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