Force Unleashed : The Graphic Novel

As the gears of the Force Unleash began to unroll, more multimedia news has been announced by the official site. First, we had the game, then the toys from the game. A novel and an art book ensued. Now, a graphic novel, aka a comic book, has been announced by the site. As far as now know about Force Unleashed, more info is now divulged on this announcement. Here's an excerpt; In addition to new adversaries, including fugitive Jedi and Force-sensitive Felucians, The Force Unleashed also includes familiar faces from the films of the Star Wars Saga, including Darth Vader. The Force Unleashed recasts the scope and scale of the Force in a way that fans have never seen or experienced. Also, because of the way a comic book reveals the story in visual albeit still form, Haden Blackman, the writer for both the graphic novel and videogame versions of The Force Unleashed has this to say; "One of the most exciting things about writing The Force Unleashed for different media is that you're able to approach the same story from different angles. We can explore the same plot points from a different character's eyes, for example, or include story moments in one version that you won't find in the other. Fans will definitely want to check out both the graphic novel and the game for an even greater appreciation of everything that happens."

Review : Empire vol 7

I liked it. It's about friends lost and found. The decisions we make in life. The principles we believe in. The course of action we take. I rate this collection Empire vol 7 : The Wrong Side of the War, 4 out of 5. In a rebel mission to rescue an important tech from an Imperial stockade, Luke meets up with Janek Sunber, or Tank as he was called, from the days of Tattoine, Biggs, and their "garage" days. Now an officer in the Imperial Navy, Tank is getting disillusioned with the way the empire has turned out to be. Everything in his beliefs has been put to questioned. At he moment when Luke had to execute the rescue mission, it became clear to Janek that Luke was a rebel against the Empire and had to be stopped. Luke realised that he could not turn his fried to join the rebels because even though Janek was discouraged with the affairs of the empire, his principles does appear in line with the imperial way of order and discipline to the galaxy. In the end, the question arises on who is on the wrong side of the war.

Luke Skywalker novel

It's everywhere. News regarding a new novel to be published by Del Rey has been in most Star Wars site I've been. Here's a line from the official website; Due out in February 2008, Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor tells the tale of the Alliance's efforts to stop Lord Shadowspawn and his black-clad legions of shadow stormtroopers shortly after the destruction of the second Death Star. All the classic heroes return -- Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Lando, Threepio, Artoo and the pilots of Rogue Squadron -- in a thrilling adventure of good versus evil, with the fledgling New Republic battling the stubborn remains of a splintering Galactic Empire. This hardcover will be penned by Matthew Stover. He has got a few other Star Wars stories under his belt for example Shatterpoint. I liked Shatterpoint. This story was about the great Jedi Master Mace Windu during the early months following the breakout of the Clone Wars. So, Matt's track record is good from my view. But what irks me is the title itself. Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor It is so retro. So 70's. Why do I say that? Well just look at these titles about Han and Lando that was published during those times. Han Solo at Star's End Han Solo's Revenge Han Solo and the Lost Legacy Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of Thonboka Change the title please!!!

Rock on

Still in the theme of rocking and rolling, the official website Starwarsshop has came out of a t-shirt design which is so hot, you want to put it on. From the Emperor's new Black album errr ... Dark Album. I give you the Sith Lord. Rock on!

Another Broken Legacy

I've found a new cover for the Legacy : Broken collection from Darkhorse vault. Here it is; Comparing it with the Hardcover version; Well, the hardcover looks better right? The TPB version looks like rock band poster with the members posing with their guitars or something ... Duhhh! But since the insides are the same ... who cares right?

Tech Demo of Force Unleashed

Wow ... that's all I can say. Look at this clip of a tech demo for the game Force Unleashed. It's just jaw dropping good.

Force Unleashed : The Novel

Word has just got in about the Force Unleash novel. Random House has a page on its website; Star Wars(r) The Force Unleashed Written by Sean Williams Category: Fiction - Science Fiction Format: Hardcover, 304 pages On Sale: September 25, 2007 Price: $25.95 ISBN: 978-0-345-49902-8 (0-345-49902-6) There was no cover though. Don't worry, all in due time. Amazon Books has an even cryptic note on the Force Unleash entry; Untitled Del Rey MM #1 (Hardcover) by Ballantine (Author) Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Del Rey (September 25, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 0345499026 ISBN-13: 978-0345499028 MM #1? Hmmmm ... will there be a sequel? Another book from the Unleash storyline? ... Hmmmm

Unleash the Force

Remember previously, I was raving about rumours on George Lucas planning to make a Shadows of the Empire-like extravanganza. As quoted below from the official site. Shadows of the Empire was the first time fans and collectors were able to purchase a Star Wars novelization, action figures, vehicles, card sets, a video game, comic books, roleplaying game supplements, and even a soundtrack -- all based on a story without a movie. Well, the rumours has now been confirmed as true. Force Unleashed is going to be the next multimedia spectacle. Here's a quote from the official site. LucasArts is preparing an unprecedented promotional effort around the launch of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, encompassing a full line of toys and game-based action figures from Hasbro, as well as a full publishing program from Dark Horse, Del Rey and Palace Press. The timeline for this game is between Episodes III and IV, players hunt Jedi in the role of Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice. So it is during the dark times when the jedi were being purged. Here's the highlights of how the game plays; Unleash and upgrade the Secret Apprentice's four core Force powers -- Force push, grip, repulse and lightning -- throughout the course of the game, and combine them for ultra-destructive, never-before-seen combos. Examples of unleashing the Force in ways never thought possible: The Secret Apprentice won't just Force push enemies into walls -- he'll Force push enemies through walls; The Secret Apprentice won't just Force grip foes to throw them aside -- he'll Force grip them in midair, zap them with lightning, then drop them to the ground to explode like a bomb. In addition to new adversaries created just for the game, such as fugitive Jedi and Force-sensitive Felucians, players will also confront and associate with familiar faces from the Star Wars films, including Darth Vader. Visit locations such as Episode III's Wookiee homeworld Kashyyyk and the floral Felucia, the junk planet Raxus Prime, plus an Imperial TIE fighter construction facility. Decisions made by players throughout the game will determine the path of the story, including multiple endings that will rock Star Wars continuity as they know it. Can't figure out how all this looks like, here's a recap of the video which I had shown previously. Simply AWESOME!!

Toy Fair Letdown

As the Toy Fair come to pass, as predicted, there was no news about Star Wars Titaniums. This is quite a letdown since there is already very little news about the upcoming waves from ...hmmm... anywhere. The last announced wave was the 3rd wave featuring the V-wing vehicle. Well, since nothing is coming to retail, I've got time to wait and get excited ... But, one interesting new line has been announced for the Titanium series. It's in preparation for the new Spiderman 3 movie. All photos are thanks to the ActionFigs.com website. So will I jump in to this Spiderman3 line? I have absolutely no idea what the future brings. I have a handful of the Battlestar Galactica titanium vehicles and another grabful of the Transformer 3" series. The Venom looks good though, hehehehe ...

Star Wars 3D cartoons

The official site has come out with an image about the coming Clone Wars cartoon in 2008. Just look at it. It's just jaw-dropping!! Look at those glassy eyes on Yoda. The computer graphics looks awesome. This is going to be one great cartoon series. I can't wait.

Empire Vol 7 in the bag

In my search for the hardcover Star Wars : Allegiance, I found something else. It was the comic TPB (trade paperback) of Empire vol 7 : The Wrong Side of the War. I wasn't really impressed with the cover. I hope this is the case of not judging a book by its cover. I hope to read this in next few days and give a review by next weekend.

The Ultras are Coming!

Finally, news on the unreleased set of 2 from the Ultra series. And hopefully more will be released albeit exclusively. And the news did not come out from the Toy Fair, now on in New York. The SirSteveGuide site has announced that they were informed on entries in the TRU website pre-order listings of the last 2 unreleased set. They are; Star Wars Titanium Vehicle TIE Fighter Star Wars Titanium Vehicle Jedi Starfighter What's the repercussion to me? Well, I'm elated that there are more Ultras coming out. I'm ecstatic that they are TRU exclusives and not Walmart. Why? Well, we have TRU stores in Singapore but not the other. Thus, I do not have to count on only the specialty shops to bring them in.

True Colours

The official site has just announced the book cover of the third book in the Republic Commandos series. Scheduled for release this August, it comes as a paperback. Here's a blurb from the site; In the Grand Army's desperate fight to crush the Separatists, the secret special ops missions of its elite clone warriors have never been more critical... or more dangerous. A growing menace threatens Republic victory, and the members of Omega Squad make a discovery that shakes their loyalty. As the lines continue to blur between friend and enemy, citizens -- from civilians and sergeants to Jedi and generals -- find themselves up against a new foe: the doubt in their hearts and minds. The truth is a fragile, shifting illusion -- and only the approaching inferno will reveal both sides in their true colors. I just hope this is better than Triple Zero. Nice cover though.

I want my Allegiance

I've been hitting the bookstores for the past 2 days in search of Timothy Zahn's new book, Allegiance. MPH, Times, Borders and Kino, all zilch. But what I found was the paperback version of Outbound Flight Project, also by Zahn. And in it was a short story titled Mist Encounter. Since I was striking out on the second day, might as well plonked myself down and do a bit of reading. Mist Encounter was from a short story originally published in Star Wars Adventure Journal 7. It is about the initial encounter of the Empire to the most iconical character of the EU galaxy. Who is this person? His name is Thrawn. Mith'rawn'uroudo was his Chiss name. Blue skinned and red eyes. It was a good read, even though it was only about 7 odd pages long. An exiled warrior trying to escape a lonely planet by stealing into an Imperial star destroyer. And to add to the agony of the feet (ie too much walking, yes), there was also an excerpt of Allegiance. Involving Han, Luke and Chewie trying to escape from pirates and assisted by Imperials. Huh? ... well, unknowingly of course. The timeline which this story starts was stated about 2 weeks to the blowing up of the first Death Star in a New Hope (EP4). Can't wait to get it!

A movie for fan boys

I've just discovered a new movie to be rolled out this year. It's aptly called Fan Boys. IMDB reports that it is being in production and due out later this year. Well, since the trailer is out. I would say this movie would be awesome. Just watch.

Star Wars 3D cartoon

Several sites have reported on the latest update of the upcoming SW cartoons. The interesting bits were that they have 2 almost complete episodes. They have another 15 episodes in process presently. And they are touting their 3D effects to be the best there is anywhere. ... wow! I can't wait!

Review of KOTOR : Commencement

This is one great story. Loved how a vision of the future becomes a spectre of the past ... to borrow Timothy Zahn's titles from his novel duology. KOTOR : Commencement relates the story of a padawan, who is not so adept in the ways of the force. He is framed for the massacre of 5 other would-be Jedi Knights. You won't get any more warning from me, anything you read afterwards will contain spoilers. Zayne was the worst in a group of "graduating" padawan. At their graduation ceremony, a never-punctual Zayne chanced upon 6 Jedi Masters with 5 dead padawans at their feet. Confused and without answers, he fled the room with the masters on his back. A few hours later, he is wanted by the authorities for his supposedly murderous act. Aided by a smuggler, he barely escaped from both the Jedi masters and the police on the planet. After some investigations, he discovered that the 5 Jedi Masters, who were also Jedi consulars; jedi seers that have the ability to see the future almost accurately, had a group vision of a padawan in their care becoming so strong in the Sith ways that he kills the 5 masters and ultimately destroys the old republic. Thus acting on this vision, the masters had taken upon themselves to erase the problem before consulting the Jedi Council in Coruscant. Zayne, now angry for the fact that the masters had acted rashly, eventually seceded his jedi ways. He gave the 5 masters a warning that he will do everything in his power to bring them to justice or kill them outright. Brilliant! Don’t you think? The masters creating their own spectre. Buy this TPB, you will not regret it.

New York Toy Fair 2007

The New York Toy Fair starts this weekend in New York of course ... duhhh! What does it holds for the Titanium series? I have a feeling, it won't be much, since there was little murmurs of this line in the build up of the fair. Little? Or maybe scant or non-existent is more the case. But I hope there will be surprises though.

Legacy Broken

StarWarsShop has now open for orders for the first compilation of the Legacy comics. It collects issues #1-#7 except issue #4, in hardcover. For those of you not in the know on the Legacy series;, here's a summary, care of the Wiki site; Star Wars: Legacy is set 100 years after the Legacy of the Force series. The comics feature Cade Skywalker, a descendant of Luke Skywalker, who was trained as a Jedi but has abandoned the order. He apprenticed himself to the pirate Rav and lives among bounty hunters, smugglers and pirates. Cade has also dropped his last name. The series begins with an attack on the Jedi Temple, an Emperor betrayed, and the Sith born anew. Here's the cover .... nice! Nope, I'm not going to buying this ... yet, at least the hardcover. I'll get it when the trade paperback comes out. Much cheaper, yes ...

Guessing Game #1

I would like to talk about which new titaniums, this new year brings. So once in a while you will get to read them here. So to start it off, let's look at the vehicles that are already out in other forms like the Galoob micro series and the miniatures board game. Point to note, these are just my guesses and more so, are my wants, it has no bearing on whether Hasbro will produce them or not. First off the block, I would say these ships have a high possibility of being produced. It's the Mon Calamari battleships. From left to right, the Star Defender; Viscount (EU), the Cruiser; Home One (EP6) and the MC80 (EP6). All 3 ships have been made in the miniatures series and by Galoob in their micro-machines series. Why they might feature? For one, who doesn't love the fish-heads and specifically, Admiral Ackbar. They were one of the backbone of the rebellion. They provided much of the bulk of rebellion starship armada. Next, the ships have been done before and looking at the designs, it's one of the simplest design for a titanium, just like a star destroyer. Well, they were seen in the movies. And that is a big plus point. If it was visually appreciated on screen, ultimately the vehicle tends to be produced.