Force Feedback - Star Wars Games Analyzed

Thanks to TotalGames.net for their article discussing the history of Star Wars-based videogames, in which they air the fan-voiced complaint that "LucasArts used to be a seal of quality on a game, but it's become totally devalued by so many third-rate titles." However, the article notes the upsurge in buzz over expansive titles like Knights Of The Old Republic, commenting: "Rather than divide their fanbase into original trilogy and prequel fans, LucasArts seem to want to bring them together", before suggesting some unlikely license uses along the lines of Super Bombad Racing: "Jedi Set Radio and Dance Dance Rebellion, anyone? Maybe Grand Theft Jawa?"

Comments

I remember lucasfilm games

[SmallFurryCreature]

Battle of britain and Secret weapons of the luftwaffe were solid flight sims coming with thick clear manuals that even gave several run downs on the war the games were set in. Good solid manuals that told you everthing thing you need to know and a lot more.

Their adventures based on the excellent scumm engine were topnotch. X-wing was amazing.

Then something happened. I don't know what but I will give you the clues. Maybe you can figure it out.

• Afterlife. If you never seen it be thankfull.
• X-wing vs Tie-fighter. I am not 100% sure but around this time a logo started to spring up when you loaded the game. It was amazing bright and cheerfull. It also was glaringly out of place. What is it with all these fucking logos? Why did they outsource the development or something? I buy a lucasarts game. Not just something rebadged.

  Missles in later x-wing games. X-wing is a dogfighter. Laser against laser with the odd protontorpedo against heavy targets. Later on in the game however you couldn't start a run on a capital ship without dodging endless missles. What joy.

  Minefield in x-wing games. Clear 1 gazillion tiny mines. Whee. Are you having fun yet?

  Monkey Island 4 control system. (it may have been grim fandango that did it first don't know) UGH. One of the bad points of click and play adventures has always been pixel hunting. Now you had to pixel hunt by moving an other pixel across the screen with cursor keys. Yikes. Whoever made this one is an enemy greater then Gates and McBride put together.

• Manuals. Anyone notice manuals and general goodies like keycards have becoming rarer and rarer these days? From the thick binders (handy for putting the manual open on a certain page) to the well the sheets of copy paper you get now. Yet the price of games has gone up, but the media price, floppies vs cd's has come down. Rip off?
• First episode. Ugh, what did they do to star wars. All the games based upon it have been total dogshit.
• Consoles. Lucasarts made it big on the PC. It has made good money from a loyal fanbase. So what does it do to reward us and continue the good relations? Develop console only games. Grrr.
• Crap buggy games like rebellion and what was that RTS called again? Ewh.

Mmmm, I just don't know what happened at lucasarts. Did someone quit? they were once the greats. Then again there was time when sierra was know for quality as well. Oh well. I guess that certain things just pass away. Spam free email. Usefull usenet. Perhaps it is like dementia in humans. Once great minds doomed to become like drooling 2yr olds.

Let us remember the Lucasarts we once knew and loved. And hope that this demented old driveling shell of a company passes away peacefully in its sleep.

Re:Full Throttle II

[SmallFurryCreature]

Adventures didn't die. Lucasarts killed them. Sure the press may have loved the new inventive way of controlling them like Monkey Island 4 did or Gabriel Knight 3. The game buying public hated it.

Don't fix it if it ain't broken.

But you need 3D to attract the quake crowd you say? Stop talking to customer focus groups. People that say they would buy X if only it had Y are lying. It is like people who say they would use public transport if only XXXXX, or who would run linux/mac if only it had XXXXX. They won't. Ever.

Perhaps in fit of sanity lucasarts realised that one of the most bitched about parts of the original full throttle was the bike fights. Sure it was original. Sure it was new. Sure it was kinda fun. Until you got hopelessly stuck at that point.

Hybrid games rarely work. Mixing adventures with anything is sure to fail miserably. I am wrong? Prove it. Adventures are slow by nature. Hell in Lucasarts adventures you usually can't even die. To then suddenly add elements from other games, rarely works. Answer me this. Wich did you thought was more fun. The fights in Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis or the ones in the original Monkey Island? Right thought so.

The official line anway was that Lucasarts thought Full Throttle 2 was not going to live up to expectation. Make of that what you will. It been discussed on slashdot in its own artice.

what?

[libnatel]

"Rather than divide their fanbase into original trilogy and prequel fans, LucasArts seem to want to bring them together"

Episode 1 and 2 actually had fans?

Heh, funny I never knew that.