The Old Republic's New Objective-Based PvP

I'm not any less excited for Star Wars: The Old Republic than I was when it was first announced. Robust, overflowing with lore, and done by our future benevolent leaders at Bioware, as both a gamer and a Star Wars fan, what's not to look forward to?

The trailers that have been outed have done ridiculous things to my adrenaline levels, resulting in some home videos that I'm not very proud of. Revealed gameplay has looked good, though I still wonder how a smuggler can beat any self respecting Sith. The story that's being set, the locations, the historical figures, everything sounds so deep and involving, I'm definitely foreseeing a huge dip in productivity once the The Old Republic hits the general public.

The player vs. player system has been pretty low key, but the latest trailer is blowing up spots! Warzones will pit the Republic against Imperial forces, allowing them to engage on the battlefield while each team works to secure an objective to turn the tide of battle. This first Warzone is found on the neutral world of Alderaan, where players must take control of the planet's massive planetary defense cannon, to deplete the opposing orbital fleet's shields, thus prompting an enemy retreat. 

More information will be available on Warzones soon, but so far so good. It will be interesting to see if these skirmishes will have any bearing on the overall story. I'm also curious about the topics of world PvP, different objective-based PvP types, and other Warzones. All in due time, I suppose. Star Wars: The Old Republic can't go gold soon enough.

The Force Unleashed II; Buy or Buy Not?

As you should be aware of by now, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II released a downloadable demo this week. The original Force Unleashed, while heavily flawed, was a blast to play. It made you feel like an all powerful Jedi/Sith surrounded by masses of mostly inferior enemies, allowing you to use your great power to dispatch of anyone foolish enough to stand against you with great fun and creativity. You also got to be part of one of the most compelling canon Star Wars stories we've seen in some time. Funny how all the best Star Wars content these days comes from everyone but Lucas himself. 

TFU2 once again puts the player in control of Starkiller, Darth Vader's secret apprentice. Uncontent to just let his fearsomely strong pupil die at the end of the first game, Vader has created clones of Starkiller who have all of his power, but also the uprising memories of the original. During a practice exercise, Starkiller's memories overwhelm him, preventing him from striking down his love, Juno Eclipse. Seeing this weakness, Vader plans to kill the nostalgic clone and start anew, but this Starkiller is smart. Sensing Vader's impending lightsaber to the chest, our clever carbon copy Jedi blasts his mentor back with Force lightning and flies the coop. Demo on.

+ The surprisingly decent story of the original Force Unleashed is expanded on
+ The powers make you truly feel like a fearsome disciple of the Force 
+ Destructible environments and unique enemy reactions always offers something fresh

- Difficulty on normal felt way too easy
- Dual sabers don't act much differently from a single saber
- Bland stage design showcased in the demo
- Something about the game experience feels empty

Fans of the Star Wars universe should probably buy this game without asking any questions. Fans of a solid gaming experience, well that remains to be seen just yet. There is a lot of promise in the demo, but the stage the action is set on is a little unspectacular and disappointing. The full version of the game will no doubt have more exciting backdrops to torture stormtroopers, but will that empty feeling the game seems to have be filled?

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II releases on October 28th, 2010

Hyperbolic Statement: The Old Republic Will Blast Faces Off

As another gaming con concludes, another Star Wars: The Old Republic trailer graces our unworthy, fleshy presences. The latest tease job from our future benevolent overlords at BioWare, comes not in the form of barn-burning animated fight scenes, but instead submerges us in the lore of The Old Republic.

An oddly composed party of four stand before an imperial officer, who preps the crew on their mission at hand. The basis of the forthcoming mission widens the eyes of both gamers and geeks alike; Darth Revan. A conversation wheel appears, the player makes his choice, the character relays the player's thoughts, and we're off to battle.

The fighting is smooth, the voice acting is top notch, and the story is rich and fulfilling. These are the things we know and/or can assume, seeing as how BioWare can rarely do wrong, and we've seen their union with Lucasarts leads to things of an awesome nature. The inclusion of Darth Revan will reel in KotOR and Star Wars fanboys alike, and in the off chance that Revan doesn't have you pitching a tent, well maybe the blood red rust of HK-47 in glorious HD will?

E3: Star Wars The Old Republic: Hope

Like I said before, LucasArts knows how to do trailers when it comes to this Star Wars thing. In what is the Yin to the original The Old Republic trailer's Yang, this cinematic entitled Hope is gorgeous. And this time, the good guys win!

E3: Star Wars The Force Unleashed II

It's been a few weeks since we've last heard from Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2. Previously, the reveal trailer showed Starkiller, alive and well, unleashing a world of pain on the biggest freaking Rancor I've ever seen. No gameplay. But OH HEY, Starkiller has dual sabers now. AND Yoda got his back.

Now, a few weeks later, we have another TFU2 trailer. Still no gameplay, but I'll be damned if LucasArts doesn't make some kickass cinematics. I can't imagine the game mechanics for TFU2 being much of a departure from the first. Some new powers, and power combinations, some new melee moves and combos. That's it? The first game got a lot of shit for having a lot of hype and not really delivering, but I will admit I enjoyed it. You can't tell me you didn't get a kick out of charging a storm trooper with force lightning, and flinging him off a bridge into a TIE fighter that's trying to shoot you down. Fuck yeah. Aside from that though, I actually liked the story, call me crazy.

If nothing else, at least The Force Unleashed 2 is giving us an awesome trailer. Oh and by the way, Vader, if you're reading this.. Why would you leave it to stormtroopers to kill a Sith? Idiot.