Our good friend Zee Zee once again let us know that the UK version of the Official Xbox Magazine has a six page review of the Xbox 360 version of the upcoming “Force Unleashed.” Here’s what he says:

Hi guys,

On the new technology:
“Euphoria [...] doesn’t work quite as convincingly in The Force Unleashed [as
compared to Grand Theft Auto IV].”

Best SW game in five years!? Oh, boy– we’re in for a treat.

The release of the “Force Unleashed” is growing ever closer, and with that popular video game sites IGN as well as Game Spot have both opened “Launch Centers” for the release of the game. The IGN Launch Center can be found here and features, news, videos and more. The Game Spot Launch Center can be found here, and features news, videos, pictures, and on Friday, September 5 they will host a live marathon of gameplay starting at 11 AM PT. Be sure to check them both out for exclusive content, and twelve more days until the force is forever unleashed!

The Official Site recently placed online a commercial for the upcoming “Force Unleashed” entitled “Reverse.” It can be viewed below, and we’ll probably start seeing it soon on TV. Enjoy!

UPDATE:

Another commercial below:

Our friend Gareth from Skewed and Review let us know of an interview that he recently conducted with “The Force Unleashed” Lead Haden Blackman. Here’s an except:

“GVK: What are some of the locales gamers will see in the game?
HB: We have several locations, which represent a wide range of Star Wars environments that should feel both familiar and new. We haven’t revealed all of them yet, but you’ll visit a TIE Fighter Construction Facility, the fungal world Felucia (see briefly in Episode III), a planet made completely of junk called Raxus Prime, and several other locations throughout the game. You’ll also be able to return to some of the worlds to see how the Empire’s influence – and your actions – have changed them.

GVK: What are some of the weapons we will see?

HB: The Force is your ultimate weapon in the game. We really focused on redefining the Force, and creating new applications for the Force. You’ll have a really powerful Force Push that can be upgraded to take out multiple enemies, and can be used to blast through doors. Force Grip allows you to manipulate nearly anything in the environment, turning things like crates or even enemies into weapons. Force Lightning shocks enemies silly and leaves them stunned. Every Force power can be upgraded over time, giving you a number of options in every combat situation. We also treated the lightsaber as a Force power: it has its own set of combos, and can be upgraded over time with new crystals. You can also combine your lightsaber attacks with Force power use, charging up the blade with lightning for added effect, for example.

GVK: How will vehicles be used in game and what will players be able to ride in?

HB: To traverse environments, we really focused on making the Apprentice feel like a Sith warrior, with agile movements, a rapid dash, and the ability to leap huge distances. Darth Vader does provide the Apprentice with starship called the Rogue Shadow, which he uses to reach the various locations throughout the game.”

You can find the entire interesting interview here. In the coming days we’re sure there will be many TFU interviews, so please feel free to send us links to some you might come across to mailbag@eucantina.net.

The Official Site has released two video walkthroughs of the first level of TFU by producer Dan Wasson for the PS2 and PSP versions of “The Force Unleashed,” which hits our galaxy in just twelve days. For your viewing pleasure, both videos can be seen below. Enjoy!

PS2 Walk through:

PSP Walk Through:

Update:

Our friend Autobon pointed us towards this gameplay video on the PSP for the Force Unleashed as well as sent in this image from the video which shows us the name of enemy The Secert Apprentice is facing…Interesting it is.  Enjoy both!

It seems Dragon*Con in Atlanta yesterday contained quite a bit of “Star Wars” tidbits and news; espescially pertaining to “The Clone Wars” and “The Force Unleashed.” Steve Sansweet was on hand and treated fans to a volley of special treats.

First, fans at the Con were treated to the world exclusive premiere of the first episode of the “Clone Wars” series debuting this October on Cartoon Network. According to reports, it centers around Yoda and three Clone Troopers going to Toydaria and facing off against Ventress and her droid army. “The Clone Wars” is set for every Friday evening on Cartoon Network according to Mr. Sansweet.

Second, fans also were treated to a brand new preview for the upcoming “Force Unleashed.” Scenes featuring the Emperor, Darth Vader, and Starkiller were shown and some never-before-seen clips were shown in the preview. Not long do we have to wait!

Be sure to check out Yoda News and The Force.net for the original articles! If you have an images, thoughts, or anything from Dragon*Con, please, feel free to e-mail it to us at mailbag@eucantina.net.

UPDATE # 2:

It’s official: “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” will debut Friday, October 3 on Cartoon Network at 9. As promised, the trailer is below. Also, be sure to check out Cartoon Network’s brand new site for the show here. Enjoy both!

Our good friend Zee Zee sent us an e-mail letting us know that “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” for the Nintendo Wii has a six page review in the latest edition of the UK (# 34– October ‘08) Official Nintendo Magazine. They gave it an overall rating of 82%, stating the good qualities as the controls are fantastic; great variety of moves; fantastic presentation and the duel mode’s a nice addition. The bad was that it was far, far too short. Overall they thought it was great fun, even worth of a Golden Award, but it was just too short. Quotes from the review can be read below.

The good:
On the Wii’s controls:
“The game punishes you by making sure that simply flicking the remote down all the
time never leads to any smooth lightsaber combat, as a result it forces you to mix
your swings to make combat flow better. This may seem like bad game design but in
fact it’s a clever way of forcing the player to feel more like they’re actually
fighting with a lightsaber.”

On Force Unleashed powers:
“There’s a great sense of power felt when you can avoid fighting someone on Cloud
City if you simply use the force to pick them up and fling them off the edge of a
platform.”

“The main highlight for us is lifting the enemy up with the Force then throwing our
lightsaber at them, impaling them as they float in the air.”

“Simply put, this game gives you lots of power.”

The Bad:
On Force powers:
“There’s not a huge difference between the Apprentice’s abilities at first and those
he has by the time the story reaches its final chapter.”

On gameplay:
“Dying has effectively no impact on your progress. If you die, you simply respawn at
the last checkpoint and all the enemies you killed remain dead.”

“Instead of tactically planning how you’re going to enter a room, the temptation’s
too strong to simply jump in there, get stuck in, kill a few of them, die, then jump
back in and kill the rest.”

“What disappointed us more was what happened about six hours into the game: it ended.”

“…ultimately it’s heartbreakingly short.”

On the exclusive two-player duel mode:

“The game’s lifespan is increased slightly with the Wii-only Duel mode and if you
find a similarly skilled mate it’s ace.”

“The Duel mode is a nice little addition to the game and gives is some much-needed
longevity, though it’s a shame there’s no option to fight against CPU-controlled
opponents.”

Seems like Wii players will have some mighty fun when “The Force Unleashed” hits in sixteen days.

Sean William’s novelization of “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” is now at the # 1 spot on Publisher Weekly’s best seller list and number 15 on on USA Today. We’ll let you know of more chart numbers as we get them! Until then, a huge kudos to Mr. William and his work– a job very well done.

UPDATE:

The NY Times has released their list, and “The Force Unleashed” is # 1! Great job, Mr. Williams.

Source: Club Jade.net

Well, it’s been out for about a week and reviews and images for the demo of the upcoming (only 17 more days!) “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” are out. I’ll start with the reviews:

Game Daily.com:

“LucasArts dropped the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed demo onto the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and after Force Pushing Stormtroopers and blowing up TIE Fighters, we’ve come to the conclusion that Darth Vader is the greatest boss ever. Seriously, what other employer sends his protege on a mission where the only goal is to kill Jedi scum and anyone that stands in his way? It’s a sweet gig, and we liked the demo so much that we played through it several times. Too bad it’s so short.”

Kexins.com:

” In the end, the demo left me with feelings of hope and dread.  I’ve been waiting a long time for this game to hit shelves and I expected it to be the greatest of all Star Wars games.  The hope comes from the fact that the demo leads me to believe this will be one of the top five games of 2008 and perhaps the best Star Wars game we’ve seen in a while.  The dread comes from the fact that I have a few negative opinions popping up when I was expecting this to be the game of all games from the beginning. I guess we’ll have to wait until next month to find out, but I’m still excited about the potential.”

Crave Online:

“I’m usually hesitant about Lucasarts who are known for their corner cutting and backtracking on promises; usually resulting in less than average gaming experiences. However, they’ve spared no expense when it comes to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. This game is fun as hell. In just my brief experience playing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed I had an absolute blast being the best Sith apprentice I could be.”

Special thanks to Mike over at TF.N for pointing us to those. Now, the images from HDRoom! You can find seven new screenshots from the demo of “The Force Unleashed” here, so enjoy them!

Thanks to Gametrailers.com, you can view a few minutes of the Felucia level on the upcoming “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” in HD below. Enjoy!

Source: Gametrailers.com