Posts

Showing posts from July, 2015
Image
Leaked 2016 LEGO Star Wars Product List Reveals a New Planet Name for The Force Awakens A recent leak of next year’s LEGO Star Wars products has revealed a number of interesting details about the movie, including the name of one of the planets. Furthermore, there are new lines of LEGO toys that expand beyond The Force Awakens, with new sets based on existing canon works. From MintInBox (loosely translated): Once again, MintInBox’s Bothan spies have recovered some valuable information – we will now unveil the complete list of upcoming LEGO sets in early 2016. Of course, many of these are tied to The Force Awakens, (with some new info about the movie), but Star Wars Rebels, and Star Wars Battlefront will also be getting sets. This includes: – 6 new Microfighters sets: 2 for The Force Awakens and 4 for Star Wars Rebels (AT-DP, The Ghost, Prototype TIE Advanced, and Wookiee Gunship). – 2 sets for The Force Awakens: “Battle on Takodana” and “The Pirate Transp
Image
Rumor: New Live-Action Star Wars Shows Headed for Netflix A while ago, Cinelinx reported that the first Star Wars live-action television series is in development. Now, they’ve come back to state that the plan has expanded to become a part of the Netflix platform… and potentially three shows are going to be made in the near-future! From Cinelinx: ---Last we heard anything regarding a live-action Star Wars show, was back in March when reports were coming out that Disney was ramping up discussion on a live-action TV show set in the Star Wars universe. We exclusively revealed this was the case, but that Disney were currently in the process of trying to get the schedule down, as they hope to shoot the series between films in order to utilize the same sets. As far as I know this is still the plan. As we’ve seen over the recent weeks, Disney/Lucasfilm have firmed up their schedules quite a bit, going so far as to reveal a release date for their second Star Wars Anthology

ROCKET LEAGUE

Let’s not waste energy exploring why soccer should replace its paper chain of squalid billionaires with cars, and accept it as fact. A fact which Rocket League proves with simple and immediate ease. I’ve never played a game that needed a tutorial less. Association football, soccer, wendyball; whatever you want to call it, it’s that, but on wheels. Drive car at giant ball; hit ball into net; score points. Rocket League’s competitive core has existed for centuries, and this helps make a preposterous concept feel primal. This, in turn, is a laughable way of describing a game which would be called moto carball if it actually existed. Like dry martinis and penises scribbled in an unattended notebooks, Rocket League is a celebration of simplicity. Driving is delicious. Cars ease around like butter in a heated pan, but always feel under your control. You accumulate boost by driving over markers on the arena floor and unleash it is a thunderous rush that fires you across, over and aro
Image
STUDYING SKYWALKERS: THE SLEEPER IN DARK DISCIPLE Studying Skywalkers is an exclusive column that investigates the characters, themes, and lessons of Star Wars from an educational, literary perspective. In this installment, StarWars.com looks at the symbolism featured in a pivotal scene within the novel, Dark Disciple. Spoiler warning: This blog contains major spoilers from the novel, Dark Disciple. Last month, we examined Christie Golden’s new novel, Dark Disciple, which focusses on Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, and their Jedi-informed quest to hunt down and assassinate the Sith Lord Count Dooku. A key moment in the novel features important symbols which encapsulate the significance of character development between the two protagonists, and enhances the power of Golden’s prose. This scene is centered around a creature called the Sleeper. Monsters are common tropes in literature, especially in fantasy, and reveal much about characterization. This pivotal scene with
Image
Star Wars Battlefront’ Confirmed For D23: Vehicles Detailed, Split-Screen Gameplay Not On PC The D23 expo that is happening in August has confirmed that Star Wars: Battlefront will be there. If you are looking for any gameplay details now the project’s community manager has talked about the vehicles and the PC version’s multiplayer letdown. On August 16th Disney plans on hosting a special gathering at the Anaheim Convention Center in order to highlight the flagship products of Disney Interactive. They will be discussing Star Wars: Battlefront, Disney Infinity, and Kingdom Hearts III. Nobody knows exactly what DICE’s game developers plan on discussing, however they have promised to talk about gameplay, trailers, surprises, and new reveals. No matter what they decide to show we know that Star Wars: Battlefront will be on the show floor for player to try out. Disney has stated that guests will be able to live out their “battle fantasies” with a hands-on demonstration. E
Image
REBELS AND TROOPERS (AND JAWAS) INVADE LEGOLAND DENMARK The LEGO and Star Wars brands have been a force to be reckoned with ever since they first joined hands in 1999. For the last six years they have held a special Star Wars event to celebrate this union. This year it took place during the weekend of June 20, and it was time again for the troopers of the Rebel Legion and 501st, especially those from the Nordic Garrison, to invade LEGOLAND. Your reporter from StarWars.com went to Billund, Denmark to support these troopers. The fun started on Friday when I landed at Billund Airport, a convenient short walk away from the park. With Friday being the traditional day that all the troopers and their supporters arrive, the LEGOLAND Holiday Village quickly filled up their quaint cabins — styled as if you would expect US frontiersman Davy Crockett to walk out at any moment. For those among you with a special fondness of growing up with LEGO, the many great animal statues that denote th
Image
Disney Infinity 3.0 developer discusses bringing iconic Star Wars characters to the franchise Disney Infinity 3.0 is venturing into new territories by introducing popular characters from Star Wars to the franchise. You will find characters such as Ahsoka to the iconic Luke Skywalker, each player will have its own playable character and collectible figurine. The development team has worked extremely hard to bring in each character to the game and make them as detailed as possible. The new game will be introducing play sets that expand through all of the Star Wars films and it will also introduce brand new character from the animated series and cinematic entries, The Clone Wars and Rebels. You will be able to choose which character to play as by using the real figures that go with the game. Every single character has went through a detailed process for its development. After speaking with EW, Jeff Bunker who is the VP of Art Development from Avalanche Studios, the challeng
Image
Darth Vader Will Be In Star Wars: Rogue One Soon, we should be learning a little bit more about Star Wars: Rogue One during Comic Con, but before there is a new story on Star Wars: Rogue One, we have found out that Darth Vader will be appearing in Gareth Edwards’ Star Wars Anthology film. We have found out that Darth Vader will be making an appearance in Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One, however he will not be the film’s main enemy. The dark lord will be appearing behind the scenes mainly and will appear onscreen as well. One thing we don’t know is if his character will be appearing in person or during the story at some point. No one is sure who will be the main villain in Star Wars: Rogue One. One contender for the role are Grand Moff Tarkin, who is the commander of the Death Star in Star Wars: A New Hope. However, sources were not able to confirm this. Maybe the villain will be a brand new character that we have yet to meet. We shall wait and see. In Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels

FINAL FANTASY XIV: HEAVENSWARD

There are a lot of expectations to live up to when your game bears the Final Fantasy name. They all need to have epic, twisting storylines, magical landscapes, and plenty of Moogles. It’s all part of the the series’ DNA. But despite possessing all of these things many still don’t consider the MMOs of the collection to be ‘proper’ Final Fantasy games. Those people are missing out. FFXIV has long balanced the trappings of a traditional Final Fantasy game with the demands of the MMO format to great success (let’s forget about its very first iteration; A Realm Reborn erased all of that bad blood long ago). Its first expansion, Heavensward, adds a huge new section to the map of Eorzea, the power of flight and several new classes without tipping those finally balanced scales. Where TESO fails to marry the expectations of single-player Skyrim with a world filled with other people, FFXIV and its expansion succeed. Taking you into the heart of the once sealed-off city of Ishgard, Heavenswar
Image
Nolan North: Visceral’s Star Wars Game to be Like Uncharted At MetroCon 2015, Nolan North did a Q&A session. He talked about Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End mainly but he also game some clues on the current Star Wars game that Visceral is working on. The most interesting part of the interview is when he gave details about the type of Star Wars game that Visceral is working on. He explained what Amy Hennig is currently working on. Amy Hennig is not at Naughty Dog any longer and is working on writing the story for the new Star Wars game. She stated that the game she is currently working on will “reboot a brand new Star Wars franchise.” It will also be done in the same style of Uncharted. The choice of words that North used is quite interesting. Rebooting a new franchise could mean Visceral has decided to create a game close to Star Wars 1313. However, that game was cancelled after Disney bought out the Star Wars license. Star Wars 1313 was shown for a brief amount of time a
Image
FULLY OPERATIONAL FANDOM: AN INCREDIBLY DETAILED CARDBOARD MILLENNIUM FALCON When I see a pile of cardboard boxes, my first thought is usually about whether my cats would like to play with them. I know cardboard has functions beyond holding stuff and beyond serving as a bed for my choosy felines, but I’m not always patient or skilled enough to see beyond the surface. But artist Tom Richner? He has vision. When it came time for him to empty out cardboard boxes in his basement, he decided to repurpose the material rather than stacking it by the recycling bin and created a detailed replica of the Millennium Falcon. Richner first encountered Star Wars when he was five years old. He saw The Empire Strikes Back in the theater and remembers running home from the bus one day after school to tell his mother Return of the Jedi was out and that they needed to go see it that weekend. A love for Star Wars clearly stayed with him. I talked to him about the work that went into buildin

FINAL FANTASY XIV: HEAVENSWARD

There are a lot of expectations to live up to when your game bears the Final Fantasy name. They all need to have epic, twisting storylines, magical landscapes, and plenty of Moogles. It’s all part of the the series’ DNA. But despite possessing all of these things many still don’t consider the MMOs of the collection to be ‘proper’ Final Fantasy games. Those people are missing out. FFXIV has long balanced the trappings of a traditional Final Fantasy game with the demands of the MMO format to great success (let’s forget about its very first iteration; A Realm Reborn erased all of that bad blood long ago). Its first expansion, Heavensward, adds a huge new section to the map of Eorzea, the power of flight and several new classes without tipping those finally balanced scales. Where TESO fails to marry the expectations of single-player Skyrim with a world filled with other people, FFXIV and its expansion succeed. Taking you into the heart of the once sealed-off city of Ishgard, Heavenswar

Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure

The Dr. Mario series' has always provided great puzzling action despite its no-frills design. Conceived during the 8-bit years, when Tetris had recently exploded on the scene, Dr. Mario stood out for its peculiarities. In the first proper 3DS installment in the series, Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure, the formula is tweaked ever so slightly, providing you with something new to try even if you spent far too many hours playing the original version on the NES or the bite-sized chunks that appeared more recently in the NES Remix series. Despite the adjustments, the core design remains intact. You still move colored pills as they fall into the play area, flipping them around in an effort to line up four or more pill segments and viruses of the same color. Find success, and maladies and medicine disappear, leaving you with more room to maneuver. You win when all the nasty bugs are gone, or you lose if the rising wall reaches the top of the screen. The "Miracle Cure" part of the gam

RONIN

Why yes, Ronin does look a lot like Gunpoint. As a 2D action-stealth game set across the buildings of a stylishly futuristic city, the similarities are numerous. You hack computer terminals, use the mouse to plan and execute jumps, and stick to any wall or ceiling you fling yourself against. But Ronin is less derivative than it first appears, thanks largely to the prominence of combat. It looks like a stealth game and sometimes plays like a stealth game, but there are frequent occasions where you're forced into battle. Ronin is first and foremost about fighting, and the turn-based swordplay is what distances the game from its most visible source of inspiration. First, the story. Don't worry, it won't take long. Ronin is about revenge; about a lone figure hunting the five corporate executives responsible for the death of her father. That's about it. Each of the game's five chapters consist of three levels: two in which you infiltrate buildings to hack computer term