mention being able to choose how to 'level-up' your character's force powers, similar to Jedi Knight (again).
2. Chat about narrative, exploration, and most importantly - choice. It seems you will be able to choose light-side or dark-side, hooray. However, there will be no slaughtering the younglings. Boo.
3. Talk about the lightsaber and the Wii, and explaining why the combat seems so dull - they want to cater to the 'button-mash' players as much as the people who like pulling off A-X-B-A combos, just not for people in between. The Wii version sounds really cool though, and there'll be a Wii-exclusive Duel Mode which sounds the best thing I've heard about this game. Oh, and Princess Leia's in this one too. She'll play a big part in the game.

The more I see the more I think LucasArts might possibly have a fun game here, although we're still waiting on Indiana Jones guys...

In what seems like a long time (I am not doing that pun), Star Wars: The Force Unleashed seems to have come on in leaps and bounds, as shown in this amazing new video at GameTrailers.

LucasArts can feel proud now, for they have created... another Jedi Knight game. A good-looking one (very much so), but still Jedi Academy with some nice new tech. Still, there hasn't been a bad JK game as this seems to be exactly what Star Wars fans actually want (instead of, say, Super Bombad Racing or Demolition), and it does look extremely fun.

Let's hope the story passes muster, being able to choose Light Side or Dark Side is an option, and that we get some new Indiana Jones info soon.

LucasArts have just released this press release. Read and then come back.

The long and short of it is, despite now having been bought by EA and still being tied to SEGA for their Sonic RPG, LucasArts and BioWare are now working together on an "interactive entertainment product" that will be announced at a later date.

In my mind, this can only mean one of two possibilities - Knights of the Old Republic 3 or, possibly more likely, the long-rumoured KOTOR MMORPG. Either way, this is great news. Right?

Jim Ward (remember him?) had this to say about BioWare:

"LucasArts has a deep commitment to developing compelling stories and characters for the unique medium of interactive entertainment, and we have been searching for a developer that shares this value. We found this in BioWare.
Through our previous collaborations, we know that BioWare has an impressive ability to blend gripping stories with technological advancements, and we believe that our upcoming product will deliver an experience that will span the traditional boundaries of video game entertainment."

At least he mentioned videogames once. I mean, "interactive entertainment"?

Greg Zeschuk, president of Bioware, had this to say:

"The collaboration with LucasArts allows us to combine our passion for creating high quality and innovative experiences with those of a company dedicated to bringing only the finest games to market."

I wonder if he's played Star Wars: Bounty Hunter? Still, BioWare and LucasArts... we have a new hope on our hands here.

Source: LucasArts

Okay, so maybe I'm leaping to my most wanted conclusion, but...

In case you don't know, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is out on November 9th for all platforms. It's the Wii version you should all be getting excited about though, and this new preview at GameSpot tells you why. Apparently Jonathan Smith of TT Games appeared at Nottingham's GameCity event alongside a number of Stormtroopers to promote the game.

However, what prompted the headline was this quote where Mr. Smith hinted at the possibility of more Lego Star Wars games:

"We've made games that encompass the six movies, but the Star Wars universe is so big, and there is lots of stuff that could be done, particularly in a Lego way."

So, Lego Republic Commando? Lego KOTOR? Lego Yoda Stories? You heard it here first!

Think Lego Indiana Jones won't be playable until sometime next year?

Think again. Looks like we'll be whippin' Lego-style come 6th (US) & 9th (Europe) November as Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga has Lego Indy as an unlockable character! Check out GameTrailers' two movies for proof, here and here.

And we thought a whip would be no match for Droidekas...

While we're still a little wary around these parts when it comes to Star Wars games - too many burnt fingers, too many broken hearts - we are at least vaguely interested in the 'big new game' Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. However, what we really want is that lightsaber game on the Wii. Up until now, TFU has only been confirmed for 360, PS3, PSP and, um, DS.

Good news, then! Because LucasArts has apparently revealed to gaming website CVG that TFU is indeed coming to the Wii, along with all the Wiimote-waving we want.

"Wii is a great platform for The Force Unleashed, because the console's motion-oriented controllers really bring the game to life," said Jimmy Jim Jimjimjim Ward. "We've worked hard to make the Wii version of the game unique in order to truly let you unleash the Force." That's good to know, especially as the game's being developed for Wii by Krome Studios and not LucasArts.

Still, motion-controlled lightsabers, being evil, a storyline bridging the movies... and a multiplayer mode to boot, apparently. Can Mojo step up to Cautiously Optimistic now? Yes, I know it means changing the bulb.

Source: CVG

No, not Telltale. TT Games, formerly Traveller's Tales, purveyors of all things Lego (that being Star Wars, Indy, Batman and, um, Bionicle Heroes) sit down with Mojo for a quick interview about games past, present and future. Pull up a Lego Set and then click here to read the interview.

Although I forgot to ask them about whether Lego Hitler is going make an appearance. Oh well. Enjoy!

(Additional note from Gabez: you may also notice that we've restored a lot of our old articles. I did this ages ago and forgot to mention it).

From the same guy who brought you the latest Monkey Island 5 rumor comes this infinitely more believable report that LucasArts' upcoming You-Are-Darth-Vader's-Apprentice game will have a version for Nintendo's latest console. LucasArts has yet to develop a Wii game and has never officially announced any plan to do so, unless you count the hints at the oft-speculated Wiimote lightsaber game. Whatever the company's first Wii project turns out to be, I'm sure we can all agree that it's to test the waters for that point 'n click Loom sequel.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is currently scheduled for release on virtually every current system except the Wii sometime next Spring. Should this rumor be confirmed in any official capacity, I'm sure you'll be able to learn it from a site that cares, and then here a bit later.

The best radio parody of the best Star Wars film ever has reached its end with part ten of Lost Cause: There?s Still No Hope!

You can listen to all of the parts of the series here, and give feedback to Nightlight Productions over at their forums. Also, look out for more LucasArts related radio plays coming soon!

You know that Darth Vader game that was rumoured but not announced? Well, it might be in development after all, slated for a 2007 release.

Computer and Video Games.com have some kind of exclusive scoop on the matter, together with news on LucasArts' latest technology. It sounds like they're co-operating with ILM a lot more, which could prove to be interesting for future games, maybe.