[REVIEW] A Lot of Games, Volume 2, Part 3

Look familiar, right? You're looking at a series of six posts in the second volume where I gather together a bunch of games I haven't talked about, write mini-reviews on them, and serve them straight to your noggin. Sure, they may not get the attention they deserve, but I get my point across fairly well. This time, I start way back in September and work my way up until early March. We're looking at a solid 24 games to be reviewed here. Be sure to brush up on the Review FAQ to make sure you understand my scoring before you whirl-up a bitch-fest.

Again, again, more reviews. This time, we've got a few sequels, a collection of games and zombies. Lots and lots of zombies. Let's do this.

Force Unleashed II's Boxart (Hopefully)

This better be the box art, I swear to god.

[Originally seen on TFU2's Wikipedia page]

Force Unleashed II Dated, Story Details Leaked

Well hot damn. Seeing as this is my first day playing the Halo: Reach beta, I get news on the release date for TFU2. Oh, and did I mention story details? I did? Good.

TFU2 is going down the line of the "you died" story arc, following the movie's canon story, as opposed to the Infinities story arc the "Vader dies" choice leads down, and the DLC ventures into.

"Starkiller died! They can't do this!"

That is what I should be hearing, but knowing an über Star Wars fanboy, the first thing that come to mind is "cloning," and cloning is the answer here. Despite what he had done, Vader wants Starkiller back by his side, so he creates a clone of him. It wouldn't be a Star Wars game without someone getting cloned. Amirite?

Being a clone, Starkiller's memories aren't all there, so he escapes the lab where he was cloned - Kamino - and ventures out to find out more to the truth that Vader reveals to him. He winds up searching for General Kota, who helps him regain his memories throughout the game. It also appears that Dagobah will be a location, as Starkiller seeks Yoda's help.

All in all, the story seems it could be good, but considering this may overlap Episode IV, we may get some crossovers not seen in the movie. Then again, they may want to keep the movie's story sacred and keep Galen Marek out of them.

Movies....sacred? Ha! Considering the bastardizations they've gone through over the past 30 years, "sacred" isn't something the movies could ever be called.

LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars Announced

Please let this be a horribly timed April Fool's Day joke, because they really are milking the LEGO game franchise. Quick recap before my head asplodes:

1. LEGO Star Wars (2005)
2. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (2006)
3. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (2007)
4. LEGO Batman (2008)
5. LEGO Indiana Jones (2008)
6. LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (2009)
7. LEGO Rock Band (2009)
8. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (2010)

I originally typed that list up by memory (and sorted by franchise source), then went to Wikipedia for release years; my list was in chronological order before I knew it. Is that a bad thing?

...

Yes.

That makes 8, yes, eight LEGO games in...5 years. How in bloody fuck can you crank out that many games based off of...5 intellectual properties that fast?

TFU2's Trailer: Ba-dass

I just got finished watching the teaser for TFU2, and I have to say, I'm eager for gameplay right now.

It shows Galen Marek Starkiller walking down a hallway, with his Force powers ripping the hallway apart, with Yoda and Darth Vader doing some mind manipulating/3-way argument, and as piece by piece of the hallway is ripped down and surround Starkiller, you hear Juno's voice asking him a question, at which every object floating falls to the ground. He then enters a colosseum, where a rancor is thrown from a darkened alley, dead, by - presumably - another rancor, however, 3-4 times larger than your standard rancor. Galen drops the robe, and begins his assault, by pulling out two lightsabers, one at a time, wielding them backwards, much like his fighting stance you see constantly, and lunges towards him. End trailer.

By the way, the Star Wars Wiki doesn't have an official name for the beast, so I can only assume they've created this beast simply for the game. There's nothing more on the game, but there is one burning question:

Why the fuck does Marek look the way he does in the trailer if he died in one ending, and became a Sith Lord in the other wearing fused Stalker armor? What the shit, LucasArts?

40 minutes in, and three games announced, one I predicted

I caught up on Joystiq's liveblogging of Spike's VGAs. Why I'm reading the liveblog rather than watching the actual thing is two-fold: (1) I'm playing PixelJunk Shooter (2) I refuse to watch the VGAs.

Two announcements have been made, and one I actually predicted. If you remember back a few posts, Geoff Keighly said there would be a new game unveiled at the VGAs, something we wouldn't even begin to think of. Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 was announced. Shocked? Didn't think so. It's not in Arkham, so my first guess is Blackgate Penitentiary. It doesn't roll off of the tongue, and not a whole lot of people outside of the Batman fanfics, comic nerds and gamers know of it. However, it's the only other asylum/penitentiary that rivals Arkham's size, which is definitely needed if the Joker is "out for revenge."

My prediction, however, holds true, as Force Unleashed 2 was just announced minutes ago. Not shocked, but after a years worth of DLC and the Ultimate Sith Edition getting people thinking about it again, Lucas Arts is really wanting TFU to be a mainstay Star Wars franchise. Honestly, that won't be hard.

And finally, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands has been formally announced, with Jake Gylenhaal doing the honors. Apparently, The Prince looks more "Gylenhaaly," according to Joystiq.

More when I'm done with PJS, or whenever the VGAs are done.

New Star Wars game to be unveiled at Spike's 2009 VGAs

We're already getting a gameplay trailer for Halo: Reach. Now we're supposed to be getting an unveiling for a new Star Wars game. Kotaku throws out the possibilities of Battlefront, a new X-Wing game, and Masters of Teras Kasi 2.

My guess - and what I hope for - is The Force Unleashed 2. I haven't gotten my hands on Ultimate Sith Edition, nor have I played any of the Infinities DLC packs (although I'm trying to get it for Christmas), I wouldn't doubt it if Lucas Arts would try to expand on the Infinities story arc and keep the Starkiller story going. And for that, I would be ever grateful.

[Via Kotaku]