RPGs: Stop Making Bad First Impressions 
Is Hitman's Next Target Assassin's Creed? 
Why Kotaku Australia Should Never Work With Children... Or Robots 
Three Words I Said To The Man I Defeated In Gears Of War That I'll Never Say Again 
New Doom 3 For Xbox 360 And PlayStation 3 Supports Head-Mounted Displays 
Far Cry 3 And The Stranger In A Strange Land You owe Force Unleashed to Haden Blackman. He may be all modest about the team effort that went into making this game over the last four years – but this is the guy that held the hands of the entire team and reminded them what Force Unleashed is all about: kicking the shit out of people with the Force (or “kicking butt,” if you like the vanilla version they kept chanting in all those developer diaries).
“We can make this happen,” Haden told them, and it looks like he was right.
The Force Unleashed making-of book details Haden and his team’s long struggle to get this game made. There were tons of other concept ideas that got axed, a billion technical hurdles and all kinds of unforeseen nightmares to get past. I asked Haden which scrapped idea was his favourite and he immediately said he liked the idea where you would have been playing as a Wookiee.
Well, of course he is. He’s George Lucas! And as The Force Unleashed executive producer Haden Blackman pointed out that all during the 4-year development cycle:
George gave us a history lesson about what the major characters in the Saga were doing in that time frame, and offered feedback and suggestions about the plot and characters.
Is it wise to actually go around and tell people that? Pssst, we consulted with George Lucas for this game. That’s right, the George Lucas that turned the Force from a mystic energy into some cell-based midichlorian-communicating mumbo jumbo. And the same George Lucas who let stormtroopers kill Jedi\.
Certainly there are oodles of smart, talented people at LucasArts. Let’s play up those folks, ‘mkay?
Star Wars lives on through games [Reuters]
When I was dragged to the midnight showing of Star Wars: The Clone Wars there were nerds fighting in front of the screen before the movie started with those $200 light saber replicas. Here’s a word of advice, don’t be that nerd. Instead, do it in the comfort of your own home with your trusty Wii-motes. This video highlights some of early levels we have seen before as well as the Wii Duel mode where you and a friend can pick characters from the Star Wars universe and duke it out. You can pick up the game this coming Tuesday.
Reader Raze35 writes in to inform us that the above GT stores will be hosting a midnight launch party for LucasArts’ The Force Unleashed at the Reading Cinema in Belmont on Sept 16. The festivities will commence at 9:30PM, and cut off at 1AM.
Along with the opportunity to purchase the game at 12 on the dot, attendees can engage in speed runs of the demo (current record is 2:30 minutes, apparently) or don their best Star Wars gear and enjoy a bit of cosplay. Prizes will be there in, uh, force as well.
If it sounds like your bag (or other container), you know where to be!
While a lot of us will be picking up The Force Unleashed for Xbox 360 and PS3 there are still plenty of folks who will be grabbing the PlayStation 2 and PSP version of the game. For that reason we got two new videos where Producer Dan Wasson walks us through some of the scenarios as well as the extra content on the PSP version. Second video after the jump.
With the Star Wars The Force Unleashed approaching, Lucas Arts sent along a copy of their new book about the game.
The Art and Making of Star Wars The Force Unleashed is a chunky, 168 page book filled with more than 300 pieces of concept art, two packs of character cards and plenty of behind the scenes details of how the title went from concept to game.
I’ve only had a chance to flip through the book so far, but what I’ve seen impresses. The book is divided up into six chapters that tackle the concept behind the game and early pitches, the story approval process, the characters in the game, the environments, the technology and a run through of all of the game’s milestones and how it progressed from greenlight, to alpha to launch.
I’m not typically a big fan of these over-sized art books but there seems to be enough meat to the book to make it worth picking up. I still might have a problem dropping $US 30 for it, but I’m sure bigger fans of the franchise won’t.
This info comes in via tipster Raze35, who reports that the Video Ezy in Tuart Hill, WA, is not only taking preorders for new games, but doing so competitively. For example, it’s doing Fable 2 for $99.95 and Too Human and Force Unleashed for $89. Apparently, you can even pick up preowned copies of GTA IV for $39.95. There’s also mention that some preorders include posters and other tidbits.
Apparently the store will be importing titles such as Rock Band for sale and rental.
This improved focus on games may be unique to the Tuart Hill VE, as it recently changed owners. So let us know if your local VE is doing something similar!
Activision sent this sexy piece of work as part of a teaser email today (“Darth Vader’s secret apprentice is coming…”). I’m not sure if it’s been seen or distributed before, but hey, I thought you guys might like to check it out. I particularly like the part that has Darth Vader in it.
I’ve got a very cruel test for you Star Wars fans. What we have here is a video dialoguefrom the LucasArts folks that goes over some pretty major, pretty spoilerish, plot points for The Force Unleashed. It also shows off a lot of the game. Yes, painful. So you decide, hit the game fresh and untarnished or stoke your fan engines now. Either way, know it looks pretty bad arse.
A brand new character is joining the cast of Soulcalibur IV and, surprisingly enough, this one isn’t sporting Jabba the Hutt sized breasts. Darth Vader’s “secret apprentice” Starkiller, star of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, will join Yoda and Vader in pitting lightsaber against blade when the game hits the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next month. Yes, Starkiller is coming to both versions of Soulcalibur IV, making your decision that much easier.
Soulcalibur IV Unleashed [GameSpot]
