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Chris reported earlier on the rumors that LucasArts had split from the ESA, and now it looks like those rumors have been confirmed. The ESA has now stated officially that the company is no longer a member of the group. According to Rich Taylor, Senior Vice President of Communications and Research for the ESA:

“Today, we can confirm that one of our members, LucasArts, has decided not to renew its membership. We value each member of our association, but respect the unique factors that led to LucasArts’ decision.”

First Activision and Vivendi, and now LucasArts; and it’s only been a month. To state the obvious, this is not looking good for the ESA, particularly amidst statements that many developers are not happy with the direction the organization is taking. On the plus side, LucasArts is still apparently presenting at E3, so we can still look forward to some announcements from them in the near future.

Via Kotaku

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Most of us here at Gaming Today are pretty excited about Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. So imagine my delight when I opened an email from a gamer buddy of mine who had enough brotherly love for me to send in some awesome Vader pics. Not all of these are screenshots, some are artwork, but they are still pretty cool, and two of them are indeed actual screens from the game.

You can view all there is to know about the upcoming game from LucasArts by clicking here, and there are more screens via that link as well.The game is expected to hit shelves on September 16 for multiple platforms.

Enjoy.

Force Unleashed producer Cameron Suey claims that the game will leave PS3 and Xbox 360 fanboys nothing to argue about. Players should see no difference between the PS3 and 360 versions of the game.

“Between the Xbox 360 and the PS3, if we’ve done our job right, they’ll be indistinguishable,” Suey told Eurogamer during a recent press event to showcase progress on the next-generation versions.

“We really wanted to make the same sort of polished, high-end next-gen experience on both those versions.”

Suey also attempted to explain why gamers won’t have multiplayer as an option on the PS3 or the Xbox 360 for the latest Star Wars title.

We knew that to really make the fully polished story experience that we wanted to make, we had to focus on that single-player experience. It definitely was a good choice, I think. It’s easy to have a game that’s just okay, with a multiplayer that’s just okay - but we really preferred to have that powerful single-player experience,” he said.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is due out on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2 , DS, PSP and the N-Gage in North America on September 16, 2008; in Australia on September 17, 2008; and in Europe on September 19, 2008.

via Eurogamer

Finally, LucasArts has released a PC demo for the highly anticipated LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, and I for one am downloading it right now.

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures takes the fun and creative construction of LEGO and combines it with the wits, daring and non-stop action from the original cinematic adventures “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”.

To top it off, 1Up has posted some fun screens for it today, and to view them just hit the thumbnails below. The game is expected to be released on June 3rd for the PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, DS, Xbox-360 and Wii.

A representative from LucasArts has confirmed that there will be a demo for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which will be released through Xbox Live and the Playstation Network (sorry, Wii owners). The company wants more people to see the game first-hand, which will hopefully convince them to buy it. According to Cameron Suey, the producer for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions:

“I’m not certain about the specifics, but we definitely want to get this game out into people’s hands,” Suey told us. “There are people who are excited about it, who are going to play it right away, whether they play it (the demo) or not. But I think something that is wonderful is that the gameplay itself is so engaging, people who aren’t Star Wars fans or who aren’t even hardcore gamers, once they get their hands on some of the gameplay and how it works, are really going to be won over by it.”

When asked directly if LucasArts planned to release a demo, Suey replied: “Yeah. We definitely want to get it out there.”

Unfortunately, no word yet on when exactly a demo might be coming. Rest assured though that whenever it does, I’ll be playing the hell out of that thing.

Via VideoGamer.com

Its been a few weeks since we’ve had a regular installment but this week I thought it would be interesting to talk about a few random news items along with a quick review of the Wizards of the Coast produced card and dice game – Inn-Fighting.

Inn-Fighting
Price: $14.99
Release Date: October 2007

Not sure what you want to do tonight? Maybe one of your regular players has decided not to show up and you’re left holding the game on their account. Well I can heartily recommend Inn-Fighting as a great way to keep the game group focused on the fantasy RPG elements without having to break your back on story and plotting.

Inn-Fighting is a dice and card game that is meant to simulate the wildest bar fight in the world. Players draw from a small selection of adventurer cards and then abruptly begin to bash and beat the other players at the table with the table. The goal of the game is to defeat enough opponents in the brawl that you accumulate 20 victory points. Points are gained by defeating bystanders or opponents and the game does an excellent job of introducing unique characters with often humorous special abilities into the fray.

Read the full article

LucasArts has unveiled a new trailer for the upcoming LEGO Indiana Jones, which shows off a few of the gameplay features. Like the past LEGO Star Wars games, the brick-based environments will have you constructing and deconstructing all manner of in-game objects to solve puzzles and such. Of course, since there are no Force powers in Indy’s world, he’ll have to rely on his hands – and his fists — to get the job done. This time around, supporting characters will have more specific powers rather than just being cookie-cutter versions of each other. Look for this game to hit store shelves later this summer.

Well, July is approaching fast, and E3 with it. We received the list of E3 exhibitors, and thought we’d share them with you. As usual, you can expect us to have a team from Gaming Today on site to bring you coverage right from the Convention Center.

This year’s list includes (among others) Atari, Eidos, EA, Konami, LucasArts, Square Enix, and of course the big three of the console world: Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. Contrary to popular rumor, Bethesda will make an appearance with Fallout 3, as confirmed by their blog post. Apparently they were left off the initial listing for an unknown reason.

You can see a full list of the companies currently expected to attend after the break.

Read the full article

There’s a new article up for Star Wars Galaxies covering the expertise system, specifically Jedi paths. As you would expect most of the paths are divided into Light or Dark side with one neutral path available. The article explains each of the abilities but offers no suggestions or strategies on builds.

Players that are looking for a fresh start will enjoy having all their skills reset when SWG Game Update 3 goes live. If you don’t mind messing up some of your history, it might be a great time to take a walk on the wild side or the straight and narrow for a change of pace.

via Station

Remember Bellog from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”? You know who I am talking about, he was Indy’s nemesis and tried to steal Marion away from him and hung out with Nazis. Eurogamer has a great interview with him over on their site where he talks about the new LEGO Indiana Jones game, what it was like to work with snakes, how much his signature is selling for on eBay and all sorts of other interesting subjects. It is definitely a good read. Here is an excerpt:

Eurogamer: Have you had a chance to take a look at the LEGO Indiana Jones game? What do you think of it?

Paul Freeman: I have had a look, yes. It looks like fun to me. I don’t play games so it was all new, but yes. And the LEGO thing will introduce a whole new audience to Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Eurogamer: Does it look like the sort of game you might be able to get into?

Paul Freeman: Me? No. I will never play a game in my life.

Eurogamer: Even though you’re in this one?

Paul Freeman: But I’m not, am I? It’s this little fat plastic cube… It doesn’t look the least bit like me. How could it, a little yellow plastic cube? It wears a white hat at some point. It is better than Marian’s, though. They haven’t made her the most beautiful LEGO figure in the world, have they? Her hair looks a bit like a tea cosy. It’s strange.

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures will hit retail on June 6th for DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360. To read the rest of this fun interview, hit the link below.

Thanks: Eurogamer

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is going to be loads of fun, but if you already knew that, here are some more facts concerning the game that you may or may not have known - one of which is the fact that over 60 playable characters will be featured in the game including: Marion Ravenwood, Short Round, Rene Belloq, Willie Scott, Marcus Brody, Jones Senior and Mola Ram.

Great, Short Round…the little jerk.

The game will be shipping to North America on June 8th and will be available on multiple platforms.

• Everyone’s favorite fedora wearing hero returns to theaters this May in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and families can celebrate the humor and excitement of the original films with LEGO Indiana Jones.
• Tongue-in-cheek humor presents The Original Adventures in a manner only LEGO can whip up, with comical reinterpretations of classic Indiana Jones scenes and elements.
• Use Indy’s signature whip as a multi-purpose tool to attack, disarm, swing across gaps, activate levers and interact with a world of LEGO objects and puzzles.
• For the first time, LEGO Indy characters are fully immersed in their environment; swim, climb, shimmy across rock ledges and pick up and carry objects.
• Use a variety of weapons from the environment to fight enemies (e.g., chairs, guns, swords, bottles).
• Unlock more than 60 playable characters, including villains and supporting characters (Marion Ravenwood, Short Round, Rene Belloq, Willie Scott, Marcus Brody, Jones Senior and Mola Ram).
• Character specific abilities include excavation by Satipo, an umbrella slide by Marcus Brody, and monkey access by Marion Ravenwood.
• Create unique playable characters like Sallah Scott or Mola Round by mixing and matching the LEGO body parts of all playable characters.
• Explore the globe and solve puzzles that encourage creative thinking through the use of teamwork and unique building situations only possible in a LEGO world.
• Cooperative gameplay encourages parents to share the legacy of Indiana Jones with their children in a fun and humorous way.

LucasArts has unveiled a brand new behind-the-scenes documentary for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. In this video, the developers talk about how they tried to make the game unique for each platform it was developed for. As such, you’ll of course be swinging the remote and nunchuk for the Wii version, which the developers say will make you feel more like you’re actually in control of the lightsaber (though I’m betting you’ll still just be flailing your arms wildly at times). The DS version will have you tapping different lightsaber moves to string together combos, plus a few multiplayer modes. Also, the PS2 version will have a bonus level, while the PSP version will have a “Historic Mode,” where you can recreate major battles from the films. Hopefully they won’t forget to throw in some cool stuff for the many, many Xbox 360 and PS3 owners out there.

The force will be unleashed on September 16 folks, because today LucasArts has finally given long suffering fans an exact release date via a wonderful press release. Europe will see their version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed launch on September 19, and our Asian and Australian brethren will get in on the action come September 17.

How awesome it is going to be playing as Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice” in an story set during the largely unexplored era between “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith” and “Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope”? Finally we will get to try and rid the universe of Jedi…. mwha ha ha ha ha!!! Yes, I am rubbing my hands together maniacally as I say that.

To top off this awesome news, LucasArts and Spike TV are teaming up together to unveil new details and exclusive footage from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed in celebration of Spike TV’s airing of all six Star Wars movies. Spike TV’s two-weekend event includes the broadcast premiere of “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith” and the basic cable premieres of “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” and “Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones”. This marks the first time that all six movies will be presented together on a basic cable network and while they have been advertising this event for the past week or so, nothing regarding The Force Unleashed has been mentioned until now.

Viewers will see special Star Wars:The Force Unleashed segments, each with an exclusive announcement or new game play footage, at the following times on Spike TV:

• April 6 at 7:58 p.m. ET/PT – between the premiere of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
• April 11 at 10:52 p.m. ET/PT – At the end of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
• April 12 at 12:00 a.m. ET/PT – throughout an episode of GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley filmed at LucasArts’ headquarters in San Francisco
• April 12 at 5:06 p.m. ET/PT – before Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
• April 13 at 5:06 p.m. ET/PT – before Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back

LucasArts and developer Krome Studios are also creating a version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on the PS2, PSP and Wii while n-Space, Inc., is developing a version for Nintendo DS. All will feature the same storyline, so that no one misses out on the awesomeness.

In preparation, LucasArts around the launch of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, expect to see a full line of toys and game-based action figures from Hasbro, as well as a full publishing program from Dark Horse, Del Rey, Prima Games, and Palace Press.

For more information on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed check out our previous posts.

Via: Press Release

I have a problem. It’s not a serious addiction, in fact its much the opposite of an addiction. I can’t commit.

If the subject of my problem were a woman I’d be the very picture of a man who wouldn’t commit – frequent hot dates with a possibility of long term relationships are tossed to the side in search of the next shiny object or attractive game setting. I dawdle between games like a child with free run of a candy store and no oversight. I just can’t seem to find that special game to break me of my wanderlust.

Now you might not think this a serious problem, I mean after all, who doesn’t play multiple games? But my issue goes beyond rotating pastimes to keep from losing interest. I have a staple game I play – Guild Wars – mostly because its free and doesn’t require a huge commitment of time or energy to hop into any of its settings and grind out a few missions or quests. Guild Wars is like the partner who dislikes your wandering habits but lets you come home whenever you feel like it because it knows it’ll always get what it can while you’re around.
Read the full article

Gosh, I can remember having Star War shampoo as a kid. Of course, the bottles back then were not as snazzy as these and mine did not have a pump on it. Instead you screwed the head off and poured the shampoo into your hand. If these aren’t enough to make you feel all warm and cozily nostalgic inside, then you are indeed dead my friends. Dead as Chewbacca was after the planet he was on collided with one of its moons in “Vector Prime”. Ya know, speaking of which, I have always been a pretty big R.A. Salvatore fan, especially of all of his Drizzt books, but this was just uncalled for. I know that the argument over this is almost 10 years old, but it still bugs me to no end that Lucas suggested such a thing and that Salvatore felt forced to go through with it.

Anyway, enjoy the trip down memory lane, because once these are gone, who knows when someone will decide to bring them back.

Now that I think about it, with George Lucas working on a Star Wars Television Series, we may see more of this kind of thing between now and next year when the show is supposed to debut.

Thanks: 1P Start

We have heard that LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures would be hitting stores in May just in time for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to open in theaters, and despite conflicting reports of the game’s release date being anywhere from May to July, and Amazon is taking pre-orders for a June 3rd release. Suffice it say, it will get here when it gets it here. Hopefully soon we will have a press release which will put the argument to rest once and for all, but until that day comes we can continue to enjoy the screens that keep trickling in for it.

Oh, and before anyone gets in an uproar over the box art I posted being for the PS3, you can rest easy knowing that it will be made available for all gaming consoles, the PC, and both the DS and PSP.

First we heard this morning that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed had its release date moved to August instead of early summer. If this news was not grim enough for fans who originally thought it was coming out in April and were waiting impatiently for the game, later we heard that this news was not entirely accurate. Once again, hopes started to soar… only later to be shot down in flames.

Activision put the August rumors out to pasture and instead officially confirmed that it will be making its way to North American retailers in September. Gaming Today, along with numerous other gaming sites were well aware that it would be here sometime this summer, yet the news that it was being moved to September (which is late summer) has been the case for a few months now without any exact date given to us. But it is now official, The Force Unleashed will be here sometime around September 9th.

Keep your ears open and eyes peeled though, because when a release date changes this much, you never know when it might change again, but hopefully it won’t.

Via: Videogaming247 with date confirmation from the 1Up site

After a week break, Shawn and Ron return for the 22nd installment of the File-N-Forget podcast. This week the topic is MMOs and the impact that players have on developer decisions. Our hosts discuss the upcoming changes to World of Warcraft and the proposed change Blizzard later reversed to the Warlock Lifetap ability because of player outcry. Star Wars Galaxies of course gets brought into the fray when the discussion turns to examples of where developers chose to ignore the fans and the consequences of that decision.

What impact do you think players have on persistent games and their development? Should players be more or less involved? Post your opinions below.

This week we also introduce the “What are you playing and why?” segment.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

We’ve heard a lot about the upcoming Lego Indiana Jones game, but we haven’t really seen it in action until now. This new trailer for the game shows the first level, where you control Indy and…that guy that was played by Alfred Molina. The gameplay looks exactly like you’d expect: like the developers took the Lego Star Wars formula and applied it to the Indiana Jones world. Of course, that’s definitely not a bad thing.

The long awaited Sith Lords KOTOR 2 Restoration Project version 1.0b1 will released to the closed beta team this weekend. As the last step in development before the v. 1.0c1 public release, it looks as this may be the year fans see the official release.

This mod project is very similar to Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines in that the modding team is restoring content to the original game. At this point not all the content slated for restoration is back in, but Dashus has said more will probably be restored by the time the mod is released. For the projected list of what been restored and what’s being ignored, visit Team Gizka: What’s (being) restored.

via Team Gizka: A modder thing…