I don’t know about the rest of you, but the announcement that LucasArts was reviving some of their back catalog got me excited. After all, who didn’t love games like Star Wars Republic Commando and Battlefront II? In addition, there’s Tales of Monkey Island as a brand new title from Telltale Games.

If reading Eva’s impressions of Monkey Island got your interest up, I’ve got some good news for you.

FileFront now has the playable demo of Guybrush Threepwood’s triumphant return for you to download and try out. Simply click this link to head over and download the demo from FileFront’s fast, free servers.

I fully expect you all to come back here and tell us what you think of the demo. After all, that’s why we have the comments section.

The complete annotated list includes:

• Armed and Dangerous™
• Indiana Jones® and the Fate of Atlantis
• Indiana Jones® and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
• LEGO® Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure
• LOOM™
• Star Wars Battlefront® II
• Star Wars Republic Commando®
• Star Wars Starfighter™
• The Dig®
• Thrillville®: Off the Rails™

It definitely looks like Lucasarts is trying to recapture the the glory days of the company before it became the “bad” Star Wars game and LEGO tie-in company. The games will be released on the Xbox 360 via Live! as well.

There are a few more games I’d love to see make this list like the Maniac Mansion games, or Grim Fandango – by Tim Schafer – lately the mind behind Psychonauts and Brutal Legend.  Till then however I think I might just consider picking up another copy of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and LOOM.

Well that actually happened as the publishing giant reorganized a bit putting RPG mavens Bioware and long time MMO developers Mythic in the same division. While the two studios will remain mostly autonomous for the time being, they now both have a single reporting line up the chain to the big bosses and money men. That single leader? Bioware’s Dr. Ray Muzyka.

Dr. Muzyka’s ascencion to the head of the organization basically also points to the exit of Mythic’s longtime leader Mark Jacobs. According to Jacob’s blog the MMO pioneer is taking a sabatical for awhile and he leaves with a classy ‘I’m not going to dish on anything, I’m just going to thank folks and peacefully step aside’ sort of announcement – a classy response that we don’t get to see so often these days.

Regarding the future path of the now combined studio’s efforts, Dr. Muzyka indicated in an official response over on IGN that:

Anything’s possible. We can’t say it wouldn’t happen. There’s no active plans, currently to do that, but the teams at Mythic and BioWare I know from talking to all of them, they’re really excited about working together, so I think that fuels a lot of cool things.

Warhammer: Age of Reckoning is still holding strong in the WoW dominated MMO market while Bioware’s first effort – the much anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic is still a ways off. Mythic has a lot of experience that could help the minds at Bioware pull off their vision of Star Wars and maybe even put a dent in the Warcraft numbers but only time will tell if this pairing will be all it seems.

The Clone Trooper Blasters are made to work with the upcoming Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes game. It uses both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk for a duel trigger action, one the barrel and one on the nunchuck. You can customize each blaster with a nice variety of stickers that are included.

The Light-up Lightsabers aren’t designed for any specific game. They’re sculpted replicas of Yoda and Anakin Skywalker’s lightsabers. The Wii-mote fits right in the hilt. You can turn the light up feature on and off to conserve battery power.

Pictures of all three Power A Clone Trooper Blasters and both Light-up Lightsabers follow the break.

According to many different sources speaking to GamesIndustry.biz this morning, it is being reported that Free Radical Design has closed down and an unknown number of staff and senior executives have left already. One staff member even went so far as to tell GI.biz that when they showed up for work the doors were locked and a note on the door told them to go to a nearby hotel for a meeting. Why did that make me giggle a little? Sorry, being gutter minded here.

While it is indeed sad news to hear of another gaming studio shutting its doors, where does this leave the “unnamed” LucasArts project they have been quietly working on despite the deal with LucasArts going down the toilet back in October? Supposedly, the game has been sent to Rebellion to be worked on instead, the game was Star Wars Battlefront III. If that is the case, it is a good move because Rebellion, as you all know, were the masterminds behind the very popular Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron. However, that is still rumor at this point like I said, so just keep your shirts on.

You may recall that during the past few months, stirrings around the internet have claimed that trouble had been brewing at Free Radical for quite some time, with even the assumption that many changes and lay-offs were to happen at any day thanks to the parting of ways with LucasArts and the flop known as Haze. All of this was subsequently denied by the company’s director Steve Ellis, who like most higher-ups dismissed the accusations as false:

“Nothing unusual is happening here. Projects end. New projects start. That’s how things have worked for nearly 10 years. TimeSplitters 4 and an unnamed project are both still in development [along with] other unannounced projects, which are in the process of being signed. We certainly won’t be laying off any staff today. Or, for that matter, any time in 2008. If something happens in 2009 I’m sure we’ll be prepared to comment – but from where I’m sitting, whatever happens is far more likely to be positive than negative.”

As of this post, all calls to the Free Radical offices were yet to be returned and no word on whether or not we can expect an official announcement or press release soon has been divulged either. But, Edge apparently has some inside information on what went down during the hotel meeting. You can view that after the break.

I pulled this straight from the site instead of breaking it down for you:

Our source updated us with more inside information from the Free Radical staff meeting that took place at a hotel near the studio. Apparently, Free Radical knew the urgency of its situation six months ago. Co-founder Ellis was “visibly upset” when he talked to the staff, the source said. “[He] told staff how very sorry he was and they’d been doing all they could, working flat-out to either find a publisher or a buyer over the past six months, but no offers were made. There have been several visits to the States, but to no avail.” (This was for Timesplitters 4 -Steph)

About 20 staff members were offered positions, possibly with Ellis’ new venture, Pumpkin Beach, although this is yet to be confirmed. The rest of the employees were told in a separate room that they would be laid off. Staff had reportedly been paid to the end of December, but are not expected to receive any further compensation “as there was nothing left to give.”

Reps from U.K. game makers Codemasters and Monumental Games were at the hotel after the meeting asking for CVs and applications from former Free Radical staffers.

Hopefully, these guys can get a job soon. It sucks to be let go around any time, but especially around Christmas. We here at Gaming Today sympathize with them, and wish them nothing but the best of luck.

BioWare and Lucas Arts have offered up a video documentary on the upcoming Star Wars the Old Republic MMORPG. This seems to be the first in a series as it is titled Video Documentary #1. Hopefully we can look forward to more in the future.

Members of the Old Republic development team including James Ohlen, creative director and lead designer, Daniel Erickson, principal lead writer, and Jeff Dobson, art director, show players new concept art and screenshots. There’s also plenty of footage from preproduction gameplay. You can view the SWTOR Video Documentary #1 on the Star Wars the Old Republic website.

After a renewed start we had an interruption these last few weeks but rest assured Filefront is still hosting and promoting all the great user created and hosted content contributed to us. We return with a double length post highlighting some great mods and files for quite a few outstanding games including usual suspects like Half-Life 2, the Battlefield games and of course one of my favorite series “that I am really no good at yet still enjoy” – Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War

Highlights from this week’s column include mods for:

• Doom III – Wrathchild Act I (not ROE compatible), Revised Alphalabs
• Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – A Provost of the Nine Divines, More Nord Beards
• Battlefield 2 – Operation Peacekeeper, Allies Intent Extended
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R – Ballistics Mod
• Far Cry 2 – new maps: MP_Surf & Gold Rush

There are also links to other maps, mods and patches for many of your favorite PC modifiable games. Be sure to check it all out after the jump.

Simutronics, which is a creator of online game development platforms has joined forces with BioWare, to bring you the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO using the HeroEngine. The HeroEngine, according to their website, is a developer kit which was specifically created for online games. This si not something built in house by the actual game developers, but is something anyone building an MMO can use and allows for development in real-time, enabling teams in different geographic locales to build the world and play the game live on the server simultaneously.

Most people who follow gaming are familiar with the HeroEngine, and have known for a while that BioWare would be using it on their MMO, but for the people that don’t– what the engine does is make instantaneous updates and changes to the game environment, which drops the need for nightly builds and code crunching, which supposedly cuts down on time spent on the development cycle.

Now that we got that little bit of “news” out of the way, how about EA’s CEO John Riccitiello saying during a conference call that Star Wars: The Old Republic will charge customers for micro-transactions rather than subscriptions?

Now, before anyone get completely bent out of shape over this, keep in mind that EA commented afterward to Shacknews that this was a total “misunderstanding” and that no one has said anything about what the business plan will be for the game. So what would make Riccitiello call The Old Republic a “mid-session”, “micro-transaction-based” game then? Is this just going to be another one of those free-to-play MMOs that charge you for clothing, pets, and cars? Good God I sure as hell hope not… like everyone else I am hoping for a honest to goodness MMO.

However, unless Riccitiello is on some sort of prescription that causes untold amounts of confusion and brain loss, his comments during the conference call should be taken seriously until we know for sure:

“We are continuing to stick to the plan relative to building out our direct-to-consumer models which include micro-transactions and subscriptions. The recent launch of Warhammer Online is a great example of that. Other initiatives we’ve announced, for example [the] Star Wars online MMO, are mid-session games which are micro-transaction-based. You’ll be hearing more about those in the February [conference] call.”

Keep your shirts on until February then folks, and hopefully all of the ulcers Riccitiello caused Star Wars fans today with this announcement will be cleared up then.

1UP is appealing to gamers to take a 5-10 minute break from their games to fill out the 2008 MMO Gaming Study survey. Those who make time for this no fail quiz by December 1st will be entered in a Sweepstakes to win a $300 American Express Cheque.

Attention FileFront Community!
We want to hear about your MMO gaming experience. Help shape how MMO games are built and be entered in an exclusive sweepstakes drawing to* win a $300 American Express Cheque. * Survey only takes about 5 to 10 minutes and your input would be greatly appreciated.

In addition, you can earn additional entries into the sweepstakes. The first 500 completed surveys will earn a double entry into the prize drawing.

*Directions for the survey:*
1. Step#1: _[CLICK HERE TO START SURVEY]
2. Fill out the entire survey to be eligible for the drawing. *Please fill out the entire survey by December 1st in order to be eligible.*
One entry per household only, additional entries will be void. The winner will be notified as soon as a winner is selected.

Thanks again for your continuing support.

Today we are proud to post some progress on our TC development statuses. Yes, the plural form. As many of you know we are developing a total conversion called Resistance, but we decided to start again with the development of Trek Battles 3.

Read: NG Total Conversion Development News
More Star Trek: Legacy News: FileFront’s Star Trek: Legacy Files

A new month and a progress report on what is going on with Aftermath. This news post will take a different direction to all the previous ones as this one there will be some bad news but there is good news too. It not all doom and gloom.

Read:Aftermath News: Change of Pace and a New Team Member
More Star Trek: Legacy News: FileFront’s Star Trek: Legacy Files

Read: Large Newspost from the XWW2 mod
More Battlefield 2 News: FileFront’s Battlefield 2 Files

Read:Black Mesa source – A celebration of the last decade!
More Half-Life 2 News: FileFront’s Half-Life 2 Files

Read:Visions Of Chaos Lord Of Change Preview and Updates
More Dawn of War: Soulstorm News: FileFront’s Dawn of War: Soulstorm Files

Once again we welcome back [i]Ace40k[/i] to the stage so that he can deliver to you, the Company of Heroes gamer the next version of his extremely popular sound modification! If you enjoyed his previous release…or, if you missed out on it, and you are of the mind that the weapon sounds that you hear while playing Company of Heroes lack that certain something, then count yourself lucky, as you are about to download a mod that will improve what you hear!

Download: Ace40k’s Sound Mod
More Company of Heroes: FileFront’s Company of Heroes Files

Stargate : La Releve (”The Relief” in English) is a French mod developed on the Battlefield 2 engine. The ambiance of the TV show is reincarnated in video game form to give you a new battlefield experience.

Download: Stargate: La Relève
More Battlefield 2: FileFront’s Battlefield 2 Files

dev_akm is now carrying over development after Oscuro’s retirement; Oscuro’s Oblivion Overhaul aims to make Oblivion a much more interesting, challenging, realistic and dangerous place, and also offers great rewards for the daring adventurer regardless of your level.

Download: Oscuro’s Oblivion Overhaul (v1.32f)
More Oblivion: FileFront’s The Elder Scrolls Files

Download: Commanders Revenges Extreme Edition
More Supreme Commander: FileFront’s Supreme Commander Files

Fast Fun and Crazy : Lite is a modification that edits a lot of the different units and structures in the game. This modification tries to make the gameplay faster while trying not to go out of control or unbalanced.

Download: Fast Fun and Crazy: Lite (v0.230)
More Command and Conquer: FileFront’s CnC 3 Files

Download: Silenced M21
More CoD 4: FileFront’s Call of Duty Files

Download: Otherworld Episode 1 Beta (v2)
More Oblivion: FileFront’s The Elder Scrolls Files

Download: =AaTc= Jet Mod
More Star Wars Battlefront: FileFront’s Star Wars Battlefront Files

Download: Experimentals Wars
More Supreme Commander: FileFront’s Supreme Commander Files

Making a return engagement, ab2531 has submitted his updated version to his super-popular mod! NHCmod is what you want to download if you’re looking for a more juiced-up Company of Heroes!

Download: NHCmod | OF
More Company of Heroes: FileFront’s Company of Heroes Files

Download:Aliens vs. Predator 2 Master Server Patch
More Aliens vs Predator 2: FileFront’s Aliens vs Predator 2 Files

Download: Voice Chat Icons

More Return to castle Wolfenstein: FileFront’s Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory Files

This is a nice surprise…a very useful mod by our buddy, Jose: “Throwable” objects! First order of business….the PK3 is named “throwable_sfutt.pk3″ Sfutt? Made me laugh…..sfutt. XD

Sorry, just had to point that out.

Download: Throwable Stuff
More Jedi Knight III: FileFront’s Jedi Knight III Files

Open up your bandwidth and submit! Submit, I tell ya! MUHAHAHAHAHA!! …errm *cough* yeah. Dartborne is here with what would appear to be the largest of the mods that are at your disposal…this bad boy weighs is at a whopping 430+ megs! And it is worth every kilobyte!

Download: Dartborne Mod
More Company of Heroes: FileFront’s Company of Heroes Files

Ever felt like your German potato masher just wasn’t enough? Well this is definitely your fix, how about not two potato mashers, but six of them! These grenades actually existed during World War Two under the name Geballte Ladung. Probably something pretty hard to scream as you are running away from it in battle.

Download: Big German Grenade (1.0)
More CoD 2: FileFront’s Call of Duty Files

Faction commander is a powerful mod that allows you to dictate orders that your faction follows. The command system of this mod is composed of six types of commands and three classes of action codes.

Download: Faction Commander
More Stalker: FileFront’s Stalker Files

It wasn’t long ago when GobDemoMaster gave us a mod where we could open doors that were locked in the game Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Now he has come through with yet another version!

Download: Restored Doors/Rooms

More Knights of the Old Republic II: FileFront’s Knights of the Old Republic II Files

This is a simple tweak to saber colors and trails. By simple, I mean that a person who knows what they’re doing can probably replicate these effects in 10 minutes or less. I don’t think this 10 minutes was wasted, though.

Download: SM Cool saber effects
More Jedi Knight III: FileFront’s Jedi Knight III Files

Download: AOE Sound Pack

More Return to castle Wolfenstein: FileFront’s Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory Files

Finally, what many Revolt fans have been waiting for, Revolt 4x — a version of Revolt you can play without crashing your entire game! smile This version features a number of key bug fixes that contributed to the instability of previous versions of the oldest CoD total conversion!

Download: Revolt 4x UO (Final)
More CoD: United Offensive: FileFront’s Call of Duty Files

After a bit of an absence, we are lucky to have Robin back with us to once again‘ wow’ you with some fantastic Far Cry adventure! This time your gaming experience will get a little spooky, with a bit of a dark ambiance…so if you’re scared of things that go bump in the night, then you shouldn’t leave furniture in the hallway…and you shouldn’t visit the far away island Lucifer Island!
Download: rll_Lucifer Island
More Far Cry: FileFront’s Far Cry Files

A Peaceful Moment is a screen shot captured by the author depicting a German officer overlooking a river beside a bridge. It actually is a quite peaceful screen shot, it’s a nice change of pace from all the action packed screen shots that are regularly viewed. This picture can also be used as a wallpaper if it fits your fancy.
Download: A Peaceful Moment
More Company of Heroes: FileFront’s Company of Heroes Files

From the maker of the popular mappack: Insomnia, this developer has decided to create, and release, another map in the [i]‘Hell’[/i] style. WarlorD69 has stated that he made this map with the intentions of it being both beautiful and terrible…a tough combination to pull off, if you ask me! however, I think that he has done a fine job of it!
Download: Kings Cemetery
More Doom III: FileFront’s Doom III Files

For those of you that enjoyed the original release (and those of you that may have missed it) bigdane is back to tantalize you with his newest version! All of you sniper-lovers, don’t fret, there are still plenty of places to pick from…Essentially, Crater Lake (v2) is more or less, a total remake of the original Crater Lake, which will provide you with even more Far Cry 2 goodness and some serious Assault action!
Download: Crater Lake (v2)
More Far Cry 2: FileFront’s Far Cry 2 Files

The Last Palace is a 4 player map based on a war torn city in which 2 players start at a ruined Imperial Palace. This map is greatly detailed with craters, bombed out buildings, building rubble, and etc are littered throughout the map to give that warn torn city look; and coupled with custom decals, it just adds more to the experience.

Download: The Last Palace
More Dawn of War Dark Crusade: FileFront’s Dawn of War Dark Crusade Files

Download: Game_Jedi’s Map Pack

More Star Wars Battlefront 2: FileFront’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 Files

Download: rpg_dy100a
More Elite Force: FileFront’s Elite Force Files

Lafayette is a very small map that is built for 4 players mainly designed for instant action as the game starts due to how the points are laid out. Teams start at forested regions of the map which are located at opposing sides of the map and a road way is located in the middle.

Download: Lafayette
More Company of Heroes: FileFront’s Company of Heroes Files

Nope, this isn’t based on the firm, but rather a map from D2tm called Tropic Thunder Here we have a eight player map that is based on the topical landscape which isn’t done that bad; added in are few foliage, trees, canopy and the like to make the map more detailed.

Download: Tropic Thunder
More Dawn of War: FileFront’s Dawn of War Files

Far Cry 2: Canyon

Hot on the heels of the release that was just mirrored, DobiKuba has gone about sending in another rather large map to rouse the old killer instinct in you and to show off his mapping skills!

Download: Canyon
More Far Cry 2: FileFront’s Far Cry 2 Files

Before we begin I will hold up my hands and admit I’m a Final Fantasy fan, I attend regular mettings to kick the habbit so wish me luck there. Anyhow, FF VII being my favorite of the series I just had to grab this file and set traps around it to keep those other reviewers off. Now onto the review…..

Download: Final Fantasy VII Compilation
More Jedi Knight III: FileFront’s Jedi Knight III Files

Download: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-F.I.L.E.S.-Computer Screen
More Stalker: FileFront’s Stalker Files

This is the Guardian Class, Oberth refit. Many of you should recognize this baby as it has popped up in a few news posts recently. Well its been a good wait for this to be finally done and dusted and props to Phoenix for getting her finished! Phoenix has also uploaded this as an entry to the ever growing list of entries to the Starship Contests.

Download: Federation Guardian Class
More Star Trek: Legacy: FileFront’s Star Trek: Legacy Files

Download: SM Steel Lasersword
More Jedi Knight III: FileFront’s Jedi Knight III Files

Download: Colt-1911- Texture -
More Stalker: FileFront’s Stalker Files

This is the Ambassador class and “Late Refit” originally released for BC by LC/Legacy and ported to Legacy by yopyop. This is a really high quality model which showcases yopyop’s impressive reworking of LC’s impressive model from BC.

Download: Ambassador Class
More Star Trek: Legacy: FileFront’s Star Trek: Legacy Files

Again, we regret that we cannot provide you with this weeks Demos, Patches and trailer. We apologize for the inconvenience! For now, here are the links to redirect you.

There’s just a single standalone downloadable game this week — Age of Booty ($10), the Capcom RTS featuring pirates that was released on the Xbox Live Arcade in October — but there’s no lack of downloadable content for other games. First and foremost is Pain Movie Studio Lot ($6) and the David Hasselhoff character to go along with it. But do you love/hate The Hoff enough to pay $2 to throw him around the world of Pain?

Little Big Planet gets six new costumes ranging in price from free to $2. The Lilly Pad, Hugo, Great Blue, and Frost E costumes all cost $1 each — or you can get the Animal Costume Bundle with all four for $3 — the Sack-Eating Plant costume — which was an SCEE contest winner — is available for free, and the MotorStorm Stormers costume will cost a pricey $2. Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds also gets new costumes, although they come in the form of a single pack for $3 and include five new costumes with six variations each. And Star Wars: The Force Unleashed also gets in on the costume fun with seven new characters and three new Secret Apprentice costumes for $5. The new characters include Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Luke Skywalker. Star Wars fans should be plenty pleased with these additions. If your favorite character wasn’t included, there’s still hope — this is “costume pack 1,” which suggests there are more on the way.

FIFA 09 has a plethora of free commentary packs for various languages — everything from Portuguese to Swedish to new English commentary is included — that will allow you to hear your favorite soccer commentators from around the world in their native tongue. Depending on which you download, you’re looking at a file from 423 MB up to over 1.1 GB.

The weekly dose of Rock Band content features 12 tracks from the Foo Fighters. Each track will cost you $2 or you can get all 12 in “The Colour and the Shape” album for $20. If Guitar Hero World Tour is your thing, you can find three new tracks from R.E.M. for $2 a piece, or you can get all three for $5.49 as a bundle. Jimi Hendrix also makes an appearance with a bundle of three songs for $5.49.

Need for Speed: Undercover isn’t even out yet, and there’s more DLC than I’d care to count available, all of it in that “would have been cheat codes last generation” class. Prices range from $1.75 on up, with various bundles available for as much as $10. They’ll unlock things for use in the game that you’d otherwise achieve by playing through the game.

And what would an update be without some new trailers and videos? There are a handful of new things to check out… unless you’re a PSP owner, in which case you’re pretty much out of luck for another week. The only thing for you this week is a demo of Neverland Card Battles.

Sony Online Entertainment has tricks and treats for everyone as it celebrates Halloween on all its MMOs and the Legends of Norrath: Oathbreaker TCG. EverQuest and EverQuest II will be celebrating their traditional holiday events. The Matrix Online and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes are into the act as well.

The inaugural Galactic Moon Festival runs until November 7 on Star Wars Galaxies. Set a course for Naboo or Tatooine to get in on the thrills and chills. Full details on each event follow the break.

GAMERS BEWARE: SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT OPENS ITS BAG OF TRICKS TO THE ONLINE COMMUNITY THIS OCTOBER
Online Titles to Host Variety of In-Game Halloween Events Including EverQuest® II ’s Nights of the Dead and First-Ever Star Wars GalaxiesTM Galactic Moon Festival
WHAT:
Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) conjures ghosts, ghouls and goblins for the gamer community in a variety of in-game events themed around Halloween. This October, EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Star Wars Galaxies, Legends of Norrath™, Vanguard Saga of Heroes™, EverQuest® Online Adventures and The Matrix Online players can celebrate All Hallows Eve by participating in themed quests, donning avatar costumes and masks, and trick-or-treating for loot and candy!

In-game events are as follows:

EverQuest®: The lands of Norrath have been overridden with mystery, magic and mayhem. Help the inhabitants of Greater Faydark weed the Necromancer’s Garden of the horrible sprouting skulls that have taken root there. Assist farmers in West Karana subdue the spooks in a Scarecrow Roundup. Rewards will go to all who succeed in combating these episodes of the supernatural! These events are scheduled to run Oct. 24 through Nov. 7.

For detailed information, please visit www.eqplayers.com.

EverQuest® II: Nights of the Dead only comes once a year in Norrath, so players take heed! During this ghastly holiday, citizens of Norrath can venture into Qeynos or Freeport to free the spirits trapped in the haunted houses, combat evil in the haunted mansion missions, trick-or-treat with NPC’s in the cities for something especially sweet or participate in Ponchy the Halfling’s petrifying quest series! Nights of the Dead is scheduled to run Oct. 22 through Nov. 3.

For detailed information, please visit www.eq2players.com.

Star Wars Galaxies: For the first time ever, Naboo and Tatooine will play host to the spooky zones of the Galactic Moon Festival. Oct. 14 through Nov. 7, this foreboding festival will be filled with ghosts, gravestones, spiders, Sith-o-lanterns and other creepy crawlies. Visit the Galactic Moon Festival organizer Z’ozpheratu to obtain the appropriate costume, and then players can taunt costumed NPCs with tricks in exchange for Halloween treats. May the fright be with you!

For detailed information, please visit http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com.

Legends of Norrath™: Scary creatures lurk in the fields at night this Halloween! Anticipated to run Oct. 22 through Nov. 4, players will face the mysterious and deadly Scarecrow King in an all-new Legends of Norrath scenario created just for Halloween. New and existing players alike are invited to bring their best decks and try this free scenario with Halloween treats, including a powerful promo card and valuable loot cards for EverQuest or EverQuest II for those who manage to slay the monster!

For detailed information, please visit www.legendsofnorrath.com/scaryscarecrow.vm.

Vanguard Saga of Heroes™: The sinister necromancer Sartok has summoned some of his most fearsome creations yet and will soon unleash them on the inhabitants of Telon during Sartok’s Surprise. Travelers beware, as three terrifying new undead raid encounters will be roaming the lands seeking out adventures both young and old. Any heroes able to best Sartok’s abominable creations will be rewarded with special appearance-altering costumes and magical masks. While adventurers rest between battles, they can complete special new quests to claim additional rewards such as new pets or more magical masks.

For detailed information, please visit, www.vgplayers.com.

EverQuest® Online Adventures: Slated for launch on Oct. 23, EQOA will introduce a special Halloween quest for those who aren’t afraid of a few tricks and possibly a treat. Part of the Halloween quest includes the introduction of the Skeleton King who brings riddles to players who encounter him, but be careful, answer a riddle incorrectly, and you may meet the reaper.

For detailed information, please visit, http://everquestonlineadventures.station.sony.com.

The Matrix Online: Halloween’s massive moon and creepy round-the-clock nighttime set the backdrop for the appearance of seven new disguise masks in The Matrix Online, for a total of 28 collectible disguises of spooky and exotic Matrix characters! With events scheduled to run Oct. 23 through Nov. 6, any Redpill can catch the zombies and jack-o-lanterns that drop lootable masks in the various neighborhoods of the four districts. Be forewarned, a special bite attack from the spawning zombies will render any victim “zombified”; however, players can then use the bite attack to zombify others!

For detailed information, please visit, http://thematrixonline.station.sony.com/players/.

WHEN/WHERE: All throughout the month of October, Halloween-themed events are scheduled to take place in the virtual worlds of your favorite SOE games. Exact dates vary by title. Please log on to www.station.com for more information.

The best form of media convergence for me as a gamer has to be when a video game spawns a good tie in back to either film/TV or traditional gaming because then I can take my favorite universes into my other forms of entertainment.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and the forthcoming Star Wars: Clone Wars are two such examples of games or animation translating across multiple media properties. Is it surprising that it’s George Lucas’s baby that is making this leap? Absolutely not, but the first of these two multimedia launches, the much anticipated The Force Unleashed is now on the streets as a novel, a multi-platform video game, an expansion for the Star Wars miniature game and of course the delayed Star Wars SAGA RPG campaign setting.

Along with the release of the game and the RPG book, it appears Lucas licensee Wizards of the Coast thinks that The Force Unleashed is the perfect gateway dru.. er property to lure gamers into its Star Wars mini’s line as well.

The publisher is offering anyone who purchases The Force Unleashed RPG guide or the video game $5 off of their The Force Unleashed Huge Booster packs. The discount makes the packs $14.99 which is actually pretty good if you’re intending to run the game itself or as a side benefit to help your RPG campaign.

Soon after the hype and excitement over The Force Unleashed dies down the next big Star Wars tie in will arrive. Coming in October, the next expansion for the miniature game based on the recent Clone Wars film and past and future animated series will hit retail. Wizards promises that starter sets and booster packs will feature characters from the Genndy Tartakovsky shorts, the animated series and other prequel era tales will grace the set. Some highlights include: Durge, Asaji Ventress, and Captrain Rex.

All modders and aspiring developers out there should pay close attention to a new article up on Blend Games. The author takes aim at RPGs calling them on their weaknesses and shortcomings while acknowledging the true greats in “Reasons Your Role-Playing Game Is Disappointing.” This of course translates to “Why your RPG sucks”.

Most of the games that come under fire are Western RPGs with only one JRPG in the mix. As you might expect, there are Bioware titles mentioned in abundance such as Neverwinter Nights 2, NwN2: Mask of the Betrayer, Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur’s Gate. Arcanum, Final Fantasy VII and Fable get mentioned as well. the only Western RPG that wasn’t touched on was Planescape: Torment.

ERPG Cardinal sins including getting the story started to slowly. FF7 and Mass Effect are held out as sterling examples of what sucks players into a game right off the bat while the intro to Fable is used as an example of what not to do. NwN2 is slammed as well, but NwN2: Mask of the Betrayer is given Kudos for getting the player’s attention immediately. I’ve got to admit that waking up in a crypt hundreds of miles from home is much more interesting than going out for the prize at your local fair.

Also on the hit list is the over use of Fed Ex quests, slow travel between points of interest and unwieldy inventory systems like the one that plagues players in Mass Effect. Fable is once again sent to the corner for repetitive combat. Hopefully we won’t see these shortcomings in Fable 2. Catch the best and the worst of RPGs on Blend Games.

Lucas Arts and Sony Online Entertainment have launched their new trading card game, Star Wars Galaxies: Champions of the Force. The game is available only online for an MMO take on the traditional TCG. Players will test their mettle in ten battles while trying to reassemble the ancient Jedi holocron, the Codex of Tython. According to the press release, here’s what players can look forward to.

• Choose between the light and dark sides of the Force and build their own Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game decks to fight virtual matches for the Rebel, Imperial, Jedi or Sith; Enhance their digital card decks with 15-card Booster Packs;
• Find more than 20 “loot” cards in the first release, Champions of the Force, that can be redeemed for fantastic virtual items for use within the Star Wars Galaxies massively multiplayer game for players with a Star Wars Galaxies account*;
• Challenge their skills in story-based solo-play or against other Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game players in epic one-on-one matches, cooperative Heroic Encounters, and official tournaments.

Current and former Star Wars Galaxies players are invited to participate. However players with a current subscription will receive a bonus pack of boosters each month. A stand alone trial for SWG: Champions of the Force will also be available complete with tutorial and practice games. Of course you can also access the game within SWG using a 14-day trial for the MMO. There are many bonuses for both current and future SWG to be had listed after the break.

As a bonus for trying the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game: Champions of the Force, players are eligible to receive a loot card that can be redeemed in Star Wars Galaxies for the choice of either a Rebel or Imperial flight suit*. Plus, becoming an active, current, paying Star Wars Galaxies subscriber, after trying the Trading Card Game, offers additional benefits including:

One Starter Deck of their choice: Jedi, Rebel, Imperial or Sith;
A Cybernetic Experience Chip, which gives a 20% experience point increase that can be used up to 50 times in Star Wars Galaxies when redeemed*;
The complete third expansion, Star Wars Galaxies: Rage of the Wookiees™.

All current and former* Star Wars Galaxies subscribers with valid accounts in good standing are able to access and play the Star Wars Galaxies™ Trading Card Game and will be able to purchase additional
booster packs and starter decks through Sony Online Entertainment’s Station Store at www.store.station.sony.com. As a thank you to players who make their first purchase of at least $9.99 of Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game products through the Station Store, they are also eligible to receive a one time bonus loot card, Han’s Hydrospanner, which gives a 20% increase on all experience points earned for one hour when redeemed in the Star Wars Galaxies MMO*. If the Star Wars Galaxies subscriber wants to redeem this loot card for a character that has already reached level 90, this loot card will grant the character one random collection item instead.

So Thursday has come and gone and the next part of the Star Wars video game saga arrived on home consoles yesterday – even though its but a teaser Demo for the game due next month.

It may be clear from some of my earlier coverage that I’m a bit of a Star Wars fanboy. I admit that not everything Star Wars = Good but the premise of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a story where the secret apprentice of Darth Vader is aiding him during the dark times to hunt down and destroy the remaining Jedi, actually made a lot of sense to me.

Did we actually expect that Vader had been doing nothing for 30 years but flying about the universe hunting down errant Jedi? Of course he had help! The Apprentice is the focus of the game and its rather short demo.

The demo is fairly short and linear. You’ll hop into character after a quick chat with your master and then it’s all slice and fling until you reach the end. There was a slight hint at puzzle based gameplay using the force with the hanger doors but not a lot more than run, slice up or throw enemy, pick up liberally scattered explosive barrels and destroy enemies. What will help this game stand out will be its story and from a lot of the previews is that I expect there to be a much deeper Star Wars tale in the making here that can’t easily be gleaned in a 20 minute demonstration.

The Force Unleashed is a third person title with the usual third person issues – like camera control. While the demo only provided a small sampling of the sorts of conflicts the Apprentice would face, and was crippled by granting you unlimited health (though I managed to die twice anyway) the way the game anchored the camera and that worked with the primary mechanic of force lift/throw was just a bit wonky.

This issue was not bad in the confined corridors that comprise much of the early parts of the levels but once you find yourself in a hanger bay or on the catwalks of the station things can get a little more frustrating. I found myself fighting the view a great deal at the demo’s climax when the AT-ST walker arrived and I’d already dispensed with the stormtroopers at its feet.

It may sound from the above that I’m not a fan of this game but frankly I’ve not played enough to decide I’ll dislike it. The action and force powers ebb cool, the visuals are impressive and this is most definitely the Star Wars feel I like. The third person perspective reminded me of hours spent in the Jedi Knight series once I’d earned my lightsaber and those memories make me likely to overlook the camera issue more than I normally would. Lets face it, just about every 3D third-person action title has camera issues – even groundbreaking winners like God of War had problems from time to time.

The Force Unleashed plays like a solid action game and from the demo my interest has not fallen much. Its frustrating though that we have another two weeks to wait for its arrival, and that the Wii version, which looks so much worse than the other versions might be the one to own because of the Darth Vader levels and the built in Star Wars fighting game mechanic. I don’t think I’ll end up buying that version but somewhere down deep I think I might regret it.

The Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo is available on Xbox Live! and the PSN network. The game itself is scheduled to materialize around September 16th, 2008. The Star Wars RPG fans out there can also expect the pen-and-paper campaign guide in stores at about the same time. (Look for coverage of that in a future The Analog Gamer column)

To peruse all of Gaming Today’s coverage of the game click here.

The era that brought Star Wars back to its core fantasy roots in Bioware’s excellent Knights of the Old Republic and the promising (but incomplete) tale of The Sith Lords on the PC and Xbox finally gets the pen and paper treatment in the latest edition of the Star Wars RPG.

The Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide sets the bar high for continued products in Wizards of the Coast’s Star Wars SAGA line by providing an excellent and well constructed overview of the mid-republic era.

While many players seem to favor the romantic conflicts of rebels and empire I’ve always been far more a fan of the far past of George Lucas’ universe. Partially, I think because Lucas himself is not around to despoil it with furry teddy bears toppling elite shock troopers and Rastafarian space klutzes. The Knights of the Old Republic setting portrays the galaxy far, far away during a turbulent time.

Early in the setting the Jedi hold sway but they aren’t the stale, stoic Jedi of the prequel trilogy. The order is disparate and scattered and one of many force using factions in the Republic. There are countless pressures and numerous foes who can stand up next to the Jedi in power so running a game in this era definitely feels more balanced and easily allows players to mix and match character types with ease.

The KotOR Campaign Guide does everything a guide to running games during this time should. It introduces new races from the fiction that are in prominence during this time frame, granting players even more options. It introduces technological equivalents to the beloved modern Star Wars tech like the predecessors of R2 and C-3PO, the Corellian YT-1300 and everything casual fans will know from the films but that were not around hundreds of years before The Phantom Menace.

The history of the era is well defined and laid out. Factions like the Mandalorians, Sith and Republic all get sections of the book devoted to explaining their role in a KotOR campaign and optional classes, powers and abilities unique to the era and the time. Characters from the two games and even the Dark Horse series are liberally ingrained throughout the book. Ever wonder what Darth Traya’s stats were? What about Zayne Carrick or Master Lucien Draay and his Jedi Covenant? Along with the descriptions you also get explanations for how to integrate these concepts into your games.

The best thing about the book has to be that it introduces an era where the players need not feel cramped by the “Big three” roaming around saving the universe. The Jedi Civil War, Mandalorian Invasion, Sith War and Dark War all provide great backdrops for just about any sort of Star Wars game without hamstringing you regarding the role your character will play in helping Han, Luke or Leia save the galaxy or fending off the Yuuhzan Vong invasion.

If there is a failing in this product it is simply that it can’t please everyone. The ancient Sith era, and the happenings of the old Tales of the Jedi comics are mentioned but not truly highlighted here. This is a book about the more recent Old Republic tales. Nomi Sunrider, Freedon Nadd and his uprising get mentions, but entities like Darth Bane are nowhere to be found in these pages.

Fans of the older era are best left finding a used copy of the classic D6 Tales of the Jedi source book and converting that information themselves. There is also a lack of information on Jedi and Sith artifacts, though Sith Alchemy and the special lightsaber crystals represented in the video games get game rules to reflect the variance in lightsaber tech during the KotOR era.

There are a number of additional campaign guides coming soon, including the delayed The Force Unleashed book that promises to open up the Jedi power base a lot. If Wizards’ staff can maintain this level or usefulness and quality in these products they will be easy to recommend.

Sony Online Entertainment is spilling more details on Fan Faire 2008. For the second year running, SOE president John Smedley will kick off the event with the Community Address. There will be a simultaneous streaming video broadcast online as well as a live audio broadcast in EverQuest, EverQuest II and Star Wars Galaxies through Station Voice by Vivox.

WHEN
Friday, August 15th at 6:00pm PST.

WHERE
To view the live webcast, please go to:
http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=50659

To listen to audio broadcast in-game, please go to:
www.station.sony.com/stationvoice

According to the SOE press release, SOE will be featuring all its MMOs including a lineup including the hit titles EverQuest, EverQuest II, EverQuest Online Adventures, PlanetSide, Star Wars Galaxies and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes as well as upcoming titles Free Realms, The Agency and more. SOE’s Fan Faire runs from August 15-17th in Las Vegas. For further details on events check out the official Fan Faire 2008 website. Although online registration is officially closed, on-site registration is now open at the Hilton Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.