The Houston Chronicle ran an article recently about Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. Here are some of the favorable comments concerning the game:

Force power implementation is also significantly improved over previous Jedi Knight games. Players have the option with each new mission to upgrade one Force power, either Light side or Dark. Because it is impossible to gain mastery in all Force powers, players must employ strategy when choosing their path.

To read the full article, click here.

IGN updated recently with a new interview of Sony's chief creative officer Raph Koster, community manager Kevin O'Hara and LucasArts' producer Haden Blackman. They discuss their thoughts on the game so far, and what's coming up for the MMORPG, Star Wars Galaxies. And ... the following exchange which will be of great interest:

IGNPC: And what about Jedi in the game? Where are they?

Haden Blackman: We've yet to see any Jedi in the game, though there are some players that are close to unlocking that Force-sensitive slot. The path to becoming a Jedi is extremely difficult. But we've seen in the game -- as in the Star Wars expanded universe -- that adventurers have located ancient historical artifacts known as Jedi holocrons in certain corners the galaxy. These extremely rare devices are a repository of the knowledge and teachings of the ancient Jedi Order. They may eventually be useful in illuminating the arduous journey of both mind and body that is becoming a Jedi.

To read the entire article, click here. Note: This is a 2 page article.

Reuters announced the following brief tidbit two days ago:

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Star Wars" creator George Lucas will receive a lifetime achievement award from the Visual Effects Society at the second annual VES Awards ceremony, which will take place at the Hollywood Palladium on Feb. 18.

The Official Star Wars Site is offering the Hasbro Clone Wars short stories for download in a PDF file.

Featuring tales by Jude Watson, Matthew Stover, and Timothy Zahn, up until now, the Short Story Collection was available only in printed booklet form packaged inside select Clone Wars toys from Hasbro.

Hit the link above to download these original stories for free!

The Official Star Wars Site has just launched the "Before the Helmet" series of Episode III pictures. The first picture is entitled "I Sense Much Fear in You," and features the new and improved looking Anakin Skywalker. These pictures are for Hyperspace members only. For those without Hyperspace, I guess you will have to hold out for the George Lucas Select series if they do them again.

JediJen from our affiliate site AAHA has informed me that her site is now back on-line! Great news JediJen! She has also given the site a make-over, with new colors and artwork. Be sure to go say welcome back and have a look at this great site!

The Homing Beacon newsletter has a short piece featuring the extras of Episode III. Here's a clip - how cool would this be?

He downplays any physical challenges, as Nicholson is an enthusiastic Star Wars fan who moved to Sydney three years ago "just to be in Star Wars", he claims. "It paid off. I would have paid to be in that movie." By day, Nicholson works as a valet at a hot Sydney restaurant where he had spotted Star Wars celebrities including Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor, but getting to see them in action on-set was naturally a thrilling experience. "Hayden swings that metal baton around really, really well," Nicholson is pleased to report. "Ewan McGregor is a hardcore saberman as well. They exhausted themselves to make their scenes look great." Along with the chance to witness some Episode III history-in-the-making, and gather some autographs from cast and crew in his copy of the Attack of the Clones Visual Dictionary, Nicholson will carry away one other treasured memory. "Ewan sang ‘I am the Walrus’ with me at one stage, because I kind of looked like one."

News.com has an article that states the future for THX and video games. THX, the sound company started by movie director George Lucas to ensure that fans heard his films the way he intended, said Tuesday that it would begin granting its seal of approval to audio produced for video games.

The move could help improve the sound on video games, but it could also lend a measure of credibility to games at a time when the gaming industry sees itself as being as important in the entertainment landscape as movies, TV and music.

San Rafael, Calif.-based THX said Electronic Arts, the largest video game publisher, was the first to achieve THX certification for its games.

Five EA games--"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," "SSX 3," "Medal of Honor Rising Sun," "Need for Speed Underground" and "James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing," will be THX Certified Games upon their release and carry logos on their box as well as pregame trailers.

"You're actually giving the game guys the opportunity to have a standard very similar to broadcast and movies," said Mark Tuffy, THX's director of advanced technology.

He said that during the past five to six years, many companies have approached THX with the idea of doing THX-certified video games, but his company was not seriously interested until its spin-off from Lucas' Lucasfilm 18 months ago.

As games have grown in popularity and deepened their hold on mass-market audiences, sound has become an increasingly important factor for publishers who recognize the power of high-profile soundtracks and realistic audio effects.

EA and Activision have senior executives whose job it is to acquire and produce music for games, and the Game Audio Network Guild (GANG) is pushing for game soundtracks to be considered for the music industry's annual Grammy Awards.

Tuffy said he spent "about a year" talking to publishers, developers and programmers, and he found the industry lacked cohesive standards for how its products should sound and how to preserve that sound from conception to ultimate delivery.

"Games people really work a lot in a Wild West," he said. "They really are out there in making this content, but the only standards they have are the ones they themselves decide to use."

When a company signs up as a licensee, Tuffy said, THX sends them specifications on what the company's audio and video production rooms should look like, down to the types of desks people sit at when they are working. They then go in to check the facilities and make sure the designs are appropriate.

Here are descriptions from TF.N about some of the images that will come out with the next Star Wars Insider magazine:

15. A high shot of Rick McCallum and John Knoll watching the action.

16. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) as seen in the French magazine. He looks strangely youthful. Either George has seriously screwed up chronology or they're deliberately trying to throw us off with an "in costume but out-of-make-up" pic.

17. A close-up of the control panel in Palpatines office complex.

Those of you that can't wait to shake the Emperor's stick can now reserve the prop replica at Entertainment Earth:

Imagine clutching such a nightmare in your hands - the dreaded talisman of the evil Sith Lord. The Emperor Palpatine Cane and Cloak Clasp Replica Set is coming soon! This incredible prop replica was directly molded from the original archived prop used in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. As warped as the Emperor himself, this crooked cane has a shiny black glassine finish and is identical to the prop used in Return of the Jedi. The set also includes the distinctive clasp with which Palpatine fastens his flowing black cape. Crudely shaped and molded in resin with the same glossy finish as the cane, the clasp is one of the very first pieces of Star Wars jewelry ever offered by Master Replicas. The cane comes with a numbered metal plaque, plaque holder, certificate of authenticity and on a wall-mounted display with a gunmetal texture and machined aluminum support posts covered in rubber coated silicon, to display the replica to its best advantage.

Click here to pre-order yours today.