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Archived News
October 2004
Week 5
Sunday
October 31, 2004 |
EPIII:
Yoda Pic |
The
Offical Site
features a pic of Yoda from Revenge of the Sith, which is part of
their flash advert. That image will also appear in the teaser
trailer coming out on November 4. Supposedly, Spoilers
- Highlight to
read: it looks like Yoda is in
Palpatine's office. We think he is there to confront the
Chancellor. Click
the link above to see the image. |
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Saturday
October 30, 2004 |
KOTOR
2 Official Website |
The
official
website for Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is
now up and running. The site offers glimpses into this highly
anticipated sequel to the first famed KOTOR. Desktop wallpapers,
gameplay information, and the official trailer for the game are
just some of what this site has for you. Also, before you enter
the site, you can choose to be on the light or the dark side of
the Force. Whatever you choose will affect the site layout
slightly. Click the link above to check it out. This information
was kindly provided by Andrew. Thanks! |
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Friday
October 29, 2004 |
EPIII:
New Documentary Released |
The
official site
updates with the 11th of its Making Of Episode III web
documentaries entitled 'Becoming
Obi-Wan':
With the prequel
trilogy, Ewan McGregor stepped in to fill the role of a younger
Kenobi. In Episodes I through III, audiences have watched Obi-Wan
mature from a fresh-faced Padawan learner to a seasoned General in
the Clone Wars. With Revenge of the Sith, McGregor comes closest
to the Kenobi that Guinness portrayed. In doing, McGregor -- a
life-long Star Wars fan -- completes his journey as the greatest
Jedi Knight of the saga.
If you are a member of Hyperspace, you can hit the
link above to watch the vid. If you are not a paid
subscriber, click
here to view the archives of Episode III videos now available
for all to enjoy.
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Friday
October 29, 2004 |
EPIII:
Teaser Poster - More Than Meets The Eye |
TF.N
has closely examined the newly released teaser poster (click
here to view) and has found some hidden images which it
contains:
The Teaser is a collage
that has several characters in it. People are not seeing it ....
so I made a screenshot to help (above left).
The teaser poster has at
least two Vaders in it. The obvious one and another (above right).
Click
here to see the first image. Mild
Spoilers.
Click
here to see the second image.
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Friday
October 29, 2004 |
Homing
Beacon #122 |
The
latest Homing Beacon has arrived, and in this issue we get to talk
about Star Wars (teaser) trailers. The eagerly awaited teaser
trailer for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith premieres
worldwide next week on starwars.com
Hyperspace. In the early afternoon of Thursday, November 4 (US
time), the trailer will be available for high quality download
only to members of starwars.com Hyperspace, in partnership with
AOL. Make sure you're signed up today, and be the first to see
completed moving images from the final Star Wars film.
To fully experience this first look at Revenge of
the Sith, you'll have to head to movie theaters starting Friday,
November 5. In the US and Canada, the trailer will appear in front
of The Incredibles, the latest film from Pixar.
If you haven't seen it by then, the trailer will
be posted on starwars.com for everyone to see starting Monday,
November 8.
With the rest of the Star Wars saga now on DVD,
fans have the ability to watch the teaser trailers of the entire
saga in anticipation of the Episode III release. The evolution of
trailer styles is markedly visible by watching all these early
introductions to the Star Wars saga.
A New Hope
Running Time: 2:02
Number of Shots: 65
Truly a product of its time, the very first Star
Wars teaser trailer plays out at a lethargic pace (by modern
standards) building tension as the plainly-typed and non-styled
words "STAR WARS" come closer to camera from the depths
of space. The only name mentioned is George Lucas, introduced
simply as "The Man Who Brought You American Graffiti."
As the music had not been composed at this point, the resounding
Star Wars fanfare is painfully absent.
This trailer has a collection of potential
taglines. Among them are: "Somewhere in space, this may all
be happening now..." "A spectacle light years ahead of
its time..." "A big, sprawling space saga of rebellion
and romance," and the truly hyperbolic "A billion years
in the making."
The Empire Strikes Back
Running Time: 1:27
Number of Shots: 37
Truly a teaser as the trailer does not contain a
single frame of finished film footage. It is a zipping montage of
Ralph McQuarrie production paintings culminating in a slideshow of
production photography of the principal actors. While the
paintings do offer a glimpse of the film's visual diversity, they
definitely leave you hungry for more.
The narrator hurdles through very awkward
phrasing, including this vivid description: "In the course of
the odyssey, they travel with their faithful friends, droids and
Wookiees to exotic worlds where they meet new alien creatures and
evil machines." ... uh, Wookiees? The trailer also offers an
immense promise: "an awesome confrontation between Luke
Skywalker and the master of the dark side of the Force, Darth
Vader."
Return of the Jedi
Running Time: 1:27
Number of Shots: 50
By now the pantheon of Star Wars characters had
become household names, and this trailer follows a model developed
late in the Empire campaign -- reintroduce audiences to their old
friends. The narrator identifies each character in turn, with a
production photo serving as a first look, and isolated clips of
the character in action. Though this first teaser has some
tantalizing looks at ideas and scenes ultimately cut from the film
- a blue lightsaber, the desert sandstorm, Vader alone in the
turbolift - the featured Revenge of the Jedi title came to be the
most remarkable thing about it.
The Phantom Menace
Running Time: 2:07
Number of Shots: 71
This teaser trailer proved that a tiny preview can
become an event as huge as the film itself. After over a decade of
waiting, this was the first brand new Star Wars imagery fans had a
chance to behold. The online debut was a resounding success,
setting an incredible benchmark for downloads and fan
anticipation, and making online trailer debuts de rigeur
blockbuster marketing. It also ushered in the phenomenon of people
going to see movies just for the trailers attached to them.
Eschewing narrator voiceover -- which had become
passé by the late 90s -- this teaser begins with title cards
proclaiming that "Every saga has a beginning..." The
focus is on Anakin Skywalker, introducing the 9-year old to
audiences. The most memorable part, though, is Yoda's mantra-like
warning of the three dark side steps to suffering that plays near
the trailer's end.
Attack of the Clones
Running Time: 1:05
Number of Shots: 22
The fall before Episode II's release saw no less
than three teaser trailers, necessitating the titling of each to
let fans know which was which. "Breathing" was the first
out of the gate, appearing theatrically with Pixar's Monsters,
Inc.. Lacking any dialogue and considerably abstract for a Star
Wars trailer, "Breathing" let audiences know that Darth
Vader was coming. His raspy, rhythmic breathing is accompanied by
flashes of otherwise silent imagery, showcasing the returning
characters and the new ones, and giving the film an eerie, dark
feel.
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Thursday
October 28, 2004 |
Episode
III Teaser Poster Released! |
This
exciting news comes to us from the Official
Star Wars Website. A revealing new teaser poster for Episode
III was just released today. For the full article, click here. |
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Thursday
October 28, 2004 |
Battlefront:
IrelandClick Review |
IrelandClick
has posted their thoughts on Battlefront:
Pick a side to fight for
and then you’re left with the option of choosing a class from
the four basics – soldier, sniper, pilot and missile launcher.
There’s a fifth,
depending on which side you sign up to – the druids get a
Droikela rolling assault-bot and the rebels get Wookie smugglers
while the Empire and Republic forces have access to various brands
of jet-pack soldiers.
Most of the Star Wars
vehicles are available and the game is a must for any fans of
movies. The plus side for the game is its online and multi-player
action, which is excellent.
Finding a game is
ridiculously easy and those with PS2 can join a game with up to 15
others, while X-Box players can battle with or against another 23.
But the multi-player action is also the downside too because after
playing online, the single player mode leaves a lot to be desired.
Hit the link above to read the full review.
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Thursday
October 28, 2004 |
Star
Wars Goes Handheld |
Ubisoft
today revealed that the company has signed a deal with LucasArts
to develop versions of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith for the
Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and Sony PSP. All three games will
be developed by the company's Montreal studio, the same team
responsible for Star Wars: Apprentice of the Force released on the
Game Boy Advance earlier this year.
Ubisoft promises that Revenge of the Sith will
take advantage of each of the systems' strengths for each version
of the game, offering challenges and situations based on the
Summer 2005 flick. The games will be released in conjunction with
the theatrical film next year.
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Thursday
October 28, 2004 |
A
New Affiliate |
Today
Galactic Voyage has gained a new affiliate! This is very overdue
in coming, but we would like to send a big welcome to our very own
Rebel Racer who provides us with daily news updates and is the
webmaster of Docking
Bay 101. Special thanks goes to Rebel Racer for making
this affiliation possible. This site has been growing very rapidly
and is getting better all the time. They have nearly 800 sound
clips from all five movies making them the number one source on
the Internet for Star Wars. They also have music, pictures,
themes, fan films, and so much more! Be sure to take a look at the
latest version of this cool site! |
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Thursday
October 28, 2004 |
Star
Wars Kids: SW Masks |
Need
a costume for Halloween but you're just not sure which Star Wars
character you'd like to be? Download and print these masks
originally from Random House Publishing's 1983 book, The Star Wars
Book of Masks (made available by the Official
Site). Choose from these masks of Star Wars Original Trilogy
characters:
1) Click on the mask you want to enlarge, and
choose FILE+PRINT from your browser toolbar. For best results,
print your mask out on a color printer.
2) Once printed, carefully use a pair of scissors
to cut out eye holes and nose holes (so you can see and breathe
once the mask is on).
3) With a hole puncher, punch out holes at both
sides of the mask.
4) If the eye holes are too small for you to see
through, enlarge them with your scissors. (You may want to ask an
adult to help you with this.)
5) Next, cut two pieces of string, each
approximately six inches long. Tie or tape each piece in each side
hole you cut in Step 3.
6) Tie the ends together at the back of your head
to hold the mask on.
7)The badges, watch and other accessories
available to print out can be fastened with cellophane tape.
Provided by the Offical
Star Wars Kids site.
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Wednesday
October 27, 2004 |
Galaxies:
Jump to Lightspeed Now Available |
Jump to Lightspeed, the expansion pack to the Massively
Multiplayer Star Wars game Galaxies, has hit the stores
today! The struggle between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel
Alliance extends into space with Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to
Lightspeed, the expansion for the award-winning Massively
Multiplayer Online Role-Playing game set in the Star Wars
universe. This addition dramatically expands the Star Wars
Galaxies franchise by providing players more than 15 different
vehicles for space exploration and combat. Starfighters and other
starships in the expansion can be used for both space exploration
and combat, allowing players to join up with allies and fly
familiar X-wings and TIE fighters into battle against
faction-aligned opponents and AI-controlled ships. Transport ships
similar to the well-known Millennium Falcon are included, allowing
players to venture through space with friends aboard. Set in the
Star Wars timeframe between Episode IV and Episode V, this first
extension to the Star Wars Galaxies foundation opens 10 vast and
distinct space sectors, spanning from the Core Worlds to the Outer
Rim, for players to explore while engaging their opponents in
intense real-time combat or uniting with friends in battle or
exploration. Players can embark on more than 100 missions,
venturing through asteroid fields, nebulae and space junkyards
while honing skills in four new space-specific professions. The
game also features two completely customizable species. Be sure to
head over to the offical site and purchase
the game, or if you're a bargain hunter, see what PriceGrabber
has listed. |
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Wednesday
October 27, 2004 |
Original
Star Wars Movie Poster To Be Auctioned |
TMCNet
has reported the following:
Original poster art of
two of the most popular movies of all time -- "Star
Wars" and "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial," each
expected to sell for between $100,000 and $250,000 -- have been
added to the nearly 500 movie and TV memorabilia items to be
auctioned Dec. 10 by Joseph Maddalena's Profiles In History, the
number one company in the world for live and simultaneous Internet
Hollywood memorabilia auctions. This will be the company's 20th
auction over the past nine years. The "Star Wars"
artwork is a layered, collaged, one-of-a-kind original piece
executed in mixed media on artist's illustration board and paper,
measuring 41 by 48 inches. It was created by artists Charles White
III and Drew Struzan for the 1977 release of the film.
Hit the link above to read the full article.
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Wednesday
October 27, 2004 |
Battlefront:
AVault Review |
AVault
has posted their thoughts on LucasArts' brand new SW game:
At its core, Battlefront
is a basic run-and-gun 3D shooter that mixes things up a bit by
adding in vehicle combat as well. The first impression one gets is
that it’s the Star Wars version of Battlefield 1942. Unlike that
popular WW2 frag-fest, this title features two full single-player
campaigns that don’t annihilate your system's resources. These
campaigns follow the two major timelines set in place by the
films. The first is the Clone Wars; the second is the Galactic
Civil War. Now, whether you’re a fan of the later movies or not,
you can’t deny the fun to be had in running around the fields of
Naboo as a Trade Federation battle-droid blowing away Gungans.
It’s like sweet, sweet vengeance for all of us crusty old timers
who took so much personal offense to Jar-Jar. As Battlefront
allows you to fight on both sides, you’ll have a chance to wield
some clone-army weaponry as well. There are seven planets to fight
on in this line of the single player campaign.
Hit the link above to read the full article.
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Wednesday
October 27, 2004 |
EPIII:
Three More Pics |
As
part of their Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
coverage, Moviefone has revealed three new pictures from the
anticipated third and final George Lucas prequel. To view them,
just click
here (SPOILERS!).
Lucasfilm will release the first teaser trailer
for the movie with The Incredibles in theaters on November 5th.
Members of StarWars.com Hyperspace will be able to view the clip
in the early afternoon on November 4. Subcribers to AOL will also
be able to see the trailer on the 4th, and it will be shown on TV
that day as well.
The teaser poster is expected to be on display in
theaters starting late next week. "Episodes III" hits
theaters on May 19, 2005. Thanks to ComingSoon
for this news.
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Tuesday
October 26, 2004 |
Star
Wars #53: Behind the Scenes of Episode III |
This
month, Star Wars Magazine #53, the official magazine of the UK
Star Wars Fan Club, features the latest news on Episode III
Revenge of the Sith, not to be missed interviews, and an
opportunity to take a journey through the creation of the original
Star Wars trilogy.
This feature-packed issue also takes fans for a
behind-the-scenes look at Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the
Sith, with a detailed report on the shooting at Shepperton
studios. This issue also includes exclusive talks with producer
Rick McCallum as he presents his regular informative production
update.
Star Wars Magazine also meets five of the Revenge
of the Sith concept artists, and takes a sneak peek at some of
their exclusive designs for the next Star Wars film.
To celebrate the release of the Star Wars Original
Trilogy on DVD, Star Wars Magazine takes a journey back to 1976
and witnesses the creation of a legend as Star Wars begins
shooting in the desert of western Tunisia. Find out all about the
creation of the original trilogy, with some fantastic
behind-the-scenes photos.
Plus the legendary Star Wars artist Ralph
McQuarrie talks about how he helped the decision makers at 20th
Century Fox see the power of Lucas' vision, resulting in the
funding of a movie then known as The Star Wars. Find out how Ralph
McQuarrie's designs have defined both the look of the original
Star Wars trilogy and the prequels. In addition to McQuarrie's
masterpieces, take a look at the best of the diverse Star Wars
posters from over the years, and we have interviews with the
creators themselves.
Also included in this issue is exciting fiction
featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi as he teams up on a mission with Anakin
Skywalker in Changing of the Seasons part two. And don't miss news
and updates about the Star Wars trilogy DVD in the UK and
information on how readers can have the chance to win the Star
Wars trilogy CD soundtrack.
Star Wars #53 has already shipped to subscribers
and starts shipping to newsstands on Oct. 28. For more information
about the UK fan club, click
here.
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Tuesday
October 26, 2004 |
EPIII
Trailer: AOL Teams Up With LucasFilm |
AOL
Movies and Moviefone.com,
one of the largest online movie destinations, today announced that
they will offer an online premiere of the highly anticipated
teaser trailer for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith on
November 4, one day before it appears in theaters. The trailer
will be released in theaters on November 5, and will be available
online only on AOL and StarWars.com Hyperspace, the
subscription-only Official Star Wars Fan Club. Revenge of the
Sith, which debuts in theaters in May 2005, is Lucasfilm LTD.'s
sixth and final installment of Star Wars, one of the most popular
and enduring theatrical sagas of all time.
"Millions of fans look forward to every new
Star Wars installment with great anticipation," said Steven
Yee, Vice President and General Manager of AOL Movies and
Moviefone. "As one of the largest online movie destinations,
we are excited about giving our growing audience a first look at
the Revenge of the Sith trailer, and we look forward to working
with Lucasfilm to feature additional exclusive elements of the
Star Wars universe."
"After more than 25 years, the Star Wars saga
continues to exhilarate people around the globe, and this amazing
teaser trailer is just the tip of the iceberg for millions who
have been eagerly awaiting the release of the episode that finally
answers all the burning questions on the minds of Star Wars
fans," said Jim Ward, Vice President of Marketing and
Distribution for Lucasfilm. "It's great to work with AOL
Movies and Moviefone to give our fans more access than ever to
awesome footage from Revenge of the Sith and the entire
saga."
Film enthusiasts can experience a full,
custom-designed and comprehensive destination that honors the
entire franchise by going to Moviefone.com or through AOL Keyword:
Star Wars.
Thanks to TMCNet
for this news. Also, here's
a link to a cool page on Moviefone which has some
documentaries on the making of Episode III.
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Tuesday
October 26, 2004 |
Star
Wars Games: Two Board Games |
GamingReport
reports: We have received some details regaring two board games
from Hasbro under the Milton Bradley brand for Star Wars Fans.
Both of which are to be released early next year. Here are the
details:
Star Wars: The Saga Edition Trivial Pursuit
with DVD
This special edition of Trivial Pursuit features interactive DVD
questions focusing on the history, technology, and memorable
characters from the epic Star Wars saga.
Star Wars Risk: The Clone Wars Edition
A year has passed since the start of the Clone Wars on Geonosis.
The Galactic Republic has since become engulfed with all-out
warfare against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The
effects of this galaxy-wide struggle have been felt in every facet
of the Republic. Take command of the Republic "Clone
Trooper" Army or lead the Separatists in their universal
conquest to topple the Old Republic as players wage war on
numerous planetary battlegrounds in the galaxys most unforgettable
conflict in this exciting RISK variant.
Sounds very cool. Hit the link above to visit
GamingReport.
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Tuesday
October 26, 2004 |
EPIII:
First Review Coming Soon |
The
final installment of the Star Wars saga may be looming as large as
a planet-busting Death Star, but so far there’s been precious
little in the way of tantalising spoilerage. Near-hysterical fans
have had to make do with Lucas-vetted glimpses of the ongoing
production on the official website, or the short preview
featurette on the Episodes IV-VI DVD box set.
But prepare to set your blaster for excitement. In
2002, under shadowy circumstances involving a hotel room and a
mysterious videotape, AICN's Harry Knowles was shown an early cut
of Attack Of The Clones. Now, two years on, it seems that those
space pirate types at theforce.net have managed to take a peek at
a rough version (lacking most of the visual FX and John Williams'
score) of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith.
And the verdict? It rocks, apparently, ranking
second only to The Empire Strikes Back in the overall saga. High
praise indeed. The full force.net review, by Josh Griffin, won't
be up on the site until November 1 (provided Lucasfilm's cease and
desist stormtroopers don't pay him a visit first). Meanwhile,
though, if you want to know more, first-hand info from the
screening has been posted on one of the site's message boards. And
when we say spoiler heavy, we mean spoiler heavy.
Amazing news!!! I haven't heard anything about
this on TF.N
yet, but I read about it on Empire
Online. Stay tuned and we'll keep up updated.
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Tuesday
October 26, 2004 |
DVD
Trilogy: More Information on Restoration |
BBC
posted an article on their site, which covers some of the more
technical information about the restoration of the Original
Trilogy to DVD, some of which other sites haven't covered:
Mike Inchalik, president
of Lowry Images, explains: "The film scanners are the eyes of
the facility. They are the devices which convert each frame of
film into a digital file which the computers can later repair.
"Each frame of film
is slowly pulled past a CCD sensor. It takes approximately four
seconds to take a frame of film and digitise it.
"When we're done we
have a computer file of roughly 70mb for each frame of film. A
movie such as Star Wars has about 180,000 frames."
Needless to say, 180,000 frames at 70 megabytes
per frame is quite a large file. It's a wonder that they can fit
all of that data into their system at once. Hit the link above to
read the full article.
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Monday
October 25, 2004 |
Star
Wars DVDs break sales record |
The
DVDs of the original Star Wars trilogy have broken a UK sales
record after one day of release.
Internet retailer Amazon received more than 85,000
pre-orders for The Star Wars Trilogy, beating the 50,000 high of
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
"Fans have been waiting for this for a long
time, so we knew there would be a lot of interest," a
spokesperson said.
Supermarket Tesco estimated it would sell 500,000
box sets in the first week, beating its Two Towers record.
Click
here to read the full article from BBC.
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Monday
October 25, 2004 |
Hasbro's
Star Wars Q&A |
Hasbro.com
has provided a couple of answers to some questions you may have.
Q: On some
of the new Rabé packaging, there are two names associated with
the Handmaiden figure -- Rabé and Dormé. Was this an error, or
will we see a second version?
A: It was an error that's been corrected.
Q: Why have
some of the Target Slave I exclusives shown up without the Boba
Fett’s jet-pack missile?
A: It was an error in the factory. However, the amount of sets
that were missing the missile is very small.
So for you
collectors out there, hang on to this one because there are
limited quatities making it a rare find.
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Monday
October 25, 2004 |
Galaxies:
Jump to Lightspeed |
Joystiq
has posted on the Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed
developer dairy:
The Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Light Speed diary is probably one
of the best-written diaries out there right now. The quips are
tittliating, the insights are deep and the self-deprication is
refreshing. There isn’t enough self-deprication in the games
industry these days
. This installment of the series tempts us with the closeness of
it all. The expansion pack seems inevitable, as proven by juicy
passages like: “The plan is for us to lock down all coding by
noon today. We get a build up onto SpaceDev by early afternoon. QA
bangs on it all afternoon (and all night) and if it passes we will
move it out to SpaceBeta (and both Test Centers) Sunday morning.
Hopefully this is the final candidate for what goes Live next
week. All bugs that are found will be individually analyzed, to
see if it is something that we have to fix before launch or if it
is something that we could hotfix in after things go Live. Any and
all changes at this time add a layer of risk to the current build,
sometimes causing complete regressions of the entire game.”
Hit the link above to visit Joystiq, or click
here to read the developer diary on the offical site.
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Sunday
October 24, 2004 |
Star
Wars Trilogy: DailyGame Review |
DailyGame
has posted a not-so-positive review of the brand new Star Wars
game Apprentice of the Force:
Hot on the heals of the
international DVD release of the original “Star Wars” trilogy,
Ubisoft has decided to capitalize by releasing Star Wars Trilogy:
Apprentice of the Force for the GBA. While not a remarkable
addition to the GBA, library it’s easily the most fun of all the
Star Wars games to hit the handheld. Unfortunately, the fun fades
quickly as you realize that strict marketing deadlines can
translate into a sloppy game.
The majority of the game
is an action side-scroller, where players have to find keys and
power-ups in order to progress through the Episodes.
Unfortunately, the level design is sub par. It’s not unusual to
feel like you’re running in circles, as the backgrounds rarely
change, nor do the platforms you jumping on. I would have been
happy with shorter levels with more creative flair, but Ubi opted
instead for longer levels with incredible repetition. Enemies come
at Luke relentlessly, and since he’s limited in his abilities
(especially at the beginning of the game), it only adds to the
redundant feel as you mindlessly blast and slash through them.
Things improve slightly when you are given Force abilities that
allow you to move objects, run and jump better and slow down time,
but most of the gameplay is stilted and lacks any real variety.
Hit the full link above to read the full article.
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