• 2Sep 08

  Game of the Week - September 3 2008

  Introducing a new weekly feature: the Game of the Week. This new feature will consist of short retrospective reviews of various games from the recent or not-so-recent gaming history. The reviews will be aimed to show what the games have been for the gamers community. The feature will be updated every wednesday and will not replace the Videogame Character of the Week, which will regularly be updated every sunday. As usual, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this new feature.

  The game for this week is:

  

  Star Wars - Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast

  Developer: Raven Software
  Publisher: Lucasarts
  Year: 2002
  Systems: PC, Mac, Gamecube, xbox
  Links: Official trailer

  When Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight came out in 1997 it literally blew every Star Wars fan away: for the first time players could move around in a convincing 3D recreation of Star Wars locations, make use of Force powers in a first person shooter, challenge each other in online multiplayer battles and, most important, do all this while brandishing a lightsaber. Sure, looking back, the saber felt more like a tennis racket but at the time it was the greatest thing any fans could ask for... until 2002, when Jedi Knight II came around.

  
  
  5 years after its prequel and two graphical generations later, Jedi Outcast was even more groundbreaking than its predecessor, featuring amazing graphics and some of the best controls ever seen in any shooter to date. The story took place a few years after Return of the Jedi and revolved around mercenary Kyle Katarn, main character of the series, seeking revenge for the brutal murder of his companion Jan and becoming the pawn and resolutor in a sinister plot to restore the Sith Order. Although the story plays a secondary role, being the game a pure action oriented title, it's not at all forgettable, reserving quite a few surpises and plot twists along the way.

  
  
  Released only months before the movie premiere of Star Wars Episode II, this game added to the mix the spectacular lightsaber battles seen in Episode I: Jedi and Sith would now perform somersaults, saber throws, flips, rolls and acrobatic moves of any sort, including some taken directly from Matrix movies like wall walks, slow motion and speed dodging. the fans reception was ecstatic, everyone liked this game at first sight and multiplayer servers became crowded in a matter of days. Like in the single player mode, players could experience the brand new saber combat, now much faster and elegant and including three different combat modes and several special moves divided among them.
  
  A sequel called Jedi Academy was released the following year, adding new fighting modes such as dual lightsabers and double blade saber, character customization and non-linear single player campaign, although it has been considered by most fans more like an expansion pack than a separate game and a small step back from the prequel, which is widely regarded as the best lightsaber combat game ever made.

  • Posted Sep 2, 2008 3:15 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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• 31Aug 08

  Videogame Character of the Week - August 31 2008

  The characters for this week are:

  

  The Super Mario Brothers
  
  The world's most beloved mascots. Super Mario has won the heart of countless gamers and non-gamers alike with his mustache, overalls and 'M' cap, and recently his brother Luigi has risen from the role of backstage sidekick to that of acclaimed main character. Created by the brilliant mind of Shigeru Miyamoto, they starred in more than 200 games over 27 years of excellence. During their adventures they've foiled countless attempts to kidnap the helpless princesses of the kingdoms composing their fantastic world, struggled to clean polluted islands, rescued each other from evil wizards and haunted houses, travelled into outer space and even through time. They can become giants, fly, throw hammers and fireballs, disguise as the enemy, ride dinosaurs and even turn into pure metal! In their spare time they like to race on bikes and karts, and play every sport imaginable. How they manage to find the time to run their plumbing company is unknown, but one thing is certain: if those stories of alligators in the sewers of New York are true, only two plumbers can save us!

  Games: Over 200, mostly Super Mario (series)
  
  Trivia: Mario was originally called Mr. Video Game or Jumpman. The name Mario was chosen when the landlord of Nintendo's offices (a Mario lookalike) barged into a meeting to claim an overdue rent payment. That man's name was Mario Segali

  • Posted Aug 31, 2008 4:18 am PT
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• 28Aug 08

  New weekly feature on my blog

  Just a quick post to announce I will start a new weekly feature on my blog. I will post the first issue on September 3 and will contribute regular updates every Wednesday. The exact nature of it will be revealed only then.

  This new feature will not replace the Videogame Character of the week, which will regularly be updated every Sunday.

  Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more
  

  • Posted Aug 28, 2008 9:14 pm PT
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