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LucasArts President Resigns, Takes Force With Him

Dave Oshry — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:02:10 +0000

Darrell Rodriguez, president of LucasArts has resigned from his position, along with several other members of his team. The reasons for his resignation are still uncertain, but it seems that LucasFilm’s Jerry Bowerman will take his place until a full-time replacement can be found. LucasArts has said that this will not affect any games currently in development (hooray). They issued this statement:

“Darrell Rodriguez has resigned and we have initiated a search for a new leader. Jerry Bowerman – a member of the Lucasfilm Board of Directors and a games industry veteran – will be stepping in to lead the LucasArts executive team during this transition. Lucasfilm remains fully committed to making great games and we continue to invest in our business.”

<– Rodriguez, former COO of EA Los Angeles, was appointed in April 2008, just after then LA president Jim Ward had stepped down. During his time at LucasArts, the publisher launched its best-selling Star Wars: The Force Unleashed action adventure, the sequel to which is due later this year. Other releases during his tenure included Fracture, the remakes of the Monkey Island adventure series, and Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. LucasArts, Electronic Arts, and BioWare also announced their collaboration on the future MMO entitled, Star Wars: The Old Republic during the reign of Rodriguez.

As far as where he will go next or who will replace him on a permanent basis, there is no word as of yet. Stay tuned.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Review

Beau Rosser — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:12:04 +0000

Star Wars is back! But is it though? Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a mishmash of sub-par combat, mediocre platforming, exceptional storytelling and sound, and a whole lot of Wookie ass-kickery. Are the high points enough to save the game, or will its drawbacks “force” you to pass this one by?

Remember that Wookie ass-kicking I just mentioned? Well, it only happens in the beginning of the game, though it’s still worth mentioning due to the fact that The Force Unleashed starts out so strong. Unfortunately, it begins to wane in later levels.

The game begins with the player as Darth Vader (exciting, right?!) and provides the ability to use all of the force powers one would expect of Darth Vader. However, even in this first level, the game’s overall lack of polish in the level design department begins to show. After only a few minutes of play, I managed to get Vader stuck in some nasty trees.

WOOOOOOKIEEEESSSS!!!!

Here I am, the galaxy’s most feared and powerful Sith Lord, but these blasted trees had me by the dangly parts and wouldn’t let go.

After the first level, the main meat of the game begins to take shape. Story wise, The Force Unleashed takes place in between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the first real Stars Wars movie, Episode IV: A New Hope.

Players wield the lightsaber of the apprentice, Starkiller, after being adopted and trained in secret by Vader himself. Wearing the cloak of Starkiller, players move from planet to planet, killing off any remaining Jedi while gaining new force abilities and combos along the way.

The story, dialog, sound design, and character motion capture are the standout gems of The Force Unleashed. Luckily, LucasArts paid a lot of attention to these aspects of the game, otherwise The Force Unleashed would not have done enough to hold my attention. Honestly, this is the best story Star Wars has seen since 1983, and for that I am grateful.

See that stuff floating behind me? Yeah, I’m gonna throw ALL of it.

Starkiller is a conflicted character with a surprisingly dark demeanor, but he has just enough soul in him to be regretful of his actions. And before it’s asked: no, the player doesn’t get to kill younglings, even if the word “youngling” is the dumbest thing ever conceived.

The combat system is fine as the game begins, but I soon learned that the depth was not there when compared to other games in the action genre like God of War or Ninja Gaiden. I found myself relying on the basic four-hit combo to defeat the enemies because it seemed just as powerful as some of the flashier combos available. The air juggling had its moments, but I still found myself rarely relying on them to get the job done.

Alongside the lightsaber combat, the game provides the player with an assortment of cool force powers to exploit – I mean, the game is called The Force Unleashed, after all. Each level is designed to give players the maximum amount of resources to use against the enemies, from ripable pipes to an ass-load of boxes and crates.

So what does the player do with all these items littered around the levels? Well, one could throw them with force grab, hit them with force push to… throw them, or electrocute them with lightning so that they will be more effective when the player… uh… throws them.

I found myself tossing all the boxes and such in the direction of the enemies as soon as I entered a room. That gave me enough time to overuse my force lighting on the stunned enemies, though once I beefed up my lightning to its apex, it became the “win” button.

The “Win” Button in action

Having the ability to electrocute everything in my vicinity was an acceptable option because a few of the levels in Force Unleashed were so poorly designed that I couldn’t see half the enemies attacking me. This design flaw also plagues Ninja Gaiden, and it made me long for God of War’s automatic camera. In this day and age of gaming, having to babysit a camera should not cross the gamer’s mind while playing.

The camera also played a horrible role while traversing some of the platforming sections of the game. In an action game, the platforming should be second nature, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how many times I fell into a bottomless pit only to have to sit through the lackluster loading times just to try again.

Work on your boss battles, LucasArts. That’s all I’ll say about that.

Overall, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a decent enough experience, but it’s plagued by a few last generation gaming pitfalls. If you are a Star Wars fan, though, the game may be well worth it for the story alone — just don’t pull your hair out during the more frustrating parts.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo Available Now on XBL, Later Today on PSN

Rangebar Merani — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:30:10 +0000

Just a heads up for you Star Wars fans, the demo for LucasArts latest Jedi combat game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, is up on Xbox Live now (and PSN later today) for those who want to try the game out.

The demo isn’t very long, weighing in at 904mb, but shows off plenty of force powers and fast combat. Go ahead and start your download now!

Source: Gamersreports.com

Another Spoiler Filled Force Unleashed Trailer

Chad Lakkis — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:04:01 +0000

Not sure I completely understand the marketing angle being taken by LucasArts, but who am I to judge their uberness. This is the second trailer to reveal a few of the games plot twists — the first being right here.

The primary difference between the first video and this video, is that the first simply discusses a few of the games details, while this video is a 2 minute montage of actual in-game moments that should not be watched by anyone uninterested in seeing how the story possibly unfolds.

I say “possibly” because, as our own Jonathan Zungre reported to you from GDC via Ripten TV several months ago, LucasArts has mentioned that you will have the ability to make choices within the game that deccide the path you travel. He added that while you start the game off on the Dark Side — that may not neccissarily be where you end up.

So to recap, the trailer looks really nice, but you definity should not watch it unless you really like spoilers.

[flv width="480" height="356"]http://www.ripten.com/swarsunleashed-spoilers.flv[/flv]

Source: EW

Wii Lightsaber Attachment (Dubbed Light Sword) Hits Stores Later This Month

Chad Lakkis — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 06:38:32 +0000

You are a ~~Jedi~~ person wearing a robe, advancing towards the enemy with ~~Lightsaber~~ Light Sword in hand, you relive epic battles in true ~~Star Wars~~ Sci-Fi fashion.

The power of brand names can make all the difference sometimes, however in this case, the third party manufacturer of the “Light Sword” would be looking at a serious legal onslaught from Lucas Arts had they named their light sword after the trademarked entity it is obviously intended to resemble.

If you are one of the lucky few who already own the highly sought after Nintendo Wii console, then a copy of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (due out next Spring), the Light Sword, three AA batteries, and a flick of the light switch, is all you will need to enjoy countless hours of Jedi Lightsaber goodness.

The Light Sword is due to hit stores later this month, but those interested in pre-ordering the must have Jedi accessory, can do so by visiting play.com and taking advantage of thier free shipping offer.

Via: Gizmodo UK