Console conundrums

So I've placed pre-orders for both Xbox One and PS4... but I don't know if  I will actually purchase either of them at this point, really.

Xbox One has many issues, most notable being the need to be connected to the Internet at least once every 24 hours. But  I have other concerns that I haven't seen addressed anywhere. It ships with a 500 GB hard drive, yet all disc games must be installed to the system. Say a game averages 30-40 GB and considering that 500 GB is not *really* how much user available space there is, let's say 400 GB is around what's available... then we can only have about 10 games installed on our Xbox Ones? I heard we can add our own external hard drive to the console (presumably USB connected)  but I wonder how well an external hard drive would run the games off it? No hiccups? There are often problems with external storage with the Wii U for example.

Not to mention that Xbox One seems to be marketed as an all-around media device, so aside from games, the 500 GB hard drive will be filled up with videos and other media which will crowd out the space for games.

I can understand why it would be good to have a game stored to the hard drive, but I wish it was more a choice rather than all games must be stored on it.

Then there's the PS4. It's a box that plays games. Well, I have a bunch of boxes that do that, but the most notable example is my PS3. What does the PS4 *really* offer that the PS3 doesn't? A little better graphics, and a few differences in interface (touch pad, move light on the controller) but what *REALLY* sets it apart from the PS3? Why pay $400.00 + tax for it now?

In both cases, I have to look at the launch games, is there anything that blows me away, to the point that I Must buy one or both of these systems to play that game? Only one game was teased at E3 2013 that fits that description: Star Wars Battlefront. Yes, I have been waiting years for a new Battlefront game. But it was only a teaser, development has only just begun on it. Who knows when it will be released? A year? 2 years from now? I can say that for that game I *WOULD* buy a console just to play it.

But since it is not coming anytime soon, maybe I should just wait?


Later
Don

Star Wars Battlefront Elite Squadron PSP

I waited-- not so patiently-- for this game to finally show up on the PSN Store... it's strange how low-key the buzz has been for Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron... game sites don't want to talk about it at all. That's been the case for all the SWBF games, they don't get a lot of respect even though they get 7-8 out of 10 ratings. Despite all that, the games sell very well; there's a lot of interest in them from the public.

I think that the PS Store updates late afternoon Thursdays.... I was on there through Media Go at like 4:30PM & there was nothing, then about an hour later it was up.

I was initially underwhelmed by the demo, but I have to admit I played it a lot, and it has grown on me. The full game is basically more of the same, though oddly enough I think there's a slight bit *less* polish if that even makes any sense: specifically when you choose ALTERNATE controls the onscreen button instructions are still for the DEFAULT. Renegade Squadron knew which control scheme you were using & adjust the onscreen button instructions accordingly.... I think the Elite Squadron demo did too but I deleted it to make space so I can't be sure.

I haven't finished trying out all the game modes like Galactic Conquest, but I was struck by how the campaign mode didn't feel like a Star Wars Battlefront game; if you die the game stops & you start over at a checkpoint (luckily they're quite frequent) but that's not Battlefront at all. Battlefront is about dying, respawning & getting back in there.

The campaign feels like a mediocre shooter. The graphics & level design don't really compare to something like the Syphon Filter or Resistance PSP games. It's more clunky & slower.

But the instant action mode is very much Battlefront. It's strange because all modes use the same game assets obviously, but instant action is much faster paced & more interesting from a gameplay standpoint.

So overall, I am a bit sad to see that Elite Squadron seems rushed & not quite as solid as Renegade Squadron. But the core game concept of fighting on the ground, air & space is a really cool one. Yes, there are cutscenes between each battlefront, and it is a bit annoying to fly to/from a hanger & suddenly a cutscene pops up showing you landing or entering atmosphere rather than you actually doing it yourself. It sort of reminds me of Me & My Katamari, which would have loading to enter the second half of a level... and that was more annoying because you just basically waited. So at least the cutscenes here are kinda cool.

I updated my main PSP-2001 to firmware 6.10 & downloaded Elite Squadron to that as well as my PSPgo, and until I did, I didn't realize that on the regular PSP the game doesn't look as good as Renegade Squadron. It looks good on the PSPgo, but the bigger screen of the PSP unfortunately shows the blandness of a lot of the map details.

Another odd thing is that it seems like it's easier on the PSPgo. I've got the same difficulty settings for both games, but the regular PSP game seems a lot harder-- and not because of the controls. If anything, the regular PSP should be a bit easier because there's a cheap way to play as a jedi: use the side of your index finger to constantly hold down the UP key on the D-pad while using your thumb to move the analogue nub-- the jedi will automatically block laser fire & you can still attack. Because of the control placement on the PSPgo it's nearly impossible to hold down UP on the d-pad while using the analogue nub. Despite that I found the boss fights to be easier for some reason. So I don't know if it's just me or what.

I don't know why but I'm finding myself using the side of my index finger to press the D-pad (usually up) while my thumb is working the analogue nub while playing PSP, like for Resistance: Retribution.

The game concept is very cool & maybe just a bit too ambitious... but even though it's not perfect there's still plenty of fun to be had here. Once I get more used to where everything is I think it will be really fun.... hell, just being able to go onboard the Death Star (and fly away from it to board the enemy flaghip) is immensly cool!

The good thing about Star Wars Battlefront Elite Squadron is that there's a demo. If you don't like the demo, you probably shouldn't bother with the full game.

Today I went out & bought the DS version, even though it's a different game & more stripped down, I think it will be fun in its own way. Unfortunately I won't have a lot of time to play it, don't know why I even bought it before I went away, shoulda' just waited till I came back....



later
don

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron demo

Last night I downloaded the Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron demo to my PSPgo from the PS Store. Free and about 78 MB, it's worth downloading to try it out.

This is probably my most anticipated game of the year, so I have really high expectations.... expectations that I've tried to keep in check while waiting for the game to come out.

Ever since the original Star Wars Battlefront on Xbox, I've had to eat my words for my initial impressions of the 2 follow-up games. I played the Star Wars Battlefront II demo on my Episode III DVD, and it was an earlier build of the game so it wasn't as polished. I was at first very disappointed... but the actual game became one of my favourites.

Same with the PSP Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron. At first I thought they messed up the formula, but I have to say it is one of, if not my favourite game of all time.

So maybe my initial impressions are a bit harsh. But still, as cool as Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron is in concept, there seem to be some annoyances that really mar the experience.

They kept the 2 control settings: "Default" & "Alternate". I choose "Alternate" because it makes the face buttons for look. The problem is, it maps the steering for spaceships to the face buttons. The analogue nub is only for controlling speed: you push up or down basically. That seems like such a huge waste, and to not have the analogue nub steer a flying vehicle seems so very, VERY wrong.

I've tried it with the "default" controls which does map ship steering back to the analogue nub, but it still seems very awkward, not to mention that I don't want to have to adjust the options every time I switch from ground to air playing.

For Battlefront II & even Renegade Squadron (which is the developer of Elite Squadron too) they made a point to address that the vehicle control in Battlefront I was bad, and that they were going to improve on that... which they did. So Elite Squadron's starfighter controls seem like a major step backwards to the clunky awkward feel of Battlefront I and even worse because space battles are a huge integral part of the game.

Another thing I noticed right away was the overall game interface. It looks fancy, but cluttered. I *hate* how all the enemy soldiers have these HUGE circles around them, showing health but obscuring who they even are. They could be WWII Nazis as far as I can tell with that junk just making a mess & taking me out of the Star Wars experience. Do we really need those huge circles?

The graphics & design have made a bit of an improvement, they have to be commended for that. But these issues really bug me. So far I've played all 4 factions on the demo's Tatooine map, and the overall battle seems a bit random & chaotic; echoing some of the *broken* aspects of Battlefront I's gameplay.

The maps do seem big, much bigger than Renegade Squadron. Right now they seem a bit TOO big with pointless areas, but I might just need to get used to them.

I hope this demo is just an early build and that the actual release game will be more polished, but I doubt it as it's coming out November 3, 2009-- a bit over a week from now.

There's so much that's cool about this concept: you fight on the ground, and can fly up into space, where you can fight other starfighters or board an enemy capital ship. The capital ships are more expansive than they've ever been on the PSP. But I wonder if the idea's a bit too ambitious for its (or developer Rebellion) own good. Maybe the game will grow on me, maybe I will end up eating my words again. I sincerely hope so.


later
don

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron WebDoc #1

Finally some more info about Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron!

This developers vid starts off slow, with Star Wars Battlefront II footage. I hate it when they keep using that stuff since it's irrelevant to the PSP games. At least they credit the footage properly instead of misleading people into thinking that Xbox cutscene stuff is actual PSP footage.

But when it gets to the actual PSP game footage, I have to admit, I'm getting pretty excited! I love where the fighter is strafing an AT-AT from *waaaay* high above. The way ground & air is integrated in this game, it makes the battlefront look huge.




There's a comment that has me really curious:

"you're gonna be able to play on a single PSP with another player"

I'm not sure if this means gamesharing-- as in one copy of the UMD game can be played on 2 (or more) PSPs... or if this is some sort of "players take turns & pass the PSP back & forth" kind of thing??? Weird.

Only in the final minute do they get into the DS version of Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron. And it does look a bit.... stripped down.... still, I'm hopeful that it could be good. Unless it gets plain awful reviews, I'm still thinking I will pick up both PSP & DS versions at launch, the first time I've ever done that with a game.

And last but not least.... a release date!

11-3-09


Sa-wheeet.


later
don

new SW Battlefront: Elite Squadron pics

I'm pretty desperate for any info on Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron for PSP & DS.... just came across this Gamespot article that doesn't really tell us much more than what has already been announced.

12 maps sounds a bit small, but each one is supposed to have both ground & space components, so they could have quite a bit of content. And weapons on the ground can be used to fight space vessels; they cite as example the Ion cannon on Hoth..... oh man... I've always wanted to be able to use the Ion cannon! That would be awesome, especially after getting teased with watching it fire in the background on Star Wars Battlefront: Rengade Squadron, but not being able to interact with it.

More interesting than the article is the gallery they've got.



Are you kidding me? Oh man, if that pic is accurate-- can we really fly around the Death Star??? *Drool*

I sure hope this game holds its own and isn't watered down or rushed, kinda like Secret Agent Clank was after Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters.....



later
don

PocketGamer Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron E3 impressions

Well... I hope I'm not making seperate posts every time a site posts a hands-on with Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron... UK site PocketGamer gave their impressions, not only was it more favourable than IGN's, but more importantly, they went into a bit more detail about the game.

Despite mistakenly believing that Renegade Squadron "introduced" Galactic Conquest mode (that's been around since the first Star Wars Battlefront (Xbox) game, just that it changes format in every iteration) they had some interesting things to note. I'm liking the sound of this ground/space combat, because apparently ground actions influence the space battles; like using an Ion Cannon to knock down enemy space cruisers' shields so you can fly up there & board them. I like how it's feeling very much like one battlefront.

One criticism than they share with IGN is the controls, both saying that the controls seem a bit loose. It sounds like they are using the "default" controls... I prefer the "alternate" control scheme where the face buttons are used for aiming. I hope that continues in this game.



later
don

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron IGN impressions

So IGN posted some impressions on Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (PSP) and they called it a "mixed bag".

There's a nice feature where you can do a land battle, then fly up into space(cool!) but they complained that when switching from land to air, there's a cutscene. I dunno, that seems alright by me. I'd have to see how long the cutscene is, and is it a loading screen or what... but I'd expect that on the PSP.

Like the Star Wars movies, the Star Wars Battlefront games are somewhat critic-proof. At least in my mind. I'm a huge Star Wars fanboy, and Battlefront is my favourite series of video games. But I am listening to any criticisms, because at the end of the day, I want a good game.

This reminds me of when critics got a look at an early build of Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron. The early videos were really choppy, and looks "early". Normally I'm a huge fan of getting to see a game's development, because it keeps the hype machine going & builds excitement. But since then, I've had second thoughts... as those early videos really weren't indicative of the final game. The final game was MUCH SMOOTHER than those early vids, and the critical drubbing the game got based on them kinda hurt, I think.

I don't expect Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron to reinvent the formula, and to the average gamer these games are probably in the 70% range.

Still, there certainly are sequels or spiritual ones, like Secret Agent Clank, which felt a bit rushed out the door after Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. So it's entirely possible that Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron might not be as polished as Renegade Squadron. But it's still very early to tell.



later
don

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron confirmed

Aww yeah..... Joystiq has posted confirmation that Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron will be coming to PSP & DS "this fall"!

This is such awesome news.... seriously, makes my gaming year.





Joystiq's blog post states:

The press release suggests that the DS and PSP are getting subtly different games, with the DS version promising a "class-based gameplay experience" with different weapons for each class, and the PSP version allowing players to "personalize and build their character with more weapons and items than ever before." The PSP game has 16-player multiplayer with "in-depth stat tracking," and the DS release has "intense 4-player skirmishes" in different multiplayer modes.

Check out the gallery for the PSP & DS versions-- the DS version is obviously not as graphically polished as the PSP of course-- but the most notable thing is that it looks more of a top-down kind of player view, like X-Men: Legends or Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, those types of games. I wonder how that's going to affect gameplay.


Joystiq Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron PSP gallery

Joystiq Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron DS gallery

To be honest, to say that Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron PSP will be a DAY 1 purchase for me is a given. As soon as they announced the game, I'm going, "so where do you want my cash?" But I have to admit, I will probably also buy the DS version too, unless I start hearing a lot of bad things about it. I might wait for reviews on that one.... there's never been a Battlefront game for DS, so this is pretty exciting.

Unlike Renegade Squadron, which was the first NEW Star Wars Battlefront game for the PSP, I feel a lot more reassured that the franchise won't get mucked up. There are no guarantees, but I suspect that they won't stray too far from the formula. The PSP port of Star Wars Battlefront II, which was handled by Savage Entertainment, was pretty weak, even for a port. In some ways it was very faithful to the game, but there are some system-freezing bugs, and the controls just didn't feel tweaked enough for the PSP. I still play it every once in a while, but Renegade Squadron is the definitive Star Wars Battlefront PSP experience.

We still need some hard details: "coming this fall".... when exactly? October? November? I wouldn't be surprised if they scheduled it for September, but then push it back to those months like they did with Renegade Squadron.

Who's developing it? Rebellion? (Hopefully not Savage Entertainment, hehe)

UPDATE: Gamespot has said that Rebellion is doing the PSP version, and n-Space is developing the DS version.

Oh boy. This is hands-down my most anticipated game of the year.



later
don

New Star Wars Battlefront titles????

Ok, I must admit.... Star Wars Battlefront (all of them so far) are my ALL-TIME FAVOURITE GAME(S).

So reading this news from Joystiq that a new one is coming, for both the PSP *and* DS.... *gasp*! Nerdgasm.











This product info was listed at the ESRB site:

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
Platform: PSP | Rating: Teen
Content descriptors: Fantasy Violence

Rating summary: "This is an action game in which players experience different battles from the Star Wars universe. Presented in a third-person perspective, the game allows players to engage in space, land, and air battles or build troops and upgrade armies in a strategy-based mode. Players can use laser guns (i.e., blasters), explosives, and lightsabers to destroy enemy robots (i.e., droids) and humans who often cry out in pain when attacked. During one dramatic cutscene sequence, an unarmed man is sliced by a lightsaber, while another character is shot in the back with a blaster."

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
Platform: Nintendo DS | Rating: Everyone 10+
Content descriptors: Fantasy Violence

Rating summary: " Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron is an action adventure game in which players experience different battles from the Star Wars universe. From a third-person perspective, players engage in space battles, 'speeder bike' chases, and top-down battling. The ground battle includes constant laserfire combined with hand-to-hand combat using 'lightsabers.' A depleting health bar and various "yelps" indicate damage inflicted upon certain characters."

I'm still hoping that Star Wars Battlefront III will come out, for the Wii as is rumoured.... but man, a new PSP Star Wars Battlefront game.... that just makes my day!

It's actually been a fairly good period for Star Wars game news in general, what with the new Clone Wars game announced. Sure, I'd like to see some all-new Star Wars game ideas, but it's better than nothing.

I wonder who's developing these games, probably Rebellion Studios (who developed Star Wars Battlefront Renegade Squadron) ... while I admit it isn't perfect, I was very pleasantly surprised how well they did carrying the torch held by original Star Wars Battlefront developer Pandemic Studios. But too early to tell right now...



New Star Wars Battlefront... yeah.......... *drool*


later
don

New Clone Wars: Republic Heroes game coming

It's funny, 'cause I've been thinking about the Clone Wars Wii game recently. It gets pretty mediocre reviews (so did the Wii version of Force Unleashed, which I really love) and from what I've seen the Clone Wars game doesn't have much meat in it in terms of single player. But I'm a huge Star Wars fan, and it's always been on my must-buy list... I just want to get it at a budget price. So I've been looking out for it, hoping I'd see it drop to at least $20.00.... but I've never seen it less than $50.00, in fact it's gone UP in price to $55.00-$60.00 at a lot of places.... that burns me...


So now developer Krome Studios is doing a second Clone Wars game, Clone Wars: Republic Heroes.... the details on it are sketchy right now, it's scheduled to come out in September 2009..... the trailer looks cool enough. If they make the single-player campaign more robust, and maybe more of a cross between their Clone Wars and Force Unleashed games, it could be very promising. At least the first one should drop in price.....

EDIT: Joystiq's posted some images from the games! There's Wii version and DS version.... uh-oh.... what's missing...... crap-- I hate how the PSP gets left off of all the platform lists.... oh well.

Wii screenshots

DS screenshots


I know I'll be talking about it more as more info is revealed.

EW news story & trailer here.



later
don

Battle Damaged Darth Vader

Monday was an awesome day to be sitting by my mail-box, because not only did I get my 2 kingston 16GB microSD cards... the Force Unleashed battle-damaged Darth Vader action figure I ordered also came in!




This fig is what really started my action figure frenzy I have going on right now. After playing Force Unleashed again, getting to the end where you fight Darth Vader & you beat him up so bad his helmet's partially torn off & half his armour is gone.... that is so awesome. (don't worry I haven't spoiled anything)

This figure is based on that scene, and when I looked it up, I just fell in love with it. The helmet, arm covering and chest & shin armour is removable, exposing his cybernetics & burned skin. This fig is the pride of my recent acquisitions, with Darth Talon being a close second.









The only thing I wish his cape was more tattered, I may punch some more holes in it...




later
don

Star Wars 3.75" action figs

Last few days I've been suffering from a different kind of hand-held addiction.

I don't know why, I guess it was all that re-playing of Force Unleashed on both my Wii and PSP-- but I just got into the action figures big time! While I was looking for the battle-damaged Darth Vader fig from the game, I came across a few other really nifty ones.

There was a 2 pack with Darth Talon (pictured left) and Cade Skywalker. They are from the comicbook series Star Wars: Legacy, which I'm enjoying. It's set about 100 years after Return of the Jedi, and focuses on Cade Skywalker, Luke's grandson.

Darth Talon is an *awesome* figure. She's got all those Darth Maul-like tattoos, and is a Twi'Lek, which I really like. the Cade Skywalker figure's ok, but I bought the 2 pack just for her. She's my favourite fig of these recent aquisitions.

I also got an Obi-Wan dressed in clone trooper outfit with removable helmet. I like having him hold it rather than wear it. He's really posable, moreso than Darth Talon. Looks pretty cool.






I bought a Darth Vader today, I wasn't all that happy with him at first because he lacks articulation-- I want ball joints at the shoulders, elbows and ankles-- but I've been posing him tonight and I'm liking him more. His lightsaber's not as thick as the other figs though, and his hands don't hold it very well at all.... which kinda bugs me....

I keep picking these toys up and fiddling with them... the joints are bound to get loose.... guess this is my vestigal form of playing with toys..... haven't gotten to the point where I'm re-enacting scenes + dialogue with them yet, but give it time.... sigh.....



later
don

Kicking Ass with The Force... Handheld style

No new comics came in this week for me.... even though I'm still waiting for LocoRoco 2 to come out here in Canada... I spotted a couple of PSP games on sale I couldn't pass up.

Yesterday I bought Wipeout Pulse for $9.96 (score!) and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for $19.96 clearance-priced from The Source. Since they are owned by/somehow affilated with/ Circuit City I have a bad feeling that this could be nearly end for them.... unless the Canadian stores are bought up by someone else. In any case, I know these deals won't last long so may as well grab 'em while I can.

I told myself I wasn't going to buy games that I already have on other systems, but let's face it... I'm a Star Wars freak, and owning 2 PSP-2000's with Darth Vader on the back and not having *every* Star Wars PSP game... that's just wrong. So I had to complete my collection..... yeah.....

haven't played Wipeout Pulse yet, but Wipeout: Pure is one of the best looking PSP games for the system. It's amazing that this was a launch title, it still stands up.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for PSP is very similar to the Wii version. Both were developed by Krome Studios; I'm sure that all their versions are almost the same.

It's actually quite impressive that the PSP version has pretty much the same content as the Wii version, a home console. One could look at it as "geez, the Wii got ripped off if the PSP version looks just as good" but I think the Wii version is great. The motion controls are really fun, and the standard controls of the PSP version are a little more awkward to use. The biggest problem with both versions is the camera, but in the Wii version you can control the camera a bit using the D-pad. The PSP D-pad will center the camera behind you *a bit* but it's not nearly as good as the Wii camera control, and that's not exactly great either.

But as to the actual gameplay content, wow. The PSP version is the Wii version squeezed into a handheld console. Some people might only have a PSP for their sole console... for those concerned the PSP version might not be as good as the Wii one... rest assured. From what I've played so far, the story campaign is virtually the same.

As cool as it is to have a PSP port that's equal to the (Wii) console version, there are some problems that come with that: The loading times are relatively long. Sometimes there's some game freezing.. it doesn't lock up, but in mid-battle things will stop for a second or 3. And the save points are the same: between quits, the game resumes at the start of the level, so if you quit out mid-level, next time you play you have to re-do that entire level. It's tolerable for the home version, but when you're talking about a portable game... the levels are pretty long and have to be completed in one sitting unless you put the PSP in sleep mode while playing, but then you can't use it for music/video/whatever. Home console games aren't paced in a way that makes them portable-console-friendly.

There is a historical dual mode in the PSP version; basically boss fights. The Wii version has multiplayer, but it's multiplayer ONLY while I assume these historical duals can be played single-player. haven't tried it yet, as I complete the story campaign I unlock more characters & settings to use in the dual mode.

So a pretty good beat-em-up for the PSP.


*my thoughts on the Wii version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed*




later
don

Star Wars Lethal Alliance PSP

I just finished off playing through Star Wars Lethal Alliance, a PSP & DS exclusive game (obviously I played the PSP version)... I had this game for quite awhile. I originally played halfway through, got stuck at the Rancor boss battle, and put the game away forgetting about it until the last few days when I've been playing it on & off.

You play as a new character in the Star Wars universe, Rianna Saren. SHE'S NOT A JEDI. *Ahem* if you can get over that, she has blasters, and a floating-orb droid buddy named Zeeo. He's actually pretty cool-- together they can pull off acrobatic moves; she flips over him & such-- not to mention he slices (hacks) into computer systems while Rianna defends him.

The game is basically a platform/shooter, with some puzzle work, punctuated by a few turret defense missions.

I wouldn't say this game is terrible, but it's not really remarkable either. It uses the Unreal engine, and while there's nothing outright broken about it, overall it's a bit clunky. The targeting is the worst part, you use the shoulder buttons to select/switch between targets, whether those are enemies to shoot, or data ports for Zeeo to slice. The problem with this is that it never seems to target the enemies you NEED it to target, i.e. the closest enemies to you. One of Rianna's weapons is "the Thorn of Ryloth" which is a glowing dagger thing that is NOT A LIGHTSABER. It activates whenever an enemy is in close range, and is good because sometimes it can do 1 shot kills, and it doesn't have limited ammo like the guns do. But because the targeting system never seems to target the closest enemy to you (even though it says it does in the instructions) often you'll have an enemy right beside you, the Thorn of Ryloth is on, but the target is on some faraway enemy that might even be behind some crates or something. So you have to do some fancy retargeting which really becomes a pain.

There are action combos that sometimes don't seem to work even though I know I'm pressing the buttons. So overall there's a sluggishness to the game, while it doesn't make it unplayable, it could have been better.

Star Wars Lethal Alliance is not a terrible game, nor is it a super memorable game. It reminds me of mediocre linear adventure games on PS2 or Xbox. There's no real open world feel to it; you have to perform the platforming exactly as they want you to. I'm a huge Star Wars fan, and I have to admit, Rianna is super sexy, and I love the chemistry between her & Zeeo. The game has many really short levels, which is good and bad-- you go through 1 room and it considers that a level, so it asks you to save. It's good for a portable game because you may not have a lot of time on the go, so you can do a quick level & put it away for when you have another spare 5-10 mins. But it can be annoying always being asked to save that frequently. Overall the game is fairly short, 4, maybe 5 hours....

Just feels like the game was polished just enough to be considered functional, but not nearly enough to make it something special.

Star Wars Lethal Alliance trailer:





later
don

Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron

Ok, Star Wars Battlefront I & II are my ALL-TIME FAVOURITE GAMES. So I'm pretty biased when it comes to the Star Wars Battlefront franchise. When I heard that LucasArts was making a Star Wars Battlefront game specifically for the PSP, my favourite console... needless to say, I was ecstatic.

Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron is a PSP-exclusive game developed by Rebellion Studios, not Pandemic Studios who developed SWBF I & II. This made me pretty nervous. But after playing the game, my fears were put to rest. Renegade Squadron is a worthy & faithful addition to the Star Wars Battlefront franchise, even if it doesn't offer too much different in way of core gameplay (All 3 games have fairly minor differences/improvements between them)

Pros:

+Core Star Wars Battlefront gameplay is preserved.

+Game was made from the ground up for the PSP system and plays great on it. Improvement on PSP port of Star Wars Battlefront II.

+Tweaked the character class aspect of the franchise, making it more customizable.

+Single player campaign, Galactic Conquest, & Instant Action modes... plus Ad-Hoc *AND* infrastructure play.



Cons:

-Doesn't advance or change the overall Star Wars Battlefront gameplay very much.

-Graphics have never been a strong suit for the franchise.

-AI is a bit easy.

If you've never played a Star Wars Battlefront game, it's a 3rd person shooter set in the Star Wars universe. Some may be frustrated by the amount of dying you do, but you have to look at it this way: It's not like a traditional FPS or linear game where you are trying not to die at all.... it's more like you're playing as an entire army, one soldier at a time. You gotta go through a few to get the job done.

The game has 2 sides fighting on a map, with command posts for each side. You need to stand close to an enemy's command post for a certain amount of time to take it over, then it becomes your sides command post. These CPs are where soldiers spawn from, so it can be tough sometimes to take one over if enemies are spawning from it. As more CPs are taken over by one side, the opposing force loses reinforcements; they have less troops they can spawn... and the battle's over if one side has no troops or CPs left.

Traditionally Star Wars Battlefront has had about 4-5 soldier classes you can choose from. Each has their own strengths & weaknesses... let's say there's a soldier that has a jetpack. They might have a weak weapon to balance the game out. You choose one and get on out there. When you die, you can choose the same one, or a different class. Repeat.

What Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron does to tweak that feature is instead of having set soldier classes, they changed it to a set amount of (100) points. All weapons & upgrades cost certain amounts. As long as your total is 100 points, you can get whatever you want. So say you wanted a jet pack, you might have options to get a better weapon than in previous games. Or you could make your soldier really fast/strong with a lesser weapon. The expanded options are a bit daunting at first, but once you get into it it gets more comfortable to understand.

I was afraid this new system would really unbalance the game, but for the most part it's handled fairly well.

Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron improves on the PSP port of Star Wars Battlefront II by making everything a little smoother. Loading times are shorter, space combat is better, and you can go inside ships (not just the hanger like in the PSP port of Star Wars Battlefront II...)


There are 2 different control schemes, the default can lock targeting on an enemy, moving the camera on them:



and the alternate (in my opinion the best FPS controls for the PSP short of a 2nd analogue nub): analogue nub = move, face buttons = look. As long as you like these modes, the game controls very well.

What I really love about Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron (and all the SWBFs) is that they are pick up & play; if you want to just fight out 1 battlefront, you can do that. If you want to fight a bunch, you can do that too. It can last as long as you want. That's why they are my most played games, even a year after getting it.

Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron IGN gameplay footage:





later
don

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Wii - 2nd Impressions

See also: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Wii - First Impressions


Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on Wii:

+Incredibly cool motion controls.

+You start off pretty powerful, the gameplay is empowering and fun.

+Story, while hokey at times, is surprisingly compelling, especially if you're a fan of the original trilogy (Eps 4-6).

+Duel Mode (multiplayer only) is a nice addition not found in the other console versions.


-Controls are laggy & not always responsive. Game is too finicky with individual controllers as well, sometimes giving false positives or not registering properly until switched with another controller.

-The final level is brutally frustrating, like it's a different game-- difficulty curve goes straight up.

-Graphics are poor compared some of the best available on the Wii, like Metroid Prime 3.

-Duel Mode being multiplayer Only feels intentionally crippled so as not to compete with upcoming Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels game.



Star Wars games, like the movies themselves, are basically critic-proof. You either love them or you don't. When it comes to Star Wars games, for big fans (like me) the trappings & fan-service within them can gloss over & take the sting out of some of the weaknesses of the overall gameplay.

I finished Star Wars: The Force Unleashed last night.... 3 evenings of playing, so pretty short-- that's the quickest I've ever gone through a game-- but it was really fun, and I was surprised that the story isn't quite as "throwaway" as I thought it'd be. I think it makes a nice addition to the overall Star Wars canon, though some of the tie-ins do feel a bit shoe-horned in or tacked on.

I've broken down this rambling post to 2 sections: GAMEPLAY and FAN STUFF. There are no big spoilers.


GAMEPLAY:


No game is perfect, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed does have its share of flaws. Small ones, like just overall lack of polish, and how the duel mode can't be played single player (like the Star Wars Episode III game (Xbox/PS2) duel mode can)... but now that I think about it, I wonder if developer Krome studioes took out that option so as to provide incentive to buy their upcoming Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels game coming out in November, which looks like it can be played single player.... if so, that's kind of cheap.

I also found an issue with the brightness level on the screen. It's adjustable, but even set at the highest level, it's still a bit too dark... until one planet where it's insanely bright needs to be set back down again until you leave it.

The biggest problem with this game is the camera. It is just plain bad. The devs should have just made it fixed to always be behind Starkiller, using the D-pad to turn the camera all the time during battle is really annoying.

Controls can be glitchy: during the final boss fights, when it came to the quick-time events where you have to twist one controller a certain way, when it was the nunchuk, it became VERY unresponsive, and basically stopped working, for that one task. I thought it might've been the level design, but I re-played through the first mission again & had the same problem-- which I'm pretty sure I didn't have the first time around-- so I think it might be that my Wii remote batteries were getting low. I checked my battery power on the HOME menu but it wasn't at the 1 red bar... so I think this game is overly sensitive to controller conditions.

Another example of this over-sensitivity: when I first started playing, my Vader kept Force Pushing, wouldn't stop. (Force Push is done by jabbing the nunchuk forward like a little punching motion) It kept doing it when I know I wasn't making any motion. After getting these "false positives" I switched my nunchuk & everything was fine. I've also heard problems from other gamers with the Wii remote that sound somewhat similar.

The final mission is BRUTALLY HARD. Yes, the overall game is fairly easy... even though you can level up, you start off the game pretty powerful. The motto for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is "kicking ass with The Force"... I even saw video where the game producer made the dev team chant that out while they were coming up with the basis for the game.

And through most of the game, it stays fairly easy, because you're doing the same thing throughout the game, and you're leveling up. But the final level is SO HARD, the enemies can basically kill you in about 3 seconds, while it takes many, MANY lightsaber stabs to kill them, and there are tons of them, *AND* there are next to NO health pick ups available. This insane difficulty reminds me of the final boss fight in the Xbox game Mech Assault 2: Lone Wolf (another game with a short story mode) What does making the final level so much harder really accomplish? If you thought the game was way too easy overall, just the final level being challenging isn't going to make up for that... and if you're a casual gamer, the final level would basically make you stuck, unable to finish the game.... well, the generous respawning here does help. But I died in EVERY room I went into... and had to re-do quite a bit, fighting the camera as much as fighting the enemies, making the gameplay so tedious, I wanted to put the game away. Grinding away isn't fun. The frustration in the last mission leaves a bad final impression that I'm sure played a big part in some reviews giving Force Unleashed a mediocre score.

The campaign is short, it can be done in about 6-8 hours... but there's a lot of hunting around flipping over debris looking for pickups & holocrons... and that is a bit tedious as well. Also there are 2 endings, so a 2nd playthrough is necessary for both picking up items you missed the first time, and getting the different endings. Though I saved the game on a seperate slot before the final mission, so I think I could replay that one mission again & get the 2nd ending.


FAN STUFF:

I read one complaint about the 360/PS3 version that the main character Starkiller doesn't turn off his lightsaber, it's always on? In the Wii version, his lightsaber turns off when their are no enemies around, and on when there are. It will also turn on when you swing. This is a cool early-warning system, especially with the camera problems, so you know there's something coming up. And it makes sense to turn off your saber when you're not using it!

Starkiller's trademark is his reverse grip on his lightsaber. In the Wii version of Force Unleashed, he's holding his saber traditionally, which caused a lot of outcry from gamers. While I do like that reverse grip; it's cool-looking & distinctive, I can see why they made it forwards for the Wii so as not to confuse casual gamers... you don't want them thinking that they have to hold their Wii remote upside-down! Plus it gives it more of the feeling of "the Wii remote is your lightsaber" when both controller & onscreen lightsaber are used in the same direction. However, the PSP version also has the "forward saber" (and presumably the PS2 version as well), the Wii excuse doesn't apply there, and I'm sure that's just the devs being lazy & using the same assets for all 3 versions.

But there were a couple times in the Wii game where he held his lightsaber backwards! Once, on Bespin, I had target-locked an enemy, and Force Pushed him off a ledge, since he was target-locked, the camera kept panning down, I was trying to look over the ledge but couldn't. Even
though the enemy fell to his death off screen, the camera stayed locked on him so it pointed down on me, that's when Starkillers grip changed to backwards. As soon as I released the camera lock, it went back to normal.

Then another time in the final level, his blade was on, there might've been enemies somewhere, and I stopped moving (I was drinking tea or reading the manual or something) and again he changed his lightsaber grip to backwards! I don't know if these are just glitches or intentional winks to the fanbase. They are cool though.

I love all the cameos, they are really fun for Star Wars fans. I really liked seeing (& fighting) a lot of those Cantina background aliens from Star Wars. The voice acting overall was fairly good, especially Vader. But The Emperor had this one line, it was like, "blah blah blah blah.... andthenyouwilldie"-- he just blurts out that last part like it's all one word, it was so lame & cheesy, I laughed.

"andthenyouwilldie"

Oh man. They maybe should've done a take 2 on that line? Ah-yup.

The music is the same John Williams score that we all know & love, and (wisely) is a staple of all Star Wars games past & present. But they add some additional music... it's not bad but it sometimes sounds like a Godzilla movie or something... I'm walkig around & this Godzilla-movie-esque music is in the background... I'm wondering, am I the monster? Kinda... and I'm really liking it!

I love that this game is about playing a Sith or a baddie, and you've got to keep your identity a secret, meaning you have to kill EVERYBODY around you. It's very cool. Surprisingly dark for a Star Wars story. But not entirely without hope.

Yesterday I went out & got the Force Unleashed graphic novel, part of the reason I barreled through the game was I wanted to finish the story.... I'm not sure if the Force Unleashed GN is an adaptation of the game story, a prequel, or what so I didn't want to read it before finishing the game. Once I do read it, I'll post some thoughts on it in Comicbook.





later
don

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Wii - First Impressions

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. I've been waiting weeks, if not months, for this game.

I haven't anticipated a game this much since Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron on PSP (and Star Wars Battlefront II on Xbox before that)... so Star Wars: The Force Unleashed being a first-day purchase for me was a given.

But I was wary of the Wii version. It was developed by Krome Studios, not the LucasArts dev team that did the Xbox 360 & PS3 versions. And the Wii controls are so different than any other console.

Over the months, there's been some info, first looks, etc, that have given a good idea of what to expect with the game. The Wii version looked like it wouldn't be the greatest game ever made, but the controls did look not bad. For the most part, it's pretty good.

(dev walkthrough video of gameplay can be found here.)


In a nutshell, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on Wii is a beat-'em-up with tactile "waggle" controls that while repetitive, really add to the sense that you're waving around a lightsaber. There are some minor problems, the controls are still a little sloppy-- it's a good game that could've used some more polish to make it great-- but the good things about the game outweigh the problems.

I've been playing it the last 2 days, I'm on Felucia right now... I think I'm about halfway through the game. The controls do work fairly well mostly, but they are not as precise as I'd like. You wave the Wii remote up/down/left/right and the lightsaber does move in those directions-- but it is *NOT* 1:1 precise movement. There's a bit of a lag, and you don't necessarily get those directions for each wave. It doesn't really matter, because it all works the same way... it takes a bit of getting used to, after about 30 mins of play, I got the feel for it, and really started to enjoy it.

Not only does the Wii remote control the lightsaber, the nunchuk controls a lot of The Force abilities. Push forward (like a punching motion) and you do a Force Push which plows enemies in front of you off their feet. Slam downward with both the nunchuk & Wii remote while pressing the Z + B buttons will do a Force Repulse that clears out everyone around you. It is *SO* satisfying to do these gestures, 'cause they kick ass! It just feels REALLY GOOD to do these motions & scatter stuff like they are made of cardboard or something... The Force ROCKS.

IGN review: 7.8

Gamespot review: 6.0

Gamespot got some details WRONG about the game, which needs to be cleared up. Let's set the record straight here.

Gamespot SWFU (Wii) review: When you throw in a variety of force powers and some poorly implemented quick-time events that all utilize motion controls, you'll find that Force Unleashed is possibly the most waggle-heavy action game available on the system, a distinction that seems fun for the first hour or so, only to quickly lose its appeal.

The Wii remote controls the lightsaber, which is your main weapon, if you're gonna pick up the Wii version, EXPECT to be waving the Wii remote a lot when fighting. THAT'S WHAT YOU DO. I think that anyone who wants the Wii version knows this-- like me, it's probably WHY they want the Wii version in the first place. Yes, it could be more precise, but it's not terrible. The reviewer also says that this must be the most waggle-heavy game for the Wii... which I'm sure it isn't. I bet there are some crappy-rated games like Soul Calibur: Legends that require the Wii remote to be shaken the entire time.... which is why they're crappy...

I do have to say that there's probably a lot of button-mashing in the other console versions of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and here it is "waggle-mashing" if that makes any sense. You do flail the Wii remote around a lot. Here's a tip: don't let anybody watch you playing this game. You'll die of embarrassment.

Gamespot SWFU (Wii) review: Some variety comes by way of Force Unleashed's God of War-style quick-time events, which result in some terrific, violent-looking moves, whether you're smashing on an opposing Jedi or defeating a rancor in a series of thrilling acrobatics. As cool as they look, these sequences don't work that well. You usually need to tilt the remote or the Nunchuk to match the onscreen diagram and then thrust it forward. It requires surprising precision, and not only does it take your eyes and your mind off of the action, but it is more annoying than fun.

It DOESN'T require "surprising precision"... you have to match it, yes, but it's not that hard. [EDIT: I think I might know why the reviewer had trouble with it-- it seems that if the Wii remote batteries are low, it makes it NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to use the nunchuk properly for the twisting quick-time event; for some reason it won't twist properly. ] The other actions are when one of the controllers comes up on screen, you sinply have to shake that controller once to register the action.

In this game, these quick-time events with the Wii controls work BETTER than timed button presses of the other consoles because you don't have to be looking directly at what it wants you to do, it's much easier to see a diagram of a Wii nunchuk out of the corner of your eye than a small button where you have to make out exactly which button it is. So the Wii version allows you to watch the cool onscreen action a lot more than normal "press X button here" diagrams where you have to look directly at it to make sure it says press X not Y or whatever....

Another mistake the Gamespot review made about the Wii version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is that when you die, the enemies stay at whatever health they lost. That's WRONG. In boss fights, the bosses gain back a portion of their health if you die. You come back full, they gain like 25%-33%. If they were at 75% when you die, they get full health. if you die, you don't have to re-kill everybody you've killed already... which is actually nice, it cuts down on the tedium. How many boss fights have we had to re-do from the start and it really kills the momentum of the game? A lot.

One of the biggest problems with the game is the camera. It doesn't really stay behind you when you move, you have to do a lot of adjusting using the D-pad on the Wii remote. It can be pretty bothersome while fighting, and makes it hard to see/target enemies, particularly tough bosses.

There is a Duel mode, but it can only be played with multiplayer, there's no AI-controlled Duel mode. Compared to the Episode III game developed by The Collective, which also has a Duel mode that can be multiplayer *OR* AI vs single player, it's a disappointment that the Wii Duel mode wasn't fleshed out enough. Also, there is autosaving, but you can't go back & select which levels or missions to replay, you can only continue. Little things like this are rough spots in the game that I wish could've been hammered out.

The graphics obviously aren't as good as the 360/PS3 versions. They are the same as the PS2 version. I actually think they're alright.

There's a lot of hunting around in the game, unlike the 360/PS3 version where you get health from every guy you kill, in the Wii version you need to find health pickups scattered throughout a level. There are also Holocrons which unlock artwork, and saber & other bonus pickups. There's a lot of moving rocks, boxes, statues, etc. around with The Force to find this stuff. It kind of reminds me of Elebits, oddly enough!

I suspect the general story is similar to the 360/PS3 versions, but I think the level design & missions are different in the Wii version. So far I've had to go to the Jedi Training temple on Coruscant 2 times to train secretly. Since I'm a secret apprentice, I have to kill the guards there. Doing it once is fine, but it's a little weird doing it twice-- what did the Empire think when they found all the guards dead at the temple the first time? If they keep finding their guards dead at the Jedi Temple, um... don't you think that's gonna raise a few flags? yeah, so that part of the story maybe doesn't make too much sense, but overall it's a nifty idea to have this apprentice. I just wish he was more interesting looking than that guy from Prison Break. Think about the past Siths, like Darth Maul-- he looked awesome. Or Assaj Ventriss. I would've preferred a cool-looking alien over a drab human, but oh well.

I haven't finished the game yet, but so far it's been pretty fun.

See also: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Wii - 2nd Impressions




later
don

Star Wars: Force Unleashed on Wii

Following the PSP dev walkthrough, Gamespot's posted a video focusing on the Wii version!




The video starts off slow-- no offence, but do we really need to be looking at the producer? We want to see the game, and the controllers! But once we get to the good stuff, it's worth watching. The Wii version is going to be my pick, because of the tactile controls... they do look good in this walkthrough, but it also looks like it could easily misinterpret gestures, depending on how sensitive it is.

Interesting to see the same AT-ST boss fight as in the PSP version, and how different it's handled because of the controls. On PSP, it's a series of button presses à la God of War: Chains of Olympus, and on Wii, it's controller movement(?) That could either be very good or very bad.....


It could be the time of the year, seeing as how so few new games have come out over the last few months, but Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is one of the rare games I'll be buying on launch day. I almost always wait for at least some reviews on a game before making the purchase, and I might leave the wrapper on for a bit until some positive buzz comes out for the Wii version.

But I can't wait for the game! I keep thinking, "Only a bit over a week away.... Only a bit over a week away.... Only a bit over a week away.... "

Coming out (in North America) Sept. 16, 2008.


later
don

Star Wars Force Unleashed

Even though I don't have a PS3 or Xbox 360, I'm getting psyched about Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

The PSP version is looking not bad at all.... it will definitely be scaled-down compared to the consoles, but it does look very good for a portable!

Gamespot posted some gameplay footage:



The PSP version has "historical missions" which looks like boss battles featuring classic lightsaber duels from the movies. That looks pretty cool.

I love the PSP, but I think I'm going to go for the Wii version because of the tactile feel.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed comes out on Sept. 16/2008.



later
don