Darth Plagueis

I've been in a Star Wars mood as of late, so while playing SWTOR I have also been reading some of the books.  There are many.  I just finished up one called Darth Plagueis.  He was Sidious's master (Episode 4 Emperor).  Overall, I thought the book was very good.  Plagueis was an interesting character who was also quite powerful.

It was also very interesting to read how Sidious came about.  While the book was titled for Plagueis, it wasn't really about him.  The start was, but then it was all about how Sidious became Emperor.  It end shortly after the start of Episode 1 and the Naboo happenings.  I do recommend it though, it was an entertaining and informative read.

I've always found it interesting to read about Star Wars.  They made the movies, without too much background.  Since then, many different authors have been filling in the lore about how all of this happened.  Keeping it all straight must be a task, especially now that they are expansing the franchise with Episode 7.

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Death Troopers

Death Troopers is both a new book in the Star Wars universe and also an event in Star Wars Galaxies.  As you may expect from the title, it involves zombies.  While you may think they are hopping on the zombie bandwagon, it appears that they have been a part of the Star Wars lore for a while.  For a video and more info, continue on.

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WAR Contest!

Xerb over at WarUnderground and WAAAGH Roots, is running a contest. This one is a bit different than any I have seen before and looks pretty interesting.

"Beginning May 11, through May 24, I will be hosting a player made radio commercial contest over at WAR Underground. These 30 to 120 second Warhammer related commercials can be anything from funny fake products, to a commercial about your toon, podcast, blog or fansite. I want variety, I want hilarity, I want entertainment folks. So get to work!"

Full details here! Oh yea, there are prizes to be had.

While I don't have that sort of creative talent, I look forward to seeing what the entrants come up with.

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TOR brings the Story

Bioware recently released an in-character video discussing some of the background behind the setting of the Old Republic. They have an interesting interface and video for it at http://www.swtor.com/info/timeline/timeline1. Be sure to click some of the buttons.

Some complained that it wasn't actual in game footage, but I liked this a lot. Even though it was only stills, it has me ready for some Star Wars action. The combination of voice acting, the artistic style and motion of the still images just clicked for me.

I still wish it was the Trilogy Star Wars or SWG 2, but this is starting to shape up pretty nicely. Now if we only knew what the actual gameplay was like.

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Star Wars Pinball

Give you points I will. - Yoda

When I am not playing MMO's, I enjoy spending time with some old arcade games. I am lucky enough to have a wife that allows a small arcade in our home. Although Pinball has fallen out of fashion these days, I still find them very fun. There is really nothing like them. The first game I bought was Star Wars Pinball by Data East.


I am a Star Wars fan, but not an uber-fan. However I have always enjoyed anything Star Wars related. In my younger days, when arcades were still around, I was not a big pinball fan. I did have to play Star Wars pinball whenever I saw it though. I didn't appreciate the nuances of pinball at the time, so I was more interested in the theme, sound and lights.


The artwork on this pinball is just fantastic. It was made in 1992, so it follows the original trilogy. There are a lot of little details and most everything in the Star Wars universe is represented. Sometimes, I will just look at the artwork and not even play. Brings back the memories of what made Star Wars a great movie.


Also amazing are the sound clips and the lights. I'm not 100% sure if they have the actual cast doing the voice clips, but I can't tell the difference. Classic quotes include: Luke: "Noooooooooooo" on a ball drain and Darth: "You have failed me for the last time." There are many pinball ones, like the Yoda quote at the beginning. The music from the movie is here, but a little bit different (digitized perhaps?) It fits in very well though.


Gameplay wise, Star Wars is not considered one of the top pinballs. It is rather simple due to the importance of the middle ramp shot. That is alright by me, as I am by no means good at pinball. One thing I never knew about pinball until I owned one was how deep the rulesets actually are. As a kid, it was just hitting the ball and hoping something happened. Now I realize there are strategies involved. The best part of the game has to be the spinning Death Star. At certain times, a door opens. When you hit a ball into the Death Star you see a nice dot animation of them getting ready to fire (like in the movie). However, when they do it explodes. This starts a 3 ball multiball. Lots of great lighting, sound and fun.


Star Wars Pinball will probably always remain in my collection. It isn't the highest rated game, but is fun to play none the less. Someday, maybe pinball's will be considered fine art... ok maybe not.

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