Posted Dec 8th 2008 4:50PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Time, the renowned weekly newsmagazine, has named its picks for top 10 games of year. Grand Theft Auto IV takes the top spot, while the only PS3 exclusive to make the list is LittleBigPlanet, which sits at third place. Other PS3 multiplatform titles on the list include Rock Band 2, Dead Space and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (really?). Want to know where those games are ranked and what else made the list? Check them out after the jump.
On a related note, the PS3's community-based service Home is number 10 on Time's list of top 10 gadgets of the year. That's this year, 2008. Do the guys at Time know something we don't? Is this an indication that Home will definitely be released this year?
Source -- Time's top 10 games of the year Source -- Time's top 10 gadgets of the year
Fracture is not a game where one plays doctor, healing people from fractured bones and other various medical ailments ... it's another shooter. Oh, one of those. As if the holiday season didn't have enough already. However, there is one thing that makes Fracture stand out of the crowd -- the ability to manipulate the terrain around your character. That might get people to notice it amongst the other huge names that it will be competing with.
But how does "Terrain Deformation," as it's called, work? Instead of explaining it to you, why not try it out next week when the demo hits the PSN? You'll get your chance to mess around with good old dirt on Thursday, September 18 -- no shovel required. The game will release in North America on October 7 and in Europe on October 10.
If you recall, back in May, we reported that Lucas Arts' was certain about releasing a Star Wars: The Force Unleashed demo. Back then, it was just a matter of knowing when that demo would arrive; however, three months later, we now know exactly when it will come. The pleasure of wielding Sith powers begins this Thursday, August 21.
The demo takes place in one of the early levels in the game known as the "TIE Fighter Construction Facility" -- it's a level you've probably seen many times before in trailers. The mission briefing goes: a Jedi General named Rahm Kota is attacking and it's your job to dispose of him, but to do so in secret (read: kill everyone, no witnesses). That sounds promisingly evil and very much Sith-like. Let the dark side coercion begin.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is still set to kick off this September 16. Reiterating this, LucasArts presents this new trailer which gives us slightly more insight into the game's storyline. Can you sense what's going to happen? You don't need the Force to figure this one out. Need a hint? Think "betrayal." Yeah, seems to be a central theme among the haggard Sith. We'll let your imagination go wild; you'll need it too because September seems like a galaxy far far away ...
So, last night we revealed that Darth Vader's secret apprentice from the upcoming LucasArts title, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, was heading to Soulcalibur IV. Today, we've got some screenshots of the dark lord in training. He looks quite accurate to his Force Unleashed avatar. You can also see him in action in the clip after the break. Now, all we're hoping for is Ivy to appear in The Force Unleashed. You know, to make full use of that Euphoria engine. Soulcalibur IV is out July 29.
Gallery: Soulcalibur IV - Darth Vader's Apprentice
Posted Jun 5th 2008 10:00PM by Majed Athab Filed under: News
No, you're not seeing things, and no we haven't made a gargantuan mistake by having a Star Wars: The Force Unleashed pic on a Soulcalibur IV story. It, basically, is the story. For you see, according to Gamespot, not only is Darth Vader making his way into the PS3 version of Soulcalibur IV, but his dark apprentice will be following close behind. However, the apprentice will be the only guest Star Wars character to go multiplatform as both Vader and Yoda will remain console exclusives.
It's quite interesting to see all these cross-genre, cross-developer crossovers. Another prominent one is Assassin's Solid. We wonder which two developers will unite and surprise us next.
Gamers looking out for Fracture might take interest in the game's newly redesigned and relaunched website. Fracture was announced around this time last year, and it looks like the game is well on its way to release this October 2008 according to the new website.
With the new site in place, a release for October, and a demo hitting the PSN a month or two before the scheduled release, then it seems we'll be hearing much more on this title in the months to come. It looks like this blogger was wrong when he said, in a previous Fracture post a few days ago, that Fracture news would again be sparse; this is most definitely a good thing that it won't. If you're interested in Fracture, make sure you check out the official website. But also, make sure you check out the new trailer after the break.
Posted May 29th 2008 3:30PM by Majed Athab Filed under: News
It's been ages since we last heard about Fracture -- a terra-forming shooter -- so it's quite nice to hear anything on the title really. In fact, you could say the news has been quite fractured, or, if you want to put it in more delicate terms ... fraked. Anyway, enough of the fluff and on to the cold hard news; that is what you're here for, right?
Speaking to CVG, LucasArts has communicated that a demo should appear on the PSN sometime in "August or September." The demo includes a tutorial stage and a level where "you can try out all the land-bending trickery," according to CVG. They of course refer to the terrain deformation system which lets players control the ground, and use it for strategic purposes. Since the demo comes out in a few months, and since we suspect news to be just as infrequent from here on out, expect radio silence until then.
Posted May 12th 2008 2:30PM by Majed Athab Filed under: News
As the first "next gen" Star Wars title for home consoles (the LEGO iterations don't count), many gamers and fans alike are keeping close watch on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Mixing a dangerous combination of high expectations and lots of hype, eager game addicts everywhere are craving for a demo. So are we getting one? Yes we are, according to a VideoGamer interview with Cameron Suey the producer for Force Unleashed on PS3.
While Suey has revealed that a demo is indeed in the works, it's still anyone's guess as to when we'll see it. Suey's exact words were, "I'm not certain about the specifics, but we definitely want to get this game out into people's hands." The game launches on September 16 in North America, so that means the demo could pop up anytime within the four months until release.
It's amazing how little plastic representations of iconic films are so appealing in videogame form. There's LEGO Star Wars andLEGO Batman, but now there's also LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. Why are these games so charming? Is it the wackiness and cuteness? More realistic movie-licensed games that follow closely to their film counterparts are historically horrible in quality and relative sales. The LEGO versions, not so bad. Perhaps Spielberg's right; maybe that's why he went for Boom Blox instead of the next Schindler's List of gaming. Anyway, Indy's LEGO romp looks like a fun ride. Will the more realistic Indiana Jones game be as appealing?
The game that lets players become Darth Vader's personal protégé will be hitting North American retail stores on September 16 of this year. The Southeast Asian and Australian version will see release on store shelves by Sept. 17. Meanwhile, Europeans can pick up their copies on Sept. 19.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed puts players in the shoes of Darth Vader's secret apprentice whose task is to help the dark lord execute Jedi genocide. This all goes down during the time between the films Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Also of note, Spike TV will be getting exclusive gameplay footage during their double weekend Star Wars marathon. This will run from this Friday April 4 through Sunday April 6, and next Friday April 11 through April 13. If you're interested in hearing more about that, then read all about it on LucasArts website. We guess that without any PSN updates for the next two weeks, you've just been given a nice alternative activity to keep you busy. Impeccable timing.
Take a look at this deal: LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga for only 25 bucks. That's a savings of 50 percent on a story that spans over all six Star Wars films. Not bad, not bad at all. If you've been on the fence about getting this game, now might be a good time to pick it up. You can avail of this offer at LEGO's official website.
For those of you who remember, a game came out on PS2 that centered on the Roman Gladiators. Sure, there was a period where that kind of stuff was the hot thing, but this LucasArts title took a different approach to what was considered an "easy to make" action bloodbath title. We're referring to Gladius, the train-your-gladiator RPG that was a cult success -- that game might be getting a sequel.
Listed on one of the artist's website is a bunch of current titles in the works along with Gladius 2 -- something that hasn't been announced yet. So, take it however you want, but it's kind of hard not to imagine a fairly successful game not getting a sequel. It's the new hot thing, after all.
At a GDC lecture Haden Blackman, the project lead on The Force Unleashed, stated that Lucasarts has now learned a valuable lesson from its development of the game. All future multiplatform projects will prioritize development on the PS3 before being ported over to the 360. This is a direct result of problems and delays during the development of The Force Unleashed caused by trying to port the 360 version to the PS3. The game is now, thankfully, on track, despite these delays.
A live demo of The Force Unleashed was also shown and, from what we've heard, it looks absolutely stunning. We can't wait for its release this summer.
LucasArts' title Fracture seemed neat with terrain deformation mechanics, but some issues were raised that needed addressed: why does the main character look so bland? What happens if you run out of ammo? Some tweaks to the game have been made -- the character looks a bit different (but still a bit generic), and you've a weapon that lets you move the land without using ammo. But it's not as cool. There's a new weapon called the Black Widow that lets you shoot and detonate up to six charges whenever you want. A new stage set in San Francisco was shown, but really, just watch the new video and make your own call.
