war

George Lucas ushers in 'Star Wars: The Force Unleashed'

Update 12:27 p.m.: This story has been modified to reflect comment from LucasArts about interest in the game, as evidenced by pre-sales and number of sales at retail.

SAN FRANCISCO--George Lucas was the "surprise" special guest at the official launch party Monday night here for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the new video game that marks the latest chapter in the epic story line. And despite his only making a two-minute speech, most on hand were excited at the rare opportunity to see him.

Indeed, Lucas doesn't venture into public very often, so for many of the people who had come to line up to buy the new game when it went on-sale at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, his appearance and quick talk were a treat.

The event took place Monday evening at a Best Buy outlet in this city's Mission district, an odd choice of venues for the launch of what many have been calling one of the biggest video games of the year.

On the other hand, the place was packed, something that one store employee said was a very unusual occurrence. So, all in all, the energy generated may have been worth it for Lucas and his crew.

The new game, known by many simply as The Force Unleashed, is the first Star Wars game to be considered by Lucas an actual chapter in the overall story line that begins with the three prequel films--The Phantom Menace; Attack of the Clones; and Revenge of the Sith--continues with this summer's animated film, The Clone Wars and then, of course, concludes with the original three films, Star Wars; The Empire Strikes Back; and Return of the Jedi.

In the new game, the main character, played by actor Sam Witwer, is an apprentice of Darth Vader, and the story line centers on that apprentice's path to redemption. … Read more

'Star Wars' fans flock to video game launch

SAN FRANCISCO--In four hours, the latest--and maybe greatest--Star Wars game, The Force Unleashed, will go on sale.

No one knows if the game will be a best-seller, but if you judged by the energy at the Best Buy in this city's Mission District on Monday night, where the game's official launch event is being held, it's got a bright future.

There is a special guest scheduled to speak in about 15 minutes, and by now, it's no secret that it will be George Lucas himself.

For now, however, fans of the game--and hired hands--are milling around … Read more

The 404 177: Where MTI is in the bathroom with a camera

Our resident peeping Tom (don't ask, you don't want to know) joins us for today's videogame heavy show. Surprisingly, I actually participate a fair amount! I think it has something to do with the Playstation Yu Foundation...Jeff flaunts a very positive review of Hamlet 2, we "ooh" and "ahh" over a very cute marriage proposal (hint, hint Mr. Bakalar), and talk way too long about our fear of those horrid little eight legged freaks.

Although there's lots of talk about videogames today, we somehow find the time to introduce yet another cryptid in the wild: a giant 50 foot mechanical spider miraculously appeared on the side of an building under construction in Liverpool yesterday. The creature is the pride of joy of this year's La Machine street festival, set to debut tomorrow to the public. Luckily for us, a few pictures leaked onto Flickr and sufficiently make us squirm like frightened little girls. Seriously though, spiders freak me out, there's something about their small furry legs running around my house that makes me want to cut off my skin. And you know what I realized? My generation's unreasonable fear of spiders is solely based on the movie Arachnaphobia. So thanks, Director Frank Marshall, for ruining my childhood.

EPISODE 177 Download today's podcast … Read more

Dolby Volume: The cure for uneven volume from TV, movies, and music

Thanks to Dolby Volume, too-loud commercials, inaudible dialog, overly loud special effects, and inconsistent volume will all be a thing of the past, says Dolby spokesman Craig Eggers.

Dolby Volume improves the listening experience "by leveling the volume across channels and programs while preserving the listening experience at any volume level." To hear Dolby Volume, you'll need to buy a new receiver, like Harman Kardon's AVR 7550HD or Arcam's FMJ AVR600. They're the first two A/V receivers that feature Dolby Volume, but we expect to see it appear in a wide range of … Read more

The 404 171: Where we're on the RIGHT coast

Quick health update: Wilson is doing well and is on the miracle, three-day, cure-all Z-Pack. MTI fills in for another awesome show where we cut into our fillet of coastal beef, hook up a few treadmills to World of Warcraft, tell a turtle to stop snitching, and give you a Justin PSYu update. I'll give you a hint: it's in monochrome.

My favorite story on today's show involves a research turtle that accidentally stumbled upon a marijuana field in in our nation's capitol. The little guy was walking around with a GPS transmitter strapped to his … Read more

EA inks two partnership deals, including Epic Games

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--Electronic Arts announced partnership deals with two independent games companies Thursday, including Gears of War publisher Epic Games.

The news of the two new members of the EA Partners program, which also revolved around Japan's Grasshopper Manufacture, publisher of games like No More Heroes, was part of EA's annual Studio Showcase event here.

During just over an hour of announcements and presentations, EA showed off 17 games it didn't show at E3 last month, as well as unveiled the partnerships.

Grasshopper Manufacture will create an all-new action horror game for EA. It will be … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 787: Let me see that Tong

Brian Tong fills in for Tom Merritt in today's show and it's just as awesomely fun and crazy as you'd expect it to be. Granted, there's some news in there, too: Best Buy will start selling iPhones (yay!), more and more users, analysts, and companies are pointing to serious problems with 3G connectivity (boo), and we give our official reviews of Clone Wars and Madden. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 787

Intro (Thanks Vic the Texas Rancher Pilot!!)

Best Buy to sell iPhones in September http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/13/iphone_best_buy_deal/ … Read more

The 404 159: Where Justin burns down the 404 studio

On today's show: In Jeff's absence, Justin takes over the studio and all hell breaks loose. Natali Del Conte rushes in to save the day! Wilson sits back and laughs, and we discuss a few stories about free Olympic condoms, annoying neighbors, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and lost light sabers.

When Jeff's away, the SPig will play! That's right, Jeff's on vacation in Atlantic City, New Jersey, gambling his salary away, so I decide to take up the reins and jump into the hot seat! And trust me, you don't want … Read more

Gadgettes 99: The Shoes Episode

Ever stepped through a grate on the street with your high heels? Yeah, neither have I...but the ladies have. Obviously they are much more qualified to talk about these awesome shoes than I am. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 99

‘High Heeler’ helps prevent klutzy moments http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9995864-1.html

High heels turn more comfy–in a snap http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9995767-1.html

Are your shoes ringing, or is it just your feet barking? http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9977342-1.html

Super-light Nike Flywire shoes to make Olympic debut http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9998061-1.html … Read more