Category: Video Game News

Gaming Overload: LEGO The Skywalker Saga, Star Wars Squadrons, and Batuu Sims Expansion Trailers Revealed

Yaddle in Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga

When it rains, it porgs, I guess, as new trailers and details dropped for several pieces of upcoming Star Wars gaming goodness: Our first concrete look at Lego The Skywalker Saga arrived, with Yaddle front and center so it’s already perfect, though it came with a delay notice to 2021; Star Wars Squadrons’ single-player received a compelling preview that has me eager for its release; and Sims 4 goes to…Batuu?? This might be the only way some of us will ever go to Galaxy’s Edge so get ready to get your dance on virtually. Trailers and more details below! Continue reading “Gaming Overload: LEGO The Skywalker Saga, Star Wars Squadrons, and Batuu Sims Expansion Trailers Revealed”

Featurette for VR Game Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge Released, New Details

The next Star Wars VR project from ILMxLAB is Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge for the Oculus, out sometime later this year. It sounds like it will live up to the Tales moniker, as a bartender tells players stories and you get to live them out, while also avoiding the Guavian Death Gang between rounds of space darts or hanging out with porgs. Bobby Moynihan (Star Wars Resistance’s Orca) will play bartender Seezelslak while Debra Wilson (Jedi: Fallen Order’s Cere Junda) plays the pirate Tara Rashin, a member of the Guavian Death Gang. The player character is a droid repair technician, so expect there to be some droid building to be had as well. It sounds like a fun way for those unable, unwilling, already been, or never able to go to Galaxy’s Edge to get a small slice of the park, though the barrier to entry on VR happens to be expensive in it own right but I imagine it’ll come to more platforms than Oculus, much like Vader Immortal did when it arrived on the cheaper PSVR. Check out some concert art below! Continue reading “Featurette for VR Game Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge Released, New Details”

Star Wars Squadrons Gameplay Revealed!

Thanks to the Star Wars: Squadrons gameplay reveal at EA Play 2020, we now know the game will basically be the modern day spiritual successor to flight games of yesteryear, like Rogue Squadron or X-wing vs TIE Fighter! The initial reveal trailer was exciting, but I always wait until gameplay videos before I know if I should properly be eager to play a game and Squadrons’ newest trailer took me from, “Sure, maybe” to “Yes, please, immediately,” on its October 2 release. Head below for some great little surprises in the trailer, involving a certain novel-centric character, and other details. Continue reading “Star Wars Squadrons Gameplay Revealed!”

Star Wars Squadrons Provides Space Combat This October

Originally outed as Project Maverick by a PlayStation Store leak, then as Squadrons by an Xbox Store leak, EA’s Motive has unveiled a CGI trailer for Star Wars: Squadrons, with a gameplay reveal on June 18 at EA’s Play event! Head below for some details on what to expect when the game drops October 2. Continue reading “Star Wars Squadrons Provides Space Combat This October”

Star Wars Episode 1 Racer Zooms onto Switch, PS4 May 12! (UPDATED)

Episode 1 Racer On Nintendo Switch
via Lucasfilm

Announced in late March, Star Wars Episode 1 Racer is being remastered for the PS4 and Nintendo Switch systems, set to be released May 12! This is one of my all-time favorite Star Wars games, as I spent countless hours in my parent’s basement perfecting every course on the ol’ N64. The game was recently modernized for the PC in May 2018, but this is the first time it’s hit consoles since its 1999 N64 release (besides some ports around that time). Controls will be updated of course to work both with the DualShock 4 on PS4 and the various options presented through play on the Switch. Both systems will offer split-screen multiplayer, though the Switch will support LAN as well. Check out other features of the re-release and some screenshots below; otherwise expect a review on the Manor sometime after! UPDATE 5/12/20: Developers Aspyr cancelled the release at the 11th hour, citing work from home requirements as why they won’t have the game out in time. I’d rather they stay safe and deliver an excellent product than rush out a buggy, unfinished one, so I’m only slightly disappointed in the news. We’ll update here once we learn the new release date! Continue reading “Star Wars Episode 1 Racer Zooms onto Switch, PS4 May 12! (UPDATED)”

New Jedi: Fallen Order Trailer Dives into Story, Mysteries

After June’s gameplay walkthrough, we’ve been due for a new trailer for Jedi: Fallen Order, November 15’s upcoming single-player Star Wars video game, and this one does not disappoint in the slightest: from big creepy creatures to battle, the Second Sister’s restless pursuit, Cere and Greez rescuing Cal, and all the cool, ancient Jedi discovery stuff Cal looks to get up to, there’s a lot more here than first met the eyes in its initial reveal. Dive below for some extra thoughts, including one stemming from the game’s prequel comic tie-in! Continue reading “New Jedi: Fallen Order Trailer Dives into Story, Mysteries”

E3 2019: Jedi: Fallen Order Gameplay, New Details Revealed, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Announced

At EA Play 2019, a pre-E3 2019 event put on by game publisher EA, Respawn Entertainment took the stage to unveil our first look at Jedi: Fallen Order gameplay, while a new trailer premiered the day after (see above). I wasn’t initially sold on the game from the reveal trailer, but after nearly 15 minutes of gameplay (see below), I managed to more than fall in love with the game, while Game Informer’s cover story on the game blew the lid off some intriguing new details cementing my excitement for my game. But that wasn’t the only gaming news: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which covers the main 9 saga films, was announced! Continue reading “E3 2019: Jedi: Fallen Order Gameplay, New Details Revealed, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Announced”

Jedi: Fallen Order First Trailer, Releases November 15 (SWCC 2019)

Our first look at this year’s Jedi: Fallen Order comes in the form of a CGI trailer, which both has raised my anticipation for the first single-player only game in almost a decade (Battlefront II‘s had a GREAT story, but gameplay left a little to be desired) but it has also given me some apprehension for the experience. Fallen Order comes from Respawn Entertainment, home of the Titanfall franchise, which includes Titanfall 1/2 and Apex Legends, of which the single-player mode for Titanfall 2 was far better than it deserved to be, even despite its brevity, so I’m not terribly concerned with the gameplay and pacing of this game. When Fallen Order lead Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan) wall runs at one point in the trailer, that’s a popular move from the Titanfall games because the main character had a jump pack that allowed them to pull off awesome stunts, so this’ll be a fun game to play, no matter what. However, the concerns it raised were two fold, which I’ll get into a little more under the cut: 1) It gave off a little too much of a The Force Unleashed vibe, which overpowering Jedi just to give players a power trip just doesn’t feel right anymore when Jedi Master Luke Skywalker does the most badass Jedi thing ever by not fighting. 2) I’ve never watched Shameless (shame on me), but I absolutely loved Cameron Monaghan in Gotham, back when I was still watching the show, and felt he’d be a great Joker, but making the main character a plain white dude is rather disappointing when basically all the Jedi (seen on screen in shows/movies) who survived Order 66 are other dudes. The first concern was tempered by the panel/cliff notes version at the official site, and regardless I’m still anticipating the game, but I’ll be a little cautious about it when it launches November 15, 2019. I go into a little more detail below, as well as dig into the identity of the Second Sister Inquisitor chasing Cal, as well as some screenshots from the trailer.

UPDATE: You can read my review of the game here! Continue reading “Jedi: Fallen Order First Trailer, Releases November 15 (SWCC 2019)”

Vader Immortal Episode One Trailer, New Details Arrive (SWCC 2019)

Announced back in September 2018, Vader Immortal: A VR Series got its own panel at Celebration Chicago 2019, offering up a trailer and some new details about the experience. Vader Immortal is about a smuggler who gets pulled into Vader’s nefarious schemes on Mustafar, finding out they have Force sensitivity in the process. Focusing mostly on the first episode of the series, the panel revealed the series ties into events from the Secrets of the Empire VR experience (the ancient saber?), while some hints about its story reside in the final arc of last year’s Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith, “Fortress Vader,” where structures were seen hidden far beneath Vader’s Castle, which I believe players will visit as the trailer seems to show a visit to ancient ruins. Players will be joined by your expected funny droid companion, ZOE3, and she’s played by Maya Rudolph (!) so you know she’ll be funny, while interactions will be aplenty with Mustafarians, hence the exploration of deep, dark corners of Mustafar; I was dying to see under their helmets in the Vader comic, and now they have been unmasked! The first episode will be focused on lightsaber combat and training you with the basics, with Episode II to include Force powers, but Episode I‘s training dojo will be something you can play endlessly even once the episode is over. The VR series is still set to premiere with Oculus Quest, the untethered, cheaper Oculus, this spring, but no concrete release date was announced. Check out some screenshots below and head over to the official site for more details. Continue reading “Vader Immortal Episode One Trailer, New Details Arrive (SWCC 2019)”

Star Wars Celebration Chicago 2019 Overload: Panel Schedules, Merchandise, Virtual Queuing, Guests, and More! (UPDATED)

SWCC 2019 Banner
via Lucasfilm

With Star Wars Celebration Chicago 2019 less than a month away, the details have solidified about all aspects related to the con, from the final schedule of panels (which I’ll pick a Top 5 for each day), how the new virtual lottery/queuing system works, exclusive Celebration Store merchandise has been revealed, and of course a plethora of guests announced for photo-op/signings/mysterious panel appearances. I’ve throw all that info together into one post, just below, so get all your SWCC 2019 info right here! Continue reading “Star Wars Celebration Chicago 2019 Overload: Panel Schedules, Merchandise, Virtual Queuing, Guests, and More! (UPDATED)”