The International House of Mojo

TheForce.net is reporting that the November issue of the Official Xbox Magazine will contain a brief mention about Knights of the Old Republic 2. According to the rumor, KOTOR2 will take place many years after the Star Wars movies and may be out in 2004 or 2005. Of course, it's just a rumor, but maybe we will know more soon... if you're good.

LucasArts has announced that Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy for the PC has gone gold and will be in stores September 17, 2003. That was fast, wasn't it? Expect the Xbox version sometime in October... I think.

A snippet from my local newspaper:

A mentally ill man who told a terrified dominatrix he was a Jedi Knight sent to kill her has been cleared by a jury on the grounds of insanity.

Steven Pollard, 28, wearing a blanket around his shoulders like a cape and brandishing a 2ft scaffold pole like characters in Star Wars films use a lightsabre, tried to break into Roma Brooks home in Brighton in the early hours of the morning. [snip..]

During the hearing the jury heard how Pollard of no fixed address, became obsessed with Brooks who was working as a professional Dominatrix. When he called at her flat in Kemp town at 3:30am on April 18, 2002 he told her, "I have come to kill you. I am a man of peace. I am a Jedi. God has told me to avenge the world."

I love my town.

Those of you anticipating Knights of the Old Republic should be pleased to know that the XBox version has gone gold and will be available in stores July 16th, at least in the United States and Canada. Thanks to the Adventure Gamers forums for the tip.

Unrelated Monkey Island 2 Fun: If you're interested in getting a peek into what looks like the early development of Monkey Island 2, you should check out this thread in the Mojo Forums. All you'll need is the latest ScummVM and a copy of the original Monkey 2 non-playable demo, which is available in that thread.

(Legend of MI has put up a page with screenshots and info about the recent MI2 demo discoveries for those interested.)

Team Xbox has published an interview with Greg Borrud, director of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Naturally, this interview discusses some of the new features for the Xbox version of the game. Here's a quote:

The team has always been pretty excited about working on the Xbox. In fact at the beginning of the production we were debating whether the game should release on the Xbox or the Gamecube first.

Seems to be a lot of that going around. Find the full interview right here.

Source: TheForce.net

Lots of new (and early) updates from LucasArts.com yesterday evening. First, you can check out the Knights of the Old Repbulic page for a profile on a new character by the name of Canderous Ordo.

Then, stop by the Ask LucasArts section if you want to find out how the Xbox port of The Clone Wars will be different from the Gamecube and PS2 versions. (Hint: Xbox Live)

There is a new screenshot of the week as well from Gladius. This shot seems to demonstrate the game's interface during the battle sequences.

And finally, the RTX Red Rock page has been updated to include audio clips of one-liners from the main characters. You adventure gamers may want to pay particular attention to Boris Dezurov, as his voice seems to be quite familiar beneath that Russian accent. Yarr!

On a side note, there is still no official word from LucasArts concerning the rumored cancellation of the RTX Red Rock Gamecube port, but we were told to expect more info "soon."

TheForce.net points to an article in The Salt Lake Tribune concerning the growing use of celebrity voices in video games. The article mentions many titles, including LucasArts' Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. Here's a quote:

[John Knoles' Bounty Hunter] was a chance for actor Temuera Morrison to expand on his character, a favorite among "Star Wars" fans.

"In the movie, he had four lines," Knoles said. "In the game, he's the star."

Fascinating, eh? Read the article for more examples.

Source: TheForce.net

Now that LucasArts has posted the final feature list for Galaxies, many people are noticing that a couple really big features from the original lists are strangely absent. Galaxies producer Haden Blackman (a.k.a. "Shug_Ninx") has written a lengthy post in the Galaxies forum discussing why each feature was cut, and when they'll be re-added with patches.

It has just been announced on LucasArts.com that The Clone Wars is going to be released for Xbox Live this spring, confirming what we previously reported. Apparently this means that you will be able to compete against eight other players in the game while communicating through voice chat. Click here to read about all of the Xbox specific features.

The official website for Star Wars Galaxies has been updated to provide the definitive list of features for the title as well as a complete list of professions you can take up within the online world. Additionally, there's also a nice Flash animation that shows you how the game's user interface is going to work. Mmmm, Galaxies...

LucasArts.com updated again this Friday. This weekly update included a few PC screenshots for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, information on how the Gladius combat system works, and a look at the Sith troopers found in Knights of the Old Republic. Unfortunately, it looks like we didn't get to see any Indy orchestral score clips in January after all...

LucasArts' recent console release, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was initially released on the GameCube and PlayStation 2, with no indication that it would be ported any other systems. However, after searching for 'Lucasarts' on Amazon.com, I found an entry for an Xbox version of Clone Wars, which is, according to the page, slated for release on March 27th of this year. Is it true? I guess we'll have to wait and see what the official-types have to say.

TheForce.net points out that both EBGames and GameStop have set the release date for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox version) to May 1, 2003.

I don't know if this can actually be considered a recent delay, since the official site stated that the game would come out in spring of 2003. Of course, the release date given at last year's E3 was the fourth quarter of 2002... but hey, good things come to those who wait.

Justin Chin, designer of Jedi Knight (at LucasArts) and New Legends (at the now-defunct Infinite Machine), has apparently resurfaced. I came accross the website of his company Monsterrocket Filmworks. Although the main page hasn't been updated since July 13, 2002, there's something on the current projects page that may be of interest:

I'm doing the story work for an unannounced game in pre-production. It's a very cool project and I'm having a lot of fun.

Additional, I'm writing a film screenplay based on the game.

Anyone care to wager what he's talking about? Lots of fun can be had with Google, by the way. Check out this art from Outlaws and Curse of Monkey Island.

For the record, I have no idea what I'm doing here. I remember a lot of shouting and some weird noises. Then I woke up and I was logged into MARMITE! Really! ? ?

Source: me.

Back in February of 2002 a friend of mine pointed out that Fernandes Guitars had put out some rockin' Star Wars-themed electric guitars and accessories.

Star Wars dot com is reporting today that there are two new guitars that have just been added to the collection. Now you can "totally rock out" on guitars that feature Yoda and Boba Fett. RADICAL.

February's Game Informer Magazine features an article about the men behind MMORPGs, entitled "The Art of Massively Multiplayer Gaming." Among Everquest and Planetside, SW Galaxies: An Empire Divided is lauded pre-release as "a lot for Star Wars fans to get excited about."

Quoth Kevin O'Hara, both associate producer and community relations manager:

"There are huge expectations, and I think that, with the love our developers have for the game, we're going to have a great game. There is no way we can live up to every single person's expectations of what they want in the Star Wars universe, but the game will be huge and bigger and better than any other game that is out there currently."

He certainly sounds confident, and I hope to see it succeed.

In related news, both SW: Galaxies and SW: KOTOR seem to be doing quite well on reserves at GameStop #1455... a release day sell-out could be on the horizon.

Source: Game Informer

Marek points to a report on HomeLan Fed in which they mention that a sequel or expansion pack to Jedi Outcast may be in the works. The rumor (which is probably true) started when Jedi Knight II came up in a recent public Activision conference call.

Activision, as you know, helped produce the game along with Raven and LucasArts. Here's a quote from the website:

... Execs at the company mentioned in passing that a sequel to last year's Quake III engine powered first person shooter Star Wars: Jedi Outcast was in the works to be released in their fiscal 2004 time frame (April 2003-March 2004). Since this was mentioned in an Activision conference call, it suggests that the sequel will once again be a collaboration between Activision and LucasArts. HomeLAN contacted original Jedi Outcast developer Raven Software (which is owned by Activision) but was refered to Activision's corporate offices for an official response. The Activision rep has so far not gotten back to us with a statement. A spokesperson for LucasArts would not comment on what the Activision execs said today when asked by HomeLAN.

Well, we all knew it would happen eventually, didn't we? Let's hope they do some good looking cutscenes this time around, eh? You can listen to the audio recording of the conference call and read more over here.

Source: HomeLan Fed

GameSpy is running a feature called "Most Wanted Games of 2003," and what's opening their day 1 list of anticipated games? First off is Psychonauts, followed by Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, and a little after that comes Knights of the Old Republic. Here's a snip from the Psychonauts entry:

It was a shocking defection when Schafer decided to ply his trade on a console. He even commented in interviews that PC games are losing their magic, stating that consoles are where it's at. With the backing of Microsoft, his newest game is a psychotropic adventure of style, atmosphere, and -- best of all -- solid, console-style gameplay influenced by the likes of Mario and Zelda.

Up tomorrow in their countdown is the first list of anticipated PC games, followed later in the week by the "top 10" anticipated console and PC games.

Source: Marek

More LucasArts.com updates. The official box art has been posted on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic product spotlight. Several new screenshots have also been added, and judging from these new screens, it seems that the game might actually have some funny dialogue.

It has also been revealed that an Xbox demo of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb will be released in the March issue of the Official Xbox Magazine. Sadly, no word on a PC demo, but this new screenshot may help to dry up those tears of disappointment.

Star Wars Galaxies Warcry has conducted an interview with Haden Blackman, producer of Star Wars Galaxies. In the interview, Haden gives us a bit of a rundown for one of his days at work. Here's a clip:

2 AM: Stop working on the manual and go to bed.

9 AM: Roll into the office, starting answering e-mail. I typically have several dozen unread e-mails in my inbox by the time I get in because the Development team is in Austin and has two to three hours to send me e-mail before I can respond. :) I also take a few minutes to draft a description of Keren, one of the cities on Naboo.

10 AM: Meet with Marketing folks to go over proposals for an "Art of..." book. The layout looks great; now, we just have to organize all the assets...

11 AM: I spend the next hour jumping between finishing up e-mails, a phone conference call re: some press opportunities, and actually playing game (fortunately, I have two machines that I can flip between).

12 PM: A lunch meeting with other Producers.

12:30 PM: Interview with a potential company hire.

Unfortunately, I was not that potential company hire... but I digress. It's a good interview, so make sure you read the whole thing.