Star Wars The Old Republic 1st Gameplay Video

I'm far too drunk to post about it at the moment, but that wont stop me giving you guys a link to the video!

SWTOR GAME PLAY VIDEO

Nerdgasm Nerdgasm Nerdgasm Nerdgasm!

Star Wars : The Force Unleashed Jedi Temple DLC review

PS3 Version reviewed:

For £8.99 ($13.21) I was certainly expecting more bang for my buck, with the latest downloadable content (DLC) from LucasArts, 'The Jedi' temple. Sadly it left me feeling disappointed to say the least and in reality, I'd have had just as much fun re-playing through any of the missions from the original game.

The description by LA for this mission states:

"The Apprentice Mission Pack contains an entirely new single-player mission set in the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant.  In this mission Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice turns to the Jedi Temple to learn more about his father, and while searching through the rubble of the destroyed building he must confront his inner demons..."

Sounds exciting doesn't it? I mean you'd think this would be a fantastic fanboy experience getting to explore the iconic Jedi Temple in Courscant and have an opportunity to match up the various rooms with those seen in the film.. WRONG.

As beautiful as the art work is, in short, it's a saber slashing romp through a few chambers in the temple combined with moments of frustration as you attempt to complete  some annoying puzzles. I say puzzles but in reality it's simply a case of using your force grip to move objects along a few lines similar to the game 'Buzz off', that incredibly annoying game were you have to move a metal hoop along a wavy metal pole trying not to touch it. 

The combat as usual is fun and seemed a lot more difficult than before. This factor is the only thing that prevented me from completing this DLC in less than 10 minutes and I can't help wondering if that was their plan.  Another thing that lengthened the experience was actually figuring out how to access the mission once installed. Eventually I gave up and hit the forums for the answer!

As for the story..... well..... what story?  

I thought I was going to find out more about our Secret Apprentice, aka Galem Marek, aka Starkiller, or indeed his father as the description states but sadly neither materialised.  Instead, **spoiler alert start** we were graced by a holographic image of the his father who told Starkiller that although the dark side was strong in him (Starkiller), it wasn't too late for him to be saved by completing the Jedi trials.  The Jedi trials if you can call them that were the aforementioned game of BuzzOff and moving some broken bridges into position so you could jump across them.

Then of course there was the confronting of ones 'inner demons' which turned out to be a fight with, um.... Starkiller....  Granted this fight was difficult, but given the fact you re-spawned with full health each time he kicked your ass, it was just a matter of time before you worked out his rather large weakness so it became a simple matter of holding down a button at a specific time to take him out with ease. **spoiler alert end**

Just as I was getting into it, BAM, end of mission with no answers, not interesting facts revealed just 30 minutes of hack and slash for £8.99, and fundamentally that's what the problem boils down to.  You see had this content been free or even £3.99, I'd not be moaning about it so much, but given the fact you get longer entertainment from a dvd rental for much less, the new DLC just screams of rip off.  It's sad because I think it will put the majority of fans off paying for future DLC releases. Me included.

I should however point out that included in this DLC are some new character skins and I'm happy to say that unlike in the original game, your character doesn't miraculously switch back into his default outfit during the cut scene.  The other good news is you can use these new outfits / characters in the original game which for some might be a good reason to play through the game again.

The new costume / characters are:

• Temple Exploration Gear - A kind of republic style outfit
• Cybernetic Reconstruction - An extreme version of the Sith Stalker Armor. Looks a bit like Darth Sion - I love it!
  
• Darth Maul Character Skin - Nuff said really
• Mace Windu - Nuff said really
• Qui-Gon Jinn - Nuff said really
• Dark Stalker - I love this one too. It's basically the Sith Stalker armor but without the helmet and shows Starkiller all dark and evil looking
• Sith Training Gear - Cute
• Light Saber Training Droid (like proxy) - Yawn
• Combat Training Droid (Same as above but with different colours)
  

And there you have it.  I should point out that the character skins are just that, skins. They all hold the lightsaber like Starkiller and Starkiller remains the character you play in the story so they're nothing more than some eye candy for the fanboys.  The Sith Stalker armors however still allow you to play as Starkiller for immersion purposes.

So in conclusion, the Jedi Temple DLC fails to hit the mark even with me, a fanboy who normally sees the greatness in most things Star Wars.  The price of this DLC is what has me so negative and I honestly feel I've been taken for a ride.... 

Come on guys, I know anything branded with Star Wars will sell but really! You have to do better than this! Show us some respect!

What kind of Lightsaber would YOU construct?

As a kid, Star Wars was all about the amazing lightsabers.  I didn't really know or understand about the variations in hilts and what they meant to the Jedi and Sith who crafted them, or indeed the unique history behind each saber.

To the Jedi and Sith, the crafting of a lightsaber was a deeply personal  and unique experience often taking several months to complete.  To the Jedi, the task of constructing a lightsaber was an important part of a padawan's training and the final design for both Jedi and Sith very much reflected their personality as well as individual style and needs.

I grew older, the Star Wars universe and extended universe pulled me in and it become so much more than just the sabers but like many fans, they've always remained an object of intense fascination and I often wondered what kind of Lightsaber I'd construct if I lived and the Star Wars universe as a Jedi or Sith.  What would MY lightsaber look like, and how would it reflect my personality?  Take Obi-Wan's Saber for example.

This particular hilt is one of four hilts used by Obi-Wan during his lifetime and built after he lost his third (and favorite) saber in the battle against Darth Maul on Naboo.  This was in fact the hilt originally used by Alex Guiness as old Obi-Wan and Ewan Mcgregor in Revenge of the Sith.

It could be said that it reflects his Business like and brash personality.

This was another hilt used by Obi Wan but rather than it being designed to reflect the character, it was actually chosen by Actor Ewan McGregor from a number of other hilts. We'll forget about that though because it shatters the idea that the hilt is designed based on the character.  If you're interested, here's the moment Ewan selects his hilt on You Tube.

So anyway, back to MY saber!

I could have tried crafting my saber using real life materials from somewhere like www.saberkit.com but that would have cost me money and I'm useless at creating things with my hands!  So I decided to try and create my saber using 3D software.  Using the trial version of 3dsMax, I tinkered with the program for a few hours (well a lot of hours to be honest) until I got to grasps with the way it works.  After experimenting and creating some really awful hilts, it eventually all fell into place and i was able to create a hilt just the way I envisioned it in my head.

I present to you Ladies and Gentleman, MY Jedi Lightsaber! (Sith version will come soon!)

Click the images for full size view!

So why this design?  

Well I looked at many other designs to get some ideas before I started.  I have a couple of the Force FX Lightsabers at home so I was able examine them and of course play around with them. 

One thing that struck me about the Anakin / Vader hilt is although it's pretty, it's a bitch to hold and feels really uncomfortable in the hand. I guess that's because it's a two handed hilt.

It's like holding a brick!

I wanted something that was relatively simplistic in design but with a smooth and comfortable handle.  (Yes I'm imagining it's real!) Cut into the metal handle are a number of attractive ring groves which are designed to improve grip as well as add to the over all look by giving it colour. Black and dark red in this case.  The two bulbous parts at each end are designed to ensure the saber doesn't slip out of the hand during vigorous combat (Which of course I'd be participating in regularly. Shhh, don't spoil the moment!)

So lets examine the features of my new saber!

And finally, the demonstration would not be complete without a photo of it activated :D

Bioware Respond to Oversized Lightsaber Outcry

Yeah I know this is a generic Star Wars Blog and not specific to Star Wars games, but come on! Give me a break, Star Wars: The Old Republic is all anyone's talking about at the moment!

And on that note my Fan Boy friends, here's some fresh info on SWTOR as those great guys over at Allakhazam.con have just intervied Sean Dahlberg, the Comminuty Manager for Star Wars: The Old Republic over at BioWare.

In the interview he speaks about the Storyline, the team, PVP, and of course as this blog title suggests, confirms that they've made some alterations to the lightsabers (see relevant story here) based on the feedback from the community saying:

"Of course, we've heard the community's feedback on the first screenshots we've released and the art team has made some adjustments. These changes will be prevalent in the next round of screenshots we release, I believe."

Anyway, check out the whole interview over at www.allakhazam.com

SWTOR: New Concept Art Published

Like a hungry dog hanging out at the back of a restaurant, I'm always over at www.SWTOR.com looking for any kind of scraps to satisfy my fanboy needs. After a few weeks of a rumbling stomach, the boys at Bioware have thrown us another juicy bone, this time in the form of some new concept art for us to get our teeth in to.

These are:

The Assassin Droid

Known for their efficiency and dangerous accuracy with weaponry, these Assassin Droids are extremely loyal to their masters.

The Medical Droid

When in need of surgery, these medical droids can perform almost all necessary operations.

Jedi Lightsaber

The lightsaber: not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a civilized age.

Blaster Rifle

An alternative to lightsabers, blasters also make for a deadly weapon.

Blaster

Some say that ancient religions and “elegant” weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side

Sith Lightsaber

Sith lightsabers in the Old Republic era often include distinct attachments.

Jedi of the Past

These hallways contain holo-images of revered Jedi of the past

Republic Lookout Tower

The lookout tower serves to warn Republic forces of impending attacks.

Sith Imprisonment Chamber

An ancient Sith imprisonment chamber holding a long-forgotten captive.

Jedi Enclave

A peaceful Jedi enclave.

I'm sure you'll agree these look great. Personally I'm more interested in actual screenshots than concept art but it's all good in the hood. Hopefully however, we'll get thrown some new screenshots soon.

Read all my Star Wars related blogs @ www.starwarsfanboys.com

SWTOR opens up some old SWG wounds : Star Wars Galaxies

Browsing the forums over at www.swtor.com I've been amused to see they've become a breeding ground for disgruntled ex SWG players who love nothing more than to dish the dirt on SWG and the NGE (New Game Enhancement).  Since you don't need an active subscription to post, and SOE's over zealous forum police have no ability to delete such hate threads (as they commonly do on their own boards), it's plain to see that the NGE farce just wont go away and probably won't until SWG shuts up shop.

So why after all this time are people still upset about SWG's NGE?

Let me explain. 

You see when I first started playing SWG all these years ago, I was blown away by the sandbox universe and the game gripped me firmly by the balls and refused to let go.  It was a complex game full of unique challenges but that is why I, and most of the other fans loved it.  

I started my journey as a humble human scout and over time (a very long time)  progressed into being a Master Rifleman. I explored so many of the professions and spent a great deal of time as a Combat Medic before eventually settling on  Bounty Hunter with some skills in other areas.  That era is extremely memorable, hunting player Jedi when death actually lost them experience, made the whole hunt more exciting.

I got lost in that world. I made friends, a few enemies but for a chunk of my life, SWG became just that, my life.  I was a year into the game when I saw the first Jedi player and it was an extremely exciting moment for me.  That excitement turned to disappointment when I learned how ridiculously difficult it was to actually unlock a Jedi.  I knew I didn't have the motivation, time or patience to do all that work.  That's when I decided to become a Bounty Hunter.  If I couldn't be a Jedi, I'd hunt them instead muhahahahaha.

More years passed and SOE changed the way Jedi could be unlocked.  I studied that system and came to the same conclusion. Even though the path to Jedi was clearer, it was still a very long and difficult path so I consoled myself by going out and hunting more Jedi muhahahaha.  I became quite good at it and again I'll reinforce that those days were some of the best. Perhaps I'll blog about some of my more memorable hunts in a future post.

My SWG life changed the day a young women entered my in game shop to buy some bio-engineered clothing.  We role played a little and I discovered she was a Jedi.  Turns out I was the first Bounty Hunter to kill her and though I'd not remembered her, I found here rotting corpse amongst the screenshots I'd taken of all my victims.   Long story short, we became friends, she held no grudges, and she talked me into going down the Jedi path promising to guide me with her knowledge.

So I began the insane grind to become a padawan, a journey that from start to finish took me just under a year and a half to complete.  During that time it was all I did. I logged on, ground, ground, ground, almost to the determent of my real life, but definitely to the detriment of my enjoyment of the game.  I knew I was hating every moment of the process but I knew the end reward, becomeing a Jedi would be worth the pain.  I spent so many hours playing SWG that it started to put a strain on my marriage (Yes, looking back it's pathetic!).

Severn or eight months into the process and after thousands of tedious hours I finally unlocked Jedi. Up until that point I'd still been a non force sensitive even after all the hard work, Amazingly I still had around 7 months of grinding to become a full powered Jedi.   Part of the way through the padawan trials I constructed my first lightsaber and the first time my character equiped it and ignited the blade I was practically orgasmic. It is a moment I'll never forget!

I began the padawan trials and quickly realised how weak a newly unlocked Jedi was. Beasts I could one shot kill as a rifleman were now a serious challenge to kill alone, a situation that presented all newly unlocked Jedi with a tough decision. You see in order to gain the XP you needed to get more power and skills, you needed to kill ALOT of creatures. It was almost impossible to do this alone but if you did it in a group, by using your force powers near other people (even other Jedi) or NPC's, you gained visibility.  Once you gained enough visibility (which happened very quickly in a large grind group) you ended up on the Bounty Hunter terminals.  Bounty Hunters would pick up these missions and by using droids, they'd get a fix on your position and track you down.  Generally their tactic was to wait until you were in a vulnerable position before striking (normally when your health was low.)  They'd spring out of nowhere and if you weren't quick enough you'd be no match for them given your low power in relation to their high power. More often than not you died losing the valuable XP you'd just spent the last 5 hours grinding.  Hate between the Jedi and Bounty Hunter professions was high.  Ironically for me, the hunter became the hunted and I died many times at the hands of a Bounty Hunter. It was a case of 3 steps forward 2 steps back.

Looking back, the fear of Bounty Hunters and constantly playing in a state of high alert is something that truly made the game amazing. I've never played a game since that had me so emotionally attached to my character than when I grinded my Jedi. 

Of course as I gained more XP and my Jedi became more powerful by unlocking new Jedi skills, I was starting to win a few of these encounters.  Unlocking invisibility changed my grind because I was now much more able to evade Bounty Hunters meaning less interruptions to my grind and less XP loss.  Eventually I reached a point both in Jedi power skill and actual player skill that I was able to make short work of most of the Bounty Hunters that came for me, but this took many months of hard work. There were some notorious Bounty Hunters who used to amaze me with their skill. I'd generally run from those ones. 

Now that I was able to hold my own against my Bounty Hunter enemies, suddenly all the hard work, sweat, tears, blood had become worth it. I was now truly having the most enjoyable experience I'd ever had in a game or an MMO. and these memorable battles with the Bounty Hunters will stay with me forever.  

"2 months later SOE announced the NGE which as we now know meant among many other disastrous things, that a player could become a Jedi right out of the box"

So there I was a year and a half later a full template Jedi, living the SWG dream and having an amazing time.  Dying to Bounty Hunters was not so important as even though I lost XP, it didn't matter because I could not lose any skills.  2 months later SOE announced the NGE which as we now know meant among many other disastrous things, that a player could become a Jedi right out of the box and by simply clicking on a picture of Luke Skywalker at character creation. When it sunk in, when the realisation was made that I'd just wasted all those thousands of hours and just over a year and half of hard work, I cried. Yep, I actually cried. 

To make matters worse it was clear that the motivation behind the NGE for SOE was to pull in more subscribers at the expense of their existing loyal players.  Not once did it cross my mind that the investment I was making into becoming a Jedi would be so diabolically disrespected by the very people I trusted with the game.  

To add insult to injury, as compensation to the pre NGE Jedi, SOE gave us some special items and abilities.  These were, the ability to turn into a hologram, the Elder Robe and a Lightsaber Crystal. Though at the time we were told they would be the most powerful in the game, SOE have again gone back on their word by introducing robes and crystals that are more powerful than those given to the pre-NGE Jedi.

So now you see why so many people STILL have a lot of emotion when it comes to SWG and the NGE.   The NGE wasn't just about a change to a game, it was about  wiping out of thousands of invested hours with single patch.  It was in our minds, a betrayal that will never be forgotten.

The Science of Star Wars : First use of hologram

It's not easy for science fiction writers to imagine what technology will exist in the future and get it right. I often chuckle at sci-fi movies from the past that contain 'hi-tech gadgetry' that would be laughed at in today's society.

Take the telegraph pole sticking out of Lt. Uhura's ear in the original Star Trek series which we're meant to believe will be all the rage in 2265! This device is 'used by communication officers, science officers and navigators during the 22nd and 23rd centuries but we know that technology has already surpassed that, even in our humble 21st Century.

Science fiction has been responsible for inspiring many of today's gadgets and it's exciting to see what technology will materialise in the future. Teleportaion, Cloaking, the Holodeck (My personal favorite muhahaha) and um... lightsabers are all possibilities. Who knows maybe one day we'll be able to talk to each other from different geographical areas in the form of a life size holograms just like they do in Star Wars.

Well starwarsfanboys.com fans, hopefully we won't be waiting too long for the later because last week, this technology was brought to life as a CNN news reporter was beamed from Chicago to their studio in New York as an actual 3D hologram.

Using 35 High Definition cameras filming her every movement inside a special tent, CNN Correspondent Jessica Yellin was transmitted to the New York Studio in 3D and according to CNN's Wolf Blitzer who was in the studio talking to Yellin, the image was realistic and looked exactly like Jessica.

As exciting as this technology is, given the equipment involved and the general expense, it'll be a while before we see them in our homes. Just think though how amazing it would be to talk to distant family and friends as though they were in the same room!

So George, looks like you got it right!

You can watch the whole 3D interview below:

Fanboys Trailer Released

In case you've not heard about the up-and-coming film produced by Kevin Spacey, Fanboys is a story about a group of uber Star Wars nerds who (due to one of them having a terminal illness) decide to break into Gerorge Lucas's house and steal the production copy of Episode I before it's released to the public so the friend can see it before he dies.

Personally I'm not a fan of these types of 'Road Trip' comedies, but because it's based on Star Wars, I'll certainly go and see the flick when it's released sometime in 2009...

Anyway, here's the newly released trailer so you can judge for yourself.

Edit: Due to the lack of sizing options for the video, I've removed the video and provided a direct link instead.

View the video.

Attack of the Nerds!

I love this video! When standing in line to see a Star Wars movie, a group of rockers decided it would be fun to take the piss out of the Star Wars Nerds. A fight broke out and, well, just watch the video :D  

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Star Wars Millennium Falcon - Hide it from your kids!

Enlarged View Here

Definitely not for the kids, Hasbro's new Millennium Falcon model is bigger and better than any that's gone before.  With authentic lights and sound effects from the movie, this new toy is sure to become a favorite among collectors and enthusiasts.

The iconic Corellian freighter, The Millennium Falcon was won by Han Solo from his buddy and fellow scoundrel Lando Calrissan in a game of sabaac and was used to smuggle Obi-Wan and Luke off the desert world Tatooine.  There are many differences between this model and those of the past but most notably is it's size. This new model is pretty damn big as you can see form the image below!

Director of Marketing for Star Wars at Hasbro, Derryl Depriest had this to say about the over sized ship:

"We've always wanted to make a bigger MILLENNIUM FALCON. When we literally "broke the mold" we seized the opportunity to fulfill ours wishes as well as the fans. Legions of young STAR WARS fans have grown up playing with the original MILLENNIUM FALCON toy. In designing the new MILLENNIUM FALCON for a new generation of fans, Hasbro's design team succeeded in adding new features that will both excite kids and thrill our devoted collectors."

Now before you go rushing out to get one, you might want to check your bank balance first! Like many of the new collector edition star wars models, this one aint cheap at £150!  I have to say, no matter how much I love this ship, I'm afraid £150 is simply too much for me even for the fastest ship in the galaxy!  

Features:

- Approximate Size (LxWxH): 32”x23”x8” 
- Includes 3.75-inch Han Solo & Chewbacca action figures
- 3.75-inch action figure capacity: 18 
- Light-up headlights
- Light-up engines
- Authentic movie sound effects: engine boost, cruise mode, fly-by, firing cannons, etc.
- Authentic movie phrases
- Light-up cockpit
- Medical bay
- Auto-opening boarding ramp w/ sounds
- Secret smuggling compartments
- Pivoting gunner station
- Rotating radar dish
- Light-up, "holographic" Dejarik game table
- Electronic, rotating laser turret w/ sounds
- Electronic, 3-missile launcher w/ sounds
- Electronic docking bay
- Electronic Jedi training probe w/ sounds

Former SWG Lead Designer, Jeff Freeman, Takes Own Life

The former Star Wars Galaxies Lead Designer, Jeff Freeman, and man who took a huge deal of flak over the controversial New Game Enhancement (NGE) has taken his own life.

Freeman drew a torrent of abuse and criticism from disgruntled SWG fans and became the fall guy for the disastrous NGE after admitting in an online post [See article here] he was the man who said "Yes we can do that" even though in the same post he states that when originally discussing the proposal, it was very much a case of "There's no way we can do that, there's no way we should do that, the man will never let us get away with doing that."

Here's a quote from the article:

"When the NGE launched and the fiasco became apparent, Freeman deleted this post - but not before the Betrayed found it. A name! At last, a name for all their grief!

The Betrayed descended like maenads. On "refugee" forums like MMORPG.com's "SWG Veterans Refuge," dozens of bitter young males, unfamiliar with the collaborative design of MMOGs, heaped daily scorn upon this water-carrier, this flunky, as the unstoppable mastermind of the entire NGE. Though his original blog post was unclear, Freeman was in fact discussing just one aspect of the NGE: its "Fast Action Combat," the only part he designed. (He still believes it improved the game.) In late 2006, after he left SOE - he now has a design position at Spacetime Studios - Freeman ventured, perhaps unwisely, onto the MMORPG.com refugee forum to clarify this."

However, Freeman's Brother has stated that Jeff's suicide had nothing to do with Star Wars Galaxies stating, "I want everyone to know that it was not SWG that led him to take his life. He has been troubled for some time. There were a lot of personal issues that tore at him"

New Unseen SWTOR Screenshots and Concept Art

Here are some additional screenshots for the recently announced MMO from BioWare. Star Wars The Old Repubic. These screens and concept art images are not available on the official website www.swtor.com

Please click the thumbnails to view the full size images..

Screenshots

Concept Art