Star Wars: The Old Republic accepting beta applications

BioWare and LucasArts have started accepting closed beta applications for their Star Wars themed MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic today. Limited testing slots are reserved first for The Old Republic Community members, so those interested need only sign up at www.stor.com/user/account if they haven’t already. Once signed in, members can log in and click the My Account page to opt in for testing. Testing will be an ongoing process, according to LucasArts, and space is limited, so people need to sign up early to give them the best possible chance of getting selected.

In case you didn’t know (who are you and what planet are you from?) Star Wars: The Old Republic lets players explore an age thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader when war between The Old Republic and The Sith Empire divided the galaxy. Players can choose to play as Jedi, Sith, or a variety of other classic Star Wars roles, defining their story and determining their path down the Light or Dark side of the Force. Along the way, players will meet companions who will join and fight at their side or betray them, based on the players’ actions. Players can also choose to team up with friends to battle enemies and overcome incredible challenges in dynamic Star Wars style combat.

The Old Republic web update: Sith Warrior

The Star Wars: The Old Republic web site has a couple of new updates worth noting, just in time for some weekend reading: the unmasking of the Sith Warrior class and the fourteenth issue of Threat of Peace.

Naturally, the Sith Warrior draws upon the power of the dark side to strike enemies down with might and a strong command of the battlefield. More information on the particulars of this calls can be found in the HoloNet section of the site, along with combat videos, screenshots and some Sith Warrior wallpapers.

The fourteenth issue of Threat of Peace, LucasArts’ ongoing web comic, is now online. The latest issues picks up with Bounty Hunter Braden, freshly escaped from the Imperial transport, traveling to Nar Shaddaa to make a deal with the crime lord Nok Drayen. Meanwhile, Jedi Knight Satele Shan receives the news that Master Dar’Nala is dead. You can experience the latest issue by visiting www.swtor.com

Star Wars game classics coming to Virtual Console this month

Star Wars fans will want to give the Wii Shop Channel for the next month because Nintendo will be releasing multiple LucasArts classics on the Virtual Console. Starting today gamers can pick up the decidedly arcade action game classic Super Star Wars. In the coming weeks, both Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi will be added to the Virtual Console lineup. All three Super Star Wars games were originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and will be available at 800 Wii Points each.

The arrival of the first three games will be accompanied by additional Star Wars-themed content on other Wii channels throughout the week. The Check Mii Out Channel will invite people to submit their best Mii character renditions of classic Star Wars characters. On the Everybody Votes Channel, users can cast their votes to help settle old debates, such as the proper order to watch the six Star Wars films, and who fired first – Han Solo or Greedo?

Additional classic LucasArts games for Virtual Console will be announced in the future.

Animator’s Resume Leaks New LEGO Games Info

While it’s a given that the job market is pretty rough right now and it’s a smart move to update that dusty old resume, it probably not the best idea to tell everyone with an internet connection that you’re working on a couple of top secret projects for your current employer. Still, as discovered this morning by GamesIndustry.biz, that seems to be exactly what an animator with developer Traveler’s Tales has done, unintentionally blowing the whistle on a number of upcoming releases from the company.

Charlotte Parker, the animator in question, maintains a portfolio of her work online and recently updated the Curriculum Vitae portion of her site to include her most recent works. Unfortunately for Traveler’s Tales, a number of the games she’s listed herself as currently working on have not yet been announced by the developer or its parent company, Warner Bros. Interactive. Oops.

According to the CV, Parker has apparently been working at TT Games since March of 2007, working as a cutscene animator for LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, and LEGO Batman: The Videogame. The CV also lists her credits as “currently working as a Cutscene Animator on LEGO Harry Potter & LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which are both in the early stages of production.” Of course, until now, neither of these two games has existed as anything more than rumor outside of the walls to TT Games or Warner Bros.

Even more interesting than the leak of the two games currently in development, though, is Parker’s claim that she has “also recently been working on In-Game animation for the upcoming Hobbit Demo using Motion Capture Data in Motionbuilder, to be presented to Peter Jackson as a pitch for obtaining the license to the upcoming Hobbit films.” With the news this morning that the video game rights to Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies has reverted back to Warner from EA, it’s hard to imagine Warner and Traveler’s Tales passing up the chance to give Frodo, Gandalf, and the rest of the Fellowship the LEGO treatment.

While gamers might be happy to get some sort of confirmation about the forthcoming games, it’s probably safe to assume that Warner and Traveler’s Tales are probably none too happy about having their big, secret games leaked online. While direct links to the CV have since been removed from Parker’s front page, the actual CV itself was still live on the site as of this morning. Hopefully, her posting of the resume online won’t lead to Parker needing it sooner than she anticipated.

[UPDATE: As of around 10:30a EST Friday, the CV Section of Parker's site has been edited, removing all mention of the projects in development and the pitch presentation to Peter Jackson.]

Dressing Up The Force Unleashed

Haven’t had enough of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed yet? Well LucasArts is offering some new incentives today in the form of some fresh downloadable content. Xbox 360 and PS3 users can jump onto their favorite online services (PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace) to buy a variety of new costumes and skins. The costume pack allows gamers to play through the game disguised as several new characters.

Costumes in the pack include Hooded Combat Gear, General Starkiller, Sith Assassin, Imperial Commando, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, Darth Sion, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Kit Fisto. Heh, Fisto.. In addition, new themes and picture packs are available for download.

The Force is Strong in Soulcalibur IV DLC

Namco Bandai is bringing balance to the Force, courtesy of new downloadable content for Soulcalibur IV. Due to overwhelming fan response, Namco Bandai revealed this morning that Darth Vader and Yoda will be available as downloadable characters for the game beginning on Thursday, October 23rd via the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and PlayStation Network.

When the game was first released, each sysem had characters which were console exclusive, with the Dark Lord of the Sith relegated to the PS3, while the Jedi Master was exiled to the 360. Now, PS3 owners will be able to pick up Yoda for $4.99, while 360 owners will be able to join the Dark Side for 400 Microsoft points, letting players decide once and for all which side of the Force is best.

Consumers Love Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

No matter what anyone thinks of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, consumers are snapping it up. My personal opinion? It’s an okay game - not great, not wonderful, just okay - but I digress.. Less than one week since its release, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide across multiple platforms.

Released on Sept. 16 in North America, Sept. 17 in Australia and Southeast Asia, and Sept.19 in Europe, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has demolished LucasArts sales records around the globe in record time. LucasArts shipped more than 4.3 million units of The Force Unleashed around the world in preparation for the game’s launch and the company says that it has already begun manufacturing and distributing additional copies.

Now that we have the sales data out of the way, I should point out our various The Force Unleashed reviews by Tom Chick, who did not find the game as enjoyable as others did - right after the jump:

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