E3 2004: LucasArts Line-Up
Check out which Star Wars titles are on show in Los Angeles this year.
LucasArts recently unveiled its E3 line-up, with KOTOR II: The Sith Lords taking center stage at the Los Angeles Convention Center next week.
It's amazing how many Star Wars titles are produced every year, but what's more amazing is that the biggest movie license in the world also continually spawns videogames of such high quality. This year's line-up will be no exception.
LucasArts will highlight the following titles at E3 2004:
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Xbox, PC) - The follow-up title to last year's award-winning role-playing game. The original KOTOR was released in 2003 and earned widespread acclaim throughout the interactive industry, including more than 35 "Game of the Year" awards. Beginning approximately five years after the events of the first Knights of the Old Republic, The Sith Lords takes players on an entirely new journey as they assume the role of what is believed to be the last Jedi in the galaxy. The game features a cast of memorable returning characters and sinister new villains. Using more than 30 new Force powers, players can turn weak-minded enemies against one another in combat with "Force confusion" or see through doors and view character alignment with "Force sight." Assigned to protect the Old Republic and the Jedi Order from the terrifying Dark Lords of the Sith, players must explore and battle through seven diverse worlds while being challenged whether to choose the light side of the Force or surrender to the lure of the dark side.
Star Wars Republic Commando (Xbox, PC) - First revealed at last year's Pre-E3 Xbox Conference, Star Wars Republic Commando is a squad-based first-person shooter that lets players explore the elite world of the Star Wars military. Leading a three-man squad of Republic commandos, players embark on a variety of missions that go deep behind enemy lines in more than 14 intense and challenging levels, spanning three unique campaigns. As a Republic commando, you will have more than a dozen deadly weapons at your disposal, including the game's ultimate weapon - your squad itself. The innovative "One-Touch Squad Control" system lets players command orders to their squad with the touch of just one button.
Star Wars Battlefront (PS2, Xbox, PC) - Star Wars Battlefront is an action/shooter game that gives fans and gamers the opportunity to re-live and participate in all of the classic Star Wars battles like never before. Players can select one of a number of different soldier types, jump into any vehicle, man any turret on the battlefront and conquer the galaxy planet by planet online with their friends or offline in a variety of single player modes. Battles are set up in more than 15 environments across 10 diverse planets, such as Hoth, Endor and Tatooine, in addition to memorable Clone Wars locations like Kamino and Geonosis.
Mercenaries (PS2, Xbox) - Third-person combat-action game that delivers the next level of free-form gameplay in massive interactive environments. The game gives players the opportunity to take on the role of a soldier for hire in an open-ended world, letting players choose to be one of three mercenaries: an American ex-soldier, a British secret agent or a Swedish bounty hunter. Each playable character has unique strengths and weaknesses that affect gameplay. The nonstop action within Mercenaries is heightened by the integration of the Havok physics engine, making everything within the environment act and react as it would in real life. LucasArts will deploy Mercenaries in early 2005 for the PlayStation2 and Xbox.
Star Wars Galaxies: Jump To Lightspeed (PC) - The struggle between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance extends into space with Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed, the first expansion for the award-winning Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing game set in the Star Wars universe. Set in the Star Wars timeframe between Episode IV and Episode V, this first extension opens 10 vast and distinct space sectors, spanning from the Core Worlds to the Outer Rim, for players to explore while engaging their opponents in intense real-time combat or uniting with friends in battle or exploration. Players can embark on more than 100 new missions, venturing through asteroid fields, nebulae and space junkyards while honing skills in four new space-specific professions.
Our Star Wars boffins will have more on all these games next week.
Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com
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