I have to admit that back in 2005, I laughed at the idea of "Lego Star Wars." The whole concept seemed too kid-friendly and too corporate at the same time. But I was quickly swept up in the game's quirky sense of humor, refreshingly tight game play and surprising depth. I enthusiastically embraced all the "Lego" games that followed ("Lego Batman" still gets plenty of mileage, and the new "Lego Rock Band" is amazing if only for the presence of Lego David Bowie). But I was disappointed with "Lego Indiana Jones," which felt too loose and not as sharply whimsical as the other games in the series.
Now comes "Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues," which incorporates elements from the first three "Indiana Jones" movies and augments it with a healthy dose of 2008's middling "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
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LucasArts' latest creation for Xbox Live and PC premiered for the world in living color last night, and the title for the new game is "Lucidity." The puzzle-and-platforms game appears to require lots of environment and object manipulation as its basic focus of gameplay, taking a nod from modern beauties like "Braid" and harkening back to its story-intensive predecessors like "Monkey Island."
"Lucidity" will be available later this month, according to Scrawl. Footage of the game, which debuted on Gametrailers TV shows the game's main character Sophie using multicolor blocks to navigate her 2D space and climb over holes.
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I'm not entirely sure why indie devs release early screens/footage of classic game remakes, 'cause they invariably end up getting shut down by their IP holders, but at least we can enjoy them while they're still in existence.
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(Image courtesy of Grim-Fandango.com)
In light of yesterday's announcement that LucasArts will begin publishing their old school hits to Steam, I wanted to plum the depths of our memories and recall some of the best moments from classic LucasArts games. I've got too many running through my brain to count, but one that sticks out is from "Grim Fandango," wherein Manny, having made a life for himself in the port city of Rubacava, becomes the night club owner of a once-trashy diner. There's this awesome dissolve where the game jumps a full year and Manny's there in a white tux, lookin' all slick. It wasn't really a gameplay moment, but for some reason it stuck with me. And yes, "Grim Fandango" counts as classic. It came out over 10 years ago!
But enough about me, here are some of your favorite LucasArts memories:
StarFire2258: @multiplayers I have fond memories of shooting down Rebel scum in Tie Fighter. Sometimes, it's good to be the bad guy.
roxaloxa: @multiplayers Finally getting that damn turtle skeleton puzzle complete in The Dig.
constantgmr: @multiplayers The trench run in the old school game X-Wing, no doubt about it.
FYI Lunchtime Twitter Poll questions are posted on the MTV Multiplayer Twitter in the morning, so get those answers in as early as possible!
LucasArts announced today that they're going to be bring their old school classics to Steam starting this Wednesday. First up on the docket, a list of eight games including "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis" (pictured), "LOOM," "The Dig" and a few more recent titles like "Star Wars Battlefront 2."
It's great news for us law-abiding gamers, but I have a feeling that hardcore LucasArts fans have, well, found other means for enjoying "LOOM."
It's a busy time for LucasArts, as they're also releasing "Monkey Island Special Edition" on XBLA and Steam next week. The game features updated, high rez graphics and full voice over work. But, in a fun touch, you can jump back and forth between old school pixels and new school cleanliness at will by hitting a button. Fancy!
If you're a huge fan of Jar Jar, the Ewoks or Jake Lloyd, you probably shouldn't watch the video below. On the other hand, if you enjoy watching dozens of Sith lords battle a hot, female bounty hunter in Mandalorian armor while a giant star ship crashes into the Jedi Temple, well yeah, maybe this one is for you.
"Star Wars: The Old Republic" is the very first MMO from BioWare, the guys who brought the awesome back to Star Wars with "The Knights of the Old Republic." This new trailer definitely emphasizes the dark world that existed 3,500 years before "Episode 1," in a time when the Sith and the Jedi were numerous and really unpleasant to one another.
We'll be getting a closer look at the gameplay from "The Old Republic" during E3, so be sure to check back later in the week for updated impressions.
LucasArts hooked us up with some updated footage from the Wii-exclusive Indy game. The trailer details some of the new features, including whip-motion controls and co-op play. Get ready to yell "Junior!" a whole lot.
"Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings" is set during 1939 and features the world's greatest archeologist as he battles Nazis and tries to take back control of Moses' mythical staff. The game seems to be aimed at all ages and takes a lot of the elements from the next-gen Indy game that was announced a few years back.
We'll be getting a closer look at Indy as it nears its June release date, so stay tuned.
It'll probably be a while before we see Indy back on the big screen, but that doesn't mean he's missing from the spotlight. On June 9, LucasArts will release "Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings," a brand new adventure for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Sony PS2 and Sony PSP.
The game is set in 1939 and those crazy Nazis are stirring things up again, forcing our intrepid archeologist to go hunting for new treasure. While the missions will be fun for all systems, the game is especially optimized for the Wii. In particular, the advantage of having the Wii remote allows some innovative gameplay with Indiana's signature weapon, the whip.
In the video below, Matt Shell from LucasArts takes us through using the whip with the Wii remote and how to properly wield the rawhide wand.
