Grave Gamer News & Views — star wars

One of the greatest Star Wars games ever put to disc. In this...



One of the greatest Star Wars games ever put to disc. In this case, the Gamecube’s tiny, easily lost discs.

Star Wars: Rogue Leader

by xxkuronoxx


EA and Disney’s Star Wars Deal a Decade Long Dynasty The...



EA and Disney’s Star Wars Deal a Decade Long Dynasty

The partnership between video game publisher Electronic Arts and entertainment empire Disney to produce games based in the Star Wars universe is reportedly a ten year deal.

Despite an early scare in which Disney, having freshly plucked the rights to the multi-million dollar franchise from Lucasfilm, stated intentions to move Star Wars away from big budget console titles in favor of the mobile market, EA reinstilled our faith in the force at E3 by announcing it’d be bringing the Battlefront series back to life under DICE’s tutelage. The news was a welcome departure from the grim future Disney preemptively foretold.

Beyond Battlefront, EA’s financial officer Blake Jorgensen said fans should look forward to a wide breadth of games based not just in J.J. Abrams’ new trilogy but titles featuring the whole of the extended Star Wars universe. “The beauty of the Star Wars franchise is it’s so broad and so deep you don’t have to do a movie game,” said Jorgensen, speaking at the UBS Global Tech Conference. “You can do a game that’s very focused on the world that’s been created around Star Wars.”

That’s not to say this new slew of games won’t mine Episode VII and its sequels for inspiration. Future games will indeed use assets introduced in the new trilogy, though Jorgensen was careful to note EA doesn’t plan on rushing movie tie-in games to hit any one film’s theatrical release. “We’ll try to align [new titles] with that marketing power that Disney has, but it won’t necessarily be aligned with the movies.”

In addition to Battlefront aiming its blasters for a Summer 2015 launch, EA confirmed that DICE – you may already be enjoying their work on Battlefield 4 as we speak… which is rude, since you’re only half paying attention to this article –  has already laid the early foundations for a number of Star Wars titles, all of which are implied to dip into various genres.

I’d call this a verifiable Star Wars renaissance not seen since Episode I opened the floodgates back in ‘99. Rest assured, even if the new films are as eye-gougingly bad, like then, at least we’re bound to receive a few memorable games.


DICE and EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront ‘Well into Development’...



DICE and EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront ‘Well into Development’

“Troubled” is the kind word thrown around when describing the tumultuous experience LucasArts and multiple third-party devs had getting a sequel to 2005’s Battlefront II off of the ground.

With LucasArts recently disbanded in every capacity save for its name and the Star Wars franchise tucked deep within the confines of Disney’s money lined pocket, this long dormant brand returns to the galaxy as, simply, Star Wars: Battlefront, a DICE production; first in a line of several planned Star Wars games to be published by the EA empire.

How far, far away are we from seeing this licensed shooter on next-gen consoles?  Hard to say, but EA Games Label prez, Frank Gibeau, says the title is headlong into development under the same team at DICE that stitched together the Battlefield series.  Likewise, expect the new Battlefront to have Frostbite 3 burning at its core.

“We showed 22 seconds of where we’re going with it and the fan response was very positive.  The DICE team is well into development on that product already, so we feel very bullish about our shooter rotation over the next several years,” said Gibeau during an earnings call sometime after all 22 seconds of the game’s E3 debut.

There’s no doubt EA’s funding and DICE’s collective of talent can finally bring Battlefront to the homestretch.  DICE wouldn’t be my first pick for Star Wars, but that doesn’t make them any less of an inspired choice.

My only concern is whether or not old Battlefront III assets are being used or, barring that, even being kept in mind.  Before Free Radical’s attempt on BFIII went tits up, they managed to incorporate some pretty imaginative ideas – and that was on current gen tech.  The one-two combo of next-gen hardware and Frostbite 3 means expectations put on Battlefront’s shoulders rest right at “amazing” (as if the Battlefront name hadn’t already forced that precedent).


Rare Footage of Free Radical’s Battlefront III Hits the Web A...



Rare Footage of Free Radical’s Battlefront III Hits the Web

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…LucasArts royally fucked up by cancelling one of the most impressively ambitious Star Wars titles to date.

It’s not uncommon for games to get the axe during development. Whether they’re low profile concept pieces that simply can’t gain the right traction or big budget affairs no amount of money...


The House of Mouse Has Closed LucasArts Since Disney’s buyout of...



The House of Mouse Has Closed LucasArts

Since Disney’s buyout of all things Lucas last Fall – including such assests as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, the likeness of young Richard Dreyfuss circa American Graffiti (I’m guessing) –  the merger has been nothing but high-fives and ass slaps…

Except for poor LucasArts.  LucasFilm’s game publishing division has overseen not just the Star Wars license since 1982, but has made several hefty contributions to the gaming ‘verse in the form of The Secret of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion games, greatly shaping the point n’ click adventure genre.  Today, Disney announced it has let go LucasArts’ staff and effectively closed the once mighty studio.  Disney intends on keeping the studio’s name only, using the brand on future, licensed out games (likely Star Wars titles) to external developers.

The official byline regarding LucasArts’ death follows: “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.”

Star Wars 1313 (above) and Star Wars: First Assault, the former a high-profile next-gen action game that Disney requested to be put on hold and the ladder being an unrevealed (yet still leaked) precursor to Battlefront III, are, according to Disney, to be possibly licensed out for completion, but sources close to LucasArts reported to Kotaku those two are as good as cancelled.

LucasArts, despite some moderate success this generation (i.e. the first Force Unleashed), have been circling the drain for quite a while, even before the merger.  Mismanagement, constantly shifting company leads, financial disappointments (cue The Old Republic), and the use of external developers as a crutch instead of their in-house team all spelled “TROUBLE” in bright, yellow Star Wars-font.  Pair that with Disney’s outspoken disinterest in funding big, expensive games over cheaper, safer bets, the outlook for LucasArts was Grim Fandango.

Still, I can’t help but mourn the loss of the time weathered giant.  Shadows of the Empire, Rogue Squadron, that terrible Jedi Power Battles game that my friends hated playing with me – their Star Wars titles alone brought hundreds of hours of happy distraction throughout my life, from childhood to adulthood.

You’re going to hear “May the Force be with you” until you vomit.  I won’t commit such fuckery.  Instead, I just want to say thank you, LucasArts, and good luck.