star wars

  • September 28, 2008

    The Force Unleashed

    Yesterday I beat The Force Unleashed for Xbox 360. This was a game I had been looking forward to as a Star Wars fan and as a programmer. A few months ago I saw the type of work they were doing to make this world seem more realistic- better physics engines, smarter AI, etc.- and got pretty excited to see how well it worked. After playing the game through, I wasn’t disappointed.

    First I’d like to point out that the story line at times seemed to have better continuity than the prequels. The Force Unleashed takes place between Episodes III and IV, and is about a secret apprentice that Darth Vader takes on to kill any remaining Jedi. The story progressed in true cinematic fashion and had some pretty great twists/surprises in it. It little sappy, but the fact that you can see why some things in the original trilogy happened is really cool.

    Now, onto the game play. I’ve read and been told by a few people that they think the game gets repetitive. While that is true, I still think it is awesome. In my mind, there is nothing better than force gripping a storm trooper and throwing him into a wall or whatever fatal structures there are in the level. I held one in front of a beam and waited for it to fire, incinerating the trooper. Also, shocking a jawa is fun. It’s a little RPG-ish in the fact that you pick and choose which skills, abilities, and force powers you want to hone, and it definitely effects game play; my friend and I played it at the same time and had different trouble points due to the skills we each chose.

    The game is also a little buggy. While it did cause me to restart twice, I’m willing to overlook that due to the sheer power of the physics engine it uses. The events in this game are truly non-deterministic, meaning you can do the same thing over and over again and get completely different results based on probably hundreds of different variables. The AI in enemies is smart enough that they try and grab onto things as you throw them.

    There is very seldom a game that I will beat and then go back and play levels just for the sake of playing them and I find myself doing that with The Force Unleashed. It’s a lot of fun, well thought out, and a must for any Star Wars or gaming fan (but especially Star Wars fans).

  • June 8, 2005

    Star Wars: A Reflection

    Mike of Binary Bonsai gave an excellent review Reflection of Star Wars, including his thoughts on Episode 3. I feel that I too should give a relection on the movies as a whole, as opposed to a haphazzard sort-of review. But I don’t have the time right now. I’d like too- but it would be in no way shape or form as good as Mike’s. His was heartfilled, meaningful, well written- worth the wait. Later.

  • June 5, 2005

    TIE Fighter case mod

    A sweet case mod for Star Wars geeks: a TIE Fighter. The cockpit holds the actual computer, and the rest doubles as a desk….
    This is the most absolutly incredible thing i have ever seen in my life. Star Wars mixed with computers- and its a desk. at the heart of the desk is a computer?!?!?! Where do I buy one???

    read more | digg story

  • May 26, 2005

    Networks and The Death Star

    Last night my friend called me up and we started talking about Tight VNC, a remote access program I installed on his computer at school. He asked if it would work now that we are both home and I explained to him that since we are both on different networks it would not. We talked a little more and he asked me about ports. I go to explain and he says “Explain it to me like if the Death Star was a server.” SO I explained it as such- The Death Star is a server- which is of course just a computer. So we have the front of the death star which is the giant ray that is the ruiner of planets. Go 180 degrees around to the back- you have a bunch of bays for ships to land. These bays are the ports. Each port is for a different ship. For instance, one is for the ships caught in the tractor beam (such as the Millennium falcon). One is for Vader’s TIE Fighter, etc. These bays are used often and can be left open because of their use. However, there are some bays that aren’t used that much. For instance, If there was a bay for Darth Sidious’ ship. He does not visit the Death Star but they keep his bay open anyway, in case he does. That is not good- because what if someone steals Sidious’ ship, or get one just like it. Then they can go into that bay and have full access to the Death Star. He then asked me how routers work and I did it in terms of a space station (keeping with the Star Wars Motif). By the end of the conversation, I realized how much of a nerd I really am- not only because I could explain ports and routers in such a manner, but because I enjoyed explaining it that way. Later!

  • May 20, 2005

    Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

    WARNING: SOME SPOILERS

    5/5- An absolute amazing film. I saw it at 12:01, Thursday Morning. The first showing. The entire experience was different for me. For one, I’ve never been to a premiere like this before. People were dressed up, which I expected, and everyone was buzzing with excitement. We got there at roughly 9:45 to find an already filling up theater. Then there was the wait. It wasn’t too bad. But finally, the lights went out, STAR WARS flashed on the screen, followed by the preface. I got so excited, the theater cheered. Now I was expecting greatness. I know some were not due to the fact that some didn’t like I and II. But I did- though they weren’t as good as the originals. But this movie. It had the greatness I expected and more. From the begining- when they go rescue the emperor. The fight with Dooku. I was very into the movie. Kottke said it best- The movie pulls you in. You know what happens, but hope for a different outcome. When Palpatine tells Anakin he knows the Dark Side of the Force, and Anakin pulls his lightsaber out, you think “Fucking kill him!” But you know it isn’t going to happen. When Mace has the Emperor pinned, you want Mace to kill him but you know it wont happen. And even though you know the outcome, it doesn’t suck because of that. I won’t give away all the stuff, but just know that, just as Kottke said, you feel bad for Vader. It’s sad. But for me, Ewan McGregor stole the show. His performance as Obi Wan was flawless. You felt for him. He lost a brother. He had to fight Anakin even though he didn’t want to. And when he said “You were the Chosen One. You were my brother…” you hoped more than anything that Anakin, laying there, would come to his senses. But he doesn’t. As one of the best movies I have ever seen, I highly recommend you go see it. I will probably provide more on it after I see it for the second time. Rule of thumb- see a good movie in the theater 3 times. Once to know what happens, twice to analyze it, and the third time to appreciate it. Later.