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Tag: LucasArts

  • Star Wars Assault Team Out Today On Mobile Devices

    When it comes to Star Wars games, you generally think of titles like Jedi Knight or Rogue Squadron. In other words, action games that reward quick thinking over drawn out strategy. Disney is experimenting with turn based combat in the latest Star Wars game to hit mobile devices.

    Star Wars Assault Team, out today on mobile devices, tasks players with building a team with characters from the movies. Players will then use that team to take on enemies from the films as well as other players from around the world. Combat is turn-based and uses Heroes (i.e. cards) with special abilities to attack and defend. In short, it’s a trading card game with Star Wars characters.

    While it doesn’t sound particularly exciting, fans of old school dungeon crawlers might enjoy it. The game is entirely in first-person and has players traversing dungeons, fighting enemies and finding treasure. If you enjoyed Wizardry back in the day, Star Wars Assault Team might be up your alley.

    Of course, Star Wars Assault Team is your usual free-to-play game. While the game can technically be completed without paying a dime, it strongly encourages you to buy in-game items to get more powerful heroes and in-game currency. If you do decide to play it, just be aware that you may have to spend some money to get the most out of it.

    Star Wars Assault Team is out now on Android, iOS and Windows Phone.

    Image via GamesNewsOfficial/YouTube

  • Star Wars Deal Hands Video Game Rights Over To EA

    Star Wars Deal Hands Video Game Rights Over To EA

    Star Wars is a pretty big deal. The video games based on the classic franchise is an even bigger deal. Some of the best video games ever made have come from the franchise, and now Disney has signed a deal to put Star Wars in the hands of EA.

    As per the terms of the deal, all of the core titles in the Star Wars universe will be made and published by EA. The publisher said that it has three of its top development houses – DICE, Bioware and Visceral – all working on Star Wars games now. There have been no specific announcements, but people are already speculating what we might see from these developers.

    Gamers seem to be especially excited at the prospect of a DICE-developed Star Wars game. DICE is best known as the developers of the excellent Battlefield franchise, and some see their involvement as a sign that Star Wars: Battlefront III could soon be a reality.

    Making a new Battlefront game wouldn’t actually be all that difficult as Free Radical was working on a new entry in the series before they went bankrupt and became Crytek UK. Disney probably still owns the assets created by Free Radical and DICE could use those assets as a jumping off point for its own Battlefront game. To get a taste of what Battlefront III may look like, here’s some leaked alpha footage courtesy of Reddit:

    BF3 alphaNov from Blue_Monkey on Vimeo.

    As for Bioware, its Star Wars games could go anywhere. Some are hoping that Bioware will make a new Knights of the Old Republic game, but others feel that the studio may make a Star Wars game more in line with its recent Mass Effect series. Either way, fans are pretty happy that Star Wars will be going back to the main Bioware studio after many felt that Bioware Austin botched The Old Republic MMO.

    Visceral is the wild card of the bunch as the studio is most well known for the Dead Space franchise. It’s hard to imagine that the studio would make a horror-themed Star Wars game, let alone an M-rated Star Wars game. The studio does have some experience in making action games, however, so it’s possible that we could get a third person action game in the vein of the classic Jedi Knight series.

    With all this speculation, fans are understandably torn over whether EA was a good choice to sign a deal with. The reactions on Twitter say just as much:

  • Disney Shuts Down LucasArts, Cancels All Current Projects

    Disney Shuts Down LucasArts, Cancels All Current Projects

    LucasArts, the game publisher and developer subsidiary of LucasFilm, was shut down today by its new overlords at Disney. The brand will remain as the company will look to licensing its crop of franchises out to other developers, but the development staff has been let go. Projects currently being worked on at the studio, like Star Wars 1313, have also been canceled.

    Game Informer received the following statement regarding the closure of the development studio:

    “After evaluating our position in the games market, we’ve decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games. As a result of this change, we’ve had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles.”

    Unfortunately, the news doesn’t come as too surprising as some thought Disney would at least downsize the studio when the company bought LucasFilm last year. At the time, Disney said it would be moving more towards a licensing model, and today’s news confirms that reality.

    As for the games LucasArts was working on, Polygon reports that Star Wars 1313 is no longer being worked on at the studio. The game could be licensed to an outside developer for completion, but an inside source speaking to Kotaku says that’s unlikely.

    Even if Star Wars 1313 never sees the light of day, it’s not the end of Star Wars video games. Disney will undoubtedly have game tie-ins available alongside the release of the next film that’s due in 2015. Under a licensing model, we’re also likely to see more original projects that expand the universe, much like Knights of the Old Republic and Republic Commando did under LucasArts.

    Aside from Star Wars games, gamers are also rightly concerned about LucasArts’ stable of adventure games, like Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion. The developer dabbled in its roots a few years ago with remakes of the first two Monkey Island games, but nothing has been done with its other properties. Some are hoping that Disney will license out these properties to other developers for new entries.

    As we say our goodbyes and wish all the talented people at LucasArts the best; let’s look back on what made LucasArts so unique – it’s awesome logo:

  • Disney Buys Lucasfilm, Star Wars Episode 7 Coming in 2015

    This is real. All the information that follows (except the speculative final paragraph) comes from a Disney statement released this afternoon.

    The Walt Disney Company today announced that it will acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. from George Lucas, who owns the entirety of Lucasfilm.

    In addition, Disney announced that Star Wars: Episode 7 will be targeted for a 2015 release, with more Star Wars films expected to follow.

    The deal, which will net Lucas a cool $4.05 billion, includes Lucasfilm companies LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound. Kathleen Kennedy, current co-chairman of Lucasfilm, is slated to become president of Lucasfilm.

    “For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said Lucas, Chairman and CEO of Lucasfilm. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”

    The transaction involves Lucas receiving half of the sale price in cash and around 40 million shares of Disney. In addition to her new role as president of Lucasfilm, Kennedy will serve as the brand manager for Star Wars and will be executive producer on new Star Wars movies. George Lucas will serve as a “creative consultant” for future Star Wars films.

    There’s a lot of emotion surrounding the Star Wars franchise and its movies, so let’s take a few deep breaths and examine where this sale leaves things. George Lucas will soon be even more of a billionaire than he already was, but will have significantly less control over the future of Star Wars. It’s known that Lucas had almost complete control over Episodes I through III. Regardless of your opinions on Disney as a company, it did release The Avengers earlier this year, demonstrating that it can produce excellence given the right circumstances. And, really, Episode 7 can’t be any worse than The Phantom Menace, can it? Today is certainly a turning point in the history of Star Wars, but things haven’t been heading in the right direction for years.

  • Angry Birds Star Wars Game Out November 8

    Just before the weekend, Rovio started an Angry Birds Tumblr blog and used it to tease an Angry Birds/Star Wars event at the Toys R Us in Times Square. Today, the official announcement has been made: the Angry Birds Star Wars crossover game is on its way.

    Rovio’s newest release, Bad Piggies, was released just two weeks ago and has seen huge success. Whether the surprise Star Wars crossover was a hedge against Bad Piggies being badly received or whether Rovio is just continuing to barrel ahead with all things Angry Birds, it’s easy to predict that the combination will be a commercial success.

    But the Angry Birds Star Wars game isn’t the only Angry Birds Star Wars Product in the works. This is Star Wars, the biggest merchandising IP in history we’re talking about, after all.

    The Idle Hands blog got hold of some product screenshots for the merchandise that will accompany the game’s release. It appears there will be Angry Birds Star Wars figurines, plushies, and costumes, as well as an Angry Bird Star Wars-branded Jenga set and an AT-AT Attack Battle Game.

    Here’s the teaser trailer for the game, featuring a slingshot-shaped lightsaber. I know I can’t speak for everyone, but I can’t wait to see what the Chewbacca Angry Bird’s power is.

  • Star Wars 1313 Gameplay Shown at E3

    Star Wars 1313 Gameplay Shown at E3

    When Star Wars 1313 was announced last week, the excitement and discussion was mostly based on speculation. This week, in the midst of all the E3 festivities, GameTrailers and Spike TV were able to get hold of some gameplay footage from the demo that debuted this week at E3. Dominic Robilliard, the creative director at Lucas arts, was on-hand to show off the gritty (for a Star Wars game, at least) new 3rd-person action game.

    Keep in mind that Robilliard states that the footage seen is all real-time, in-game footage and not simply a cut scene:

    As you can see in the footage, the graphics, lighting, and particle effects for the game all look amazing. A visual effects supervisor for the game last week stated that one of the goals of the project was to blend gameplay and cinematics, making it so that the two are interchangeable from a player perspective. In this next clip, which features combat gameplay, Robilliard says much the same thing, stating, “We make a big effort to make sure that the game transitions seamlessly in and out of gameplay and cutscenes so that you’re not sure when you are in control or not.”

    Players not knowing for sure whether they are in control sounds as if it could be problem when the blasters begin firing. However, being a modern 3rd person action game means players can always tell when enemies will appear, due to the presence of waist-high crates and walls.

    Star Wars 1313 still does not have a release date, but I expect the game will not be out until, at the earliest, that magic window all of the recently delayed and announced titles are getting: spring 2013.

  • Star Wars 1313: New 3rd Person Game Revealed

    Star Wars 1313 has had rumors slung its way for a while now, as every Lucasarts fan has been awaiting its arrival amid tales of a Mature rating and a player-controlled Boba Fett. And while Star Wars based games haven’t always fared well in the interactive department, first looks at the latest in the series is building anticipation for something epic.

    A few aspects of the game were released late last night, along with some photos of the concept art, and while details are still sketchy, they’re more than enough to hold the interest of gamers. A third-person adventure, the game focuses on one central character who is reportedly not Boba Fett, but rather a human bounty hunter who will use his own skills to get through each challenge–set on the planet Coruscant on Level 1313, a criminal underground–rather than the Force.

    Lucasarts president Paul Meegan says, “Star Wars 1313 dives into a part of the Star Wars mythos that we’ve always known existed, but never had a chance to visit. We are committed to bringing the best gameplay experience and visual fidelity to life and I truly believe the work we are showcasing at E3 will speak for itself.”

    More details are expected to be given next week, when the game is officially announced at E3 2012 in L.A.

    star wars 1313

    star wars 1313

    Tip of the ol’ hat to Luke Plunkett at Kotaku for the images.

  • Star Wars 1313 Video Game Announced

    E3 is beginning next week and already some big game announcements are being made. Game companies are releasing collector edition pre-orders and bawdy trailers at hyperspeed. Speaking of hyperspeed, LucasArts made what could be the biggest pre-E3 announcement yet. The company has officially announced Star Wars 1313, a new Star Wars video game franchise that will officially debut at E3 next week.

    Details about the game are sparse, though GameTrailers.tv was able to interview developers at LucasArts’ San Francisco studio about what players can expect. Players will take on the role of a bounty hunter in “the most dangerous place in the galaxy, 1313.” According to LucasArts, 1313 is located somewhere below the surface of the planet Coruscant. The way the developers talk about it, 1313 is a very dark place filled with crime and gangs. It will be interesting to see whether LucasArts will really make a Star Wars game as mature as they are intimating.

    As for the gameplay, 1313 is a third-person “cinematic” action adventure game. The bounty hunter main character (whose identity is being kept secret, for now) will use an “arsenal of exotic weaponry” to track bounties and uncover a criminal conspiracy. LucasArts states that the game will feature “epic” set pieces and fast-paced combat. Also, the player will have little connection to the force, meaning players will be using bounty hunter gadgets rather than sorcery. A visual effects supervisor at LucasArts stated that the developers are trying to unify cut-scenes and gameplay, meaning from a player’s perspective there should be no difference between the two.

    “We’re excited to share one of the projects LucasArts has been hard at work developing,” said Paul Meegan, President of LucasArts. “Star Wars 1313 dives into a part of the Star Wars mythos that we’ve always known existed, but never had a chance to visit. We are committed to bringing the best gameplay experience and visual fidelity to life and I truly believe the work we are showcasing at E3 will speak for itself.”

    From the look and feel of Star Wars 1313, as well as the bounty hunter protagonist, I’m thinking the game might be something similar to Shadows of the Empire. Could the game be a sequel or prequel to that classic Nintendo 64 game? Could Dash Rendar be the mysterious figure in the picture above? We will have to wait until E3 next week to find out. In the meantime, the first segment of the GameTrailers video below will fill you in on everything there is to know about the game so far.

    (via GameTrailers.tv)