Assassin's Creed: Revelations

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is a historical action-adventure open world stealth video game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2011, and for Microsoft Windows in December 2011. It is the fourth major installment in the Assassin's Creed series and the last chapter in the 'Ezio Trilogy'. The game is a direct sequel to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, with the three protagonists from the previous games Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Altaïr ibn La-Ahad, and Desmond Miles returning as the main protagonists.

Synopsis

Setting

Revelations features all three of the series' major characters so far: Desmond Miles, Altaïr ibn La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze. The main part of the story takes Ezio to Constantinople in 1511 AD, consisting of four districts: Constantin, Beyazid, Imperial, and Galata; Cappadocia during the rise of the Ottoman Empire, part of which is a completely underground city populated solely by Templars;and Masyaf, where the old Assassins' stronghold is located (featured in the first Assassin's Creed game), to which Ezio travels at the beginning of the game. He discovers Altaïr has sealed within the fortress an ancient artifact that is said to be a powerful weapon which could end the Templar-Assassin War forever, and had the keys hidden in Constantinople. Ezio uses these relics of the "First Civilization" that hold memories of Altaïr to relive Altaïr's experiences, during which players control Altaïr.
The game continues Desmond's story in the present day, following the events of Brotherhood, where he is trapped in the Animus 2.0, in a comatose state, in which he has found a safe mode known as "the Black Room". Here, Desmond must find a "synch nexus", a key memory that links him with Altaïr and Ezio, to reintegrate his splintered subconscious and awaken from his coma. While in game, Ezio meets a variety of historical characters, including: Manuel Palaiologos, an heir to the now-lost Byzantine Empire; Byzantine Templars lurking in the shadows of Constantinople; and Prince Suleiman, a man who will one day become one of the Ottoman Empire's greatest Sultans; and his uncle, Prince Ahmet.

Plot

Present-day protagonist Desmond Miles has fallen into a coma from the events of the previous game. To save Desmond's mind, he is placed in a specialized area of the Animus called the Black Room. Upon awakening inside the Animus, in a location called Animus Island, he meets the consciousness of Subject Sixteen, who occupied the Animus before him. Sixteen explains that Desmond's mind is broken, and the only way for him to repair it is to play through his ancestors' stories until there is nothing left for them to show Desmond, at which point the Animus can separate Desmond from Ezio and Altaïr, and awaken Desmond from his coma.
Desmond enters Animus Island's memory portal, which places him back in the perspective of Ezio Auditore. Ezio has traveled to the former Assassin's fortress in Masyaf to unlock secrets Altaïr had previously discovered, and find the true purpose of the Assassins. Upon arriving, he finds Masyaf taken by the Templars, who mark him for death. Ezio escapes to the bowels of the castle, where he discovers the entrance to Altaïr's library.He learns that five disc-like "keys" are required to unlock the door; that the Templars have one underneath the Ottoman Sultan's palace; and the rest lie hidden in Constantinople, part of the Ottoman Empire.He travels there and is greeted by Yusuf Tazim, leader of the Turkish Assassin Order,and befriends a young student named Suleiman. Ezio learns that the keys were hidden in the city by Niccoló Polo. While searching for the old Polo trading post, Ezio encounters and befriends Sofia Sartor, a young Italian traveler and book collector, and eventually falls in love with her. Ezio discovers the locations of the remaining keys with Sofia's help, all the while keeping his intentions, growing feelings and position a secret from her.
Meanwhile, Constantinople is in chaos due to conflicts between Prince Ahmet and his brother Selim, who are quarreling over who will inherit the Sultanate. Caught in the middle of the conflict, Suleiman reveals to Ezio that he is an Ottoman prince, and that he suspects the Templars are behind the feud. Ezio uncovers evidence that Manuel Palaiologos, with Templar support, is attempting to raise an army to overthrow the Ottomans and reestablish the Byzantine Empire. Ezio kills Manuel and recovers the final key,only to discover that Ahmet is the true mastermind of the Templar plot to open Altaïr's library.
During these events, Ezio uses the keys in his possession to witness Altaïr's life after the events depicted in the first game. After killing Al-Mualim, Altaïr took possession of the Apple of Eden and assumed leadership of the Assassins. One of the Assassins, Abbas, did not support Altaïr due to past events, and for killing Al Mualim. When Altaïr and his wife Maria left Masyaf for 10 years to repel the Mongol invasion, Abbas staged a coup d'etat, seizing control of the Assassins and executing Altaïr's youngest son Sef. Altaïr sought revenge; but as Maria tried to stop him, Altaïr's rage was felt by the Apple of Eden and killed Maria. Altaïr was forced to flee with his elder son, Darim, and went into self-imposed exile for 20 years. Altaïr finally returned to Masyaf, killed Abbas, then took his rightful place as the Assassins' leader. In the process, Altaïr told the dying Abbas the truth of the latter's father's death.Years later, an aged Altaïr encodes his memories on the five keys Ezio would find, entrusting them to Niccoló.
In Constantinople, Ezio discovers that Ahmet has killed Yusuf and kidnapped Sofia, demanding the keys in exchange for her life. Ezio agrees, but immediately gives chase upon ensuring Sofia's safety. He recovers the keys, but before he can deal with Ahmet, Selim arrives with his armies and executes Ahmet himself, after saying that their father "made his choice." Due to his son Suleiman's endorsement, Selim has Ezio leave Constantinople, warning him never to return again. After completing this memory, the Animus begins to delete excess data—including Animus Island. Sixteen sacrifices himself to prevent Desmond from being deleted by the Animus.
Ezio and Sofia return to Masyaf, where Ezio uses the keys to unlock Altaïr's library. He finds it empty except for Altaïr's skeleton and a sixth key. He discovers that the library was not meant to hold books—rather, it was a vault meant to house Altaïr's Apple of Eden. Through the key, Ezio learns that Altaïr had sealed himself inside to preserve its secret from the Templars. Ezio leaves this Apple in the library, saying "I have seen enough for one life."  He then begins talking directly to Desmond, not knowing exactly who (or where) he is, but knowing that he is watching. He tells Desmond of his intention to retire from the Assassins, believing he has served his purpose. He expresses hope that Desmond will be able to find answers to the questions he and Altaïr had worked so hard to uncover.
Suddenly, Desmond is approached by Jupiter, a member of the First Civilization. He explains that the First Civilization had built numerous vaults to study methods to save the planet from destruction. All of the data collected was transmitted to a central vault, where the data was tested. None of the methods were effective, however, and they failed to stop the solar flare from destroying their civilization. Jupiter tells Desmond that he has the power to save the planet from a second solar flare, showing him the location of the central vault. Desmond wakes up from his coma and finds Rebecca, Shaun and his father William Miles standing with him. He tells them that he knows what to do as the Central vault located underground activates.

Multiplayer plot

The multiplayer aspect has its own plot from the Templar perspective. After training to become a Master Templar and being allowed into the Abstergo inner sanctum, the player is implanted with a tracker to ensure his/her trustworthiness. It is implied that Daniel Cross (Subject 4) is a member of the Templar inner sanctum. After reaching level 50 in the multiplayer, the player is dubbed an active agent, and assigned the task of retrieving the current Assassin Order Mentor, William Miles.

Gameplay

Main article: Gameplay in the Assassin's Creed series

The main protagonist, Ezio, can use the hookblade to access ziplines across the environments. The hookblade is one of the new features introduced in Revelations.

The game follows the series' standard open world gameplay in the Ezio and Altaïr Sequences, where the game's main story takes place. New gameplay additions include an item called the "hookblade", which can be used to zipline across the city or grab enemies to yank them in for a combo attack. The hookblade reportedly speeds up navigation by around 30 percent. Along with the hookblade, Ezio also has around 150 different bomb variations at his disposal, which are to be crafted. The game features new "Desmond Sequences", "Dali-esque" first-person platforming missions in a radical departure for the series.These "Desmond Sequences" can only be unlocked by collecting a certain amount of Data Fragments hidden throughout Constantinople. Data Fragments are a new type of collectible in Revelations, replacing the Borgia Flags of previous games in the series.
Also added and expanded are seizing districts of the city from the Templars. While capturing a district is very similar to Brotherhood, the Templars will attempt to recapture districts, which Ezio must defend using a "tower defense" minigame, where he controls a group of Assassins from rooftops against several waves of Templar soldiers and siege equipment. Similar to Brotherhood, initiates can be sent on missions to other regions, eventually wresting control from the Templars, and then using the city to produce a stream of income and new Assassin recruits. The game is playable in full 3D across three platforms: PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360, with the console versions supporting both stereoscopic 3D mode for 3D HDTVs and for 2D HDTVs. All Revelations gameplay and cinematics have S3D support.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer gameplay also makes a return in Revelations. The mode expands the basics of online modes from Brotherhood with new characters and locations. Players are able to customize their characters' appearance and weapons, as well as start a guild and create its unique coat of arms. Matchmaking and game interface are also improved. Ubisoft says that while the component is returning, they're putting greater focus towards the narrative, as it's the heart of the franchise. As players level up in the multiplayer game, they move up in their Abstergo Templar rank and gain access to more information about the company.
New multiplayer modes are added to the already existing modes, including "story-oriented quests", as well as a much requested Capture the Flag mode. Some multiplayer maps are based in the island of Rhodes.Among the new additions is a new multiplayer mode - Deathmatch - which differs from the previous multiplayer gameplay in that there is no compass pointing toward your assigned target, rather, there is a box in the top right of the screen where your current target is displayed, which glows blue when you enter the line of sight of your target. There is also Simple Deathmatch, which also removes the abilities and perks from the players.
The multiplayer function is protected by the Uplay Passport system on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360,which requires a code for access. Codes are included in all new copies of the game, but are tied to a single Uplay account. This means that players who purchased their copy second hand will need to purchase a new code to access the multiplayer. Uplay players can buy a new Passport code online or activate a free trial.

Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor (MoH) is the name of a series of first-person shooter games set in World War II, with an October 2010 reboot based on the conflicts of present day Afghanistan. The first game was developed by DreamWorks Interactive (now known as Danger Close) and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for the PlayStation game console. Medal of Honor spawned a series of follow-up games including multiple expansions spanning various console platforms and the PC and Mac.

History

The Medal of Honor series began in 1999 with Medal of Honor. It was released on PlayStation on November 11, 1999 by film director and producer Steven Spielberg.
Medal of Honor: Underground, the second game in the series, was released for the PlayStation and GameBoy Advance in 2000.
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, the third game in the series, was released for the PC in January 2002. It also had Extension Packs titled Spearhead (released in 2002) and Breakthrough (released in 2003).
Medal of Honor: Frontline, the fourth game in the series, was released for the PlayStation 2 in May 2002, and for the Nintendo GameCube and Xbox in November 2002. It was later remastered in High-Def and released in 2010 with the PlayStation 3 version of Medal of Honor (2010).
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, the fifth game in the series, was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube in 2003. The game was supposed to have a sequel, but it was cancelled due to the game's mix reviews.
Medal of Honor: Infiltrator, the sixth game in the series, was released for the GameBoy Advance in 2003.
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, the seventh game in the series, was released for the PC in 2004.
Medal of Honor: European Assault, the eighth game in the series, was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube in 2005.
Medal of Honor: Heroes, the ninth game in the series, was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2006.
Medal of Honor: Vanguard, the tenth game in the series, was released for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii in 2007. Also that year, Medal of Honor: Airborne, the eleventh game in the series, was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2, the twelfth game in the series, was released for the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Portable in 2007 also.
Medal of Honor (2010), the thirteenth game in the series was announced in 2008 as Medal of Honor: Operation Anaconda. The game was developed by Danger Close Games. Medal of Honor (2010) was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on October 12, 2010. It was a reboot of the series and the first one not set in WWII. It's multiplayer was developed by the creators of the Battlefield franchise.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter, the upcoming fourteenth game in the series and the direct sequel to Medal of Honor (2010), is scheduled to be released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on October 23, 2012

Gameplay

The gameplay originally focuses on the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), an American espionage organization during World War II, placing emphasis on using false papers and silenced pistols, but as the series and the technology has progressed, it has shifted emphasis towards front-line combat, and has now almost completely abandoned the original focus. Since the release of Medal of Honor: Rising Sun the series has focused on providing a more open-ended element to the games, allowing the player to have more options in each level and getting away from one linear path. In the later games in the series, the artificial intelligence (AI) of the enemies and fellow soldiers has been notorious for being below or above current FPS expectations. The violence, up to Medal of Honor: Rising Sun is bloodless and simple, usually consisting of elaborate animations, while the violence in Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault and onward contains the occasional sprays of blood. The newest Medal of Honor contains realistic figures, surroundings, and effects giving it a modern FPS look.

Far Cry 3

Far Cry 3 is an upcoming open world first-person shooter video game being developed by Ubisoft Montreal in conjunction with Ubisoft Massive, Ubisoft Reflections and Ubisoft Shanghai and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 andMicrosoft Windows. It will be the sequel to 2008's Far Cry 2. The game is set for release on September 4, 2012 in North America and September 6 in Europe.

Far Cry 3 takes place on a tropical island found somewhere at the intersection of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.However, Patrick Redding, a Ubisoft story designer, mentioned that an Antarctic setting is a possibility for future games. The main goal of the game is to escape from the islands (as there will be more than one, mentioned by Dan Hay) and their crazed inhabitants.

Gameplay

On June 6, 2011, Ubisoft showcased the demo gameplay of Far Cry 3 in its E3 2011 conference. It was revealed that the player has the ability to shoot enemies behind objects in crouch mode without moving his head up but with free hands. The demo also revealed an overhauled stealth mechanic as well as a possible leveling system based on experience points. The player will also have the ability to perform "takedowns" by performing melee attacks from above or in crouch mode. The game's narrative director, Jason Vandenberghe said that the story mode map will be around ten times larger than its previous installments, indicating that it is still an open world sandbox game in which players bury heads. Still according to new gameplay uploaded throughout video sharing sites, it has been noted that the player will be given the ability to survey and plan out his attacks with stealth takedown combinations and also take pictures with his cameras. 

Plot

Far Cry 3 returns the series to a tropical island setting, similar to the first game and unlike the second game, which took place in an African savanna setting. Players will assume the role of protagonist Jason Brody, a tourist who has been stranded on an island chain in the grips of violent local conflict for years. Jason has been separated from his girlfriend and, in his search for her, developers have stated he will have to deal with a wide cast of mostly unstable characters who have been trapped on these islands for some time. In the short demo trailer that was the first footage released of the game in development, Jason interacts with one such character, named Vaas (voice, mocap and facial motion capture by Michael Mando), who gives an unsettling monologue about the nature of insanity before trying to drown Jason by anchoring him to a cinder block and throwing him into a natural pool of water that has clearly been used repeatedly for this purpose.

Early developer interviews provided little about Jason's backstory, aside from the fact that he possesses a strong skillset as a combatant and survivalist that give him a fighting chance in the desperate circumstances he constantly finds himself in during the events of the game.

More recent interviews have hinted at a change to the story in that Jason is now emphasized to be a man out of his element, with no particular training who just happens to be caught up in the island's chaos as he searches for his friends. At the same time, the story will try to invoke that after a time trapped on the island, it will start to have an effect on the protagonist, showing another side of Jason's personality, according to producer Dan Hay. Developers have also stated that the intended tone of the game will be one of realism and intensity and an attempt to invoke a visceral and constant feeling of danger in the player.

Sandbox

It has been confirmed that Far Cry 3 will feature a sandbox editor, just like previous Far Cry titles. And it will have "A fresh coat of paint. We are going to optimize it". It was stated in the 'Multiplayer Revealed and Map Editor confirmed!' video on Youtube, that it will be "Far Cry 2's map editor, but a lot bigger and a lot better". It has also been stated by a developer that there will not be vehicles.

Development

In August 2010, PC Gamer reported that development of Far Cry 3 was in "full swing" at Ubisoft Montreal.In the same month, GAME and Swedish retailer Webhallen listed the game for a 2010 release, which didn't happen. In January 2011, Ubisoft declined to comment on speculation that Far Cry 3 will be hitting shelves in October after Game Informer listed the game as an October arrival in its 2011 preview feature. In February, the Official PlayStation Magazinesuggested that the game was due for release at the end of 2011 as the following quote suggested, "Start taking the malaria medicine in preparation: Far Cry 3 could be arriving before the end of the year."^[ This statement was withdrawn in next month's edition where it was stated that the game would be shown on 2011's E3 and that the release date would be bumped back to 2012. In May, the CVs of a couple of stuntmen listed Far Cry 3 as one of their previous projects. The first official walkthrough was released at the 2011 E3 conference on June 6, 2011.

Battlefield 3

Battlefield 3 (commonly abbreviated BF3) is a first-person shooter video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts. It is a direct sequel to 2005's Battlefield 2, and the eleventh installment in the Battlefield franchise.
The game was released in North America on 25 October 2011 and in Europe on 28 October 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. EA Mobile also confirmed a port for the iOS platform. The game sold 5 million copies in its first week of release, and received critical acclaim from most game reviewers. It does not support versions of Windows prior to Windows Vista as the game only supports DirectX 10 and 11. The PC version is exclusive to EA's Origin platform,through which PC users also authenticate when connecting to the game.
In campaign mode, players take on the personas of several military roles; a USMC recon Marine, an F-18 systems officer, an M1A2 Abrams tank operator, and a SPETSNAZ operative. The campaign takes place at various locations, from Iran to New York, and follows the story of Sergeant Blackburn and later, Dimitri Mayakovsky.

Gameplay

Screenshot of the single-player campaign mode of Battlefield 3. The player character is armed with a G36C compact carbine.

Battlefield 3 features the combined arms battles that made the series popular across single-player, co-operative and multiplayer modes. It reintroduces several elements absent from the Bad Company games, including fighter jets, the prone position and 64-player battles on PC. To accommodate the lower player count on consoles, the ground area is limited for Xbox 360 and PS3, though fly space remains the same.
During an interview with Game Informer, EA stated that Commander Mode is unlikely to be included, which was met with some criticism on the EA forum.
The game features maps set in Paris, Tehran (as well as other locations in Iran), Sulaymaniyah, New York, Kuwait, Wake Island, Oman and the Persian Gulf. The maps cover urban streets, metropolitan downtown areas, and open landscapes suited to vehicle combat.
Battlefield 3 introduces the "Battlelog"; a free cross-platform social service with built-in text messaging, voice communications, game statistics, and the ability to join games that friends are already playing (though both players need to be on the same platform).

Campaign

The game's campaign takes place in the year 2014. The initial sections of the campaign are set near the Iraq-Iran border, where the US Marine Corps are fighting the People's Liberation and Resistance (PLR).The game later moves into northern Iran, continuing the fight against the PLR. There is a mission set in the streets of Paris, and another set in the sewers and subways of New York.

Cooperative

A demo featuring the new co-op mode was featured at Gamescom 2011. DICE GM Karl Magnus Troedsson confirmed that a split screen option will not be available in co-op mode.Battlefield 3's new Battlelog social network, DICE noted, would be tied to all co-op matches, allowing players to try to beat friends' scores and to track their performance. It has also been confirmed that participating in co-op mode allows the player to collect points that unlock additional content that can be used in multiplayer.

Multiplayer

Screenshot of the HUD as shown in the fighter jet in Multiplayer Mode.

Battlefield 3's multiplayer matches see players take on one of four roles: Assault, Support, Engineer and Recon. The Assault class focuses on assault rifles and healing teammates. The Support class focuses on LMGs and supplying ammunition. The Engineer class focuses on supporting and destroying vehicles. The Recon class focuses on sniping and spotting enemies. The mechanics of the weapons have been changed to utilize the new engine: compatible weapons may have bipods attached which can then be deployed when in the prone position or near suitable scenery, and provide a significant boost to accuracy and recoil reduction. Suppressive fire from weapons blurs the vision and reduces the accuracy of those under fire, as well as health regeneration. The Recon class can put a radio beacon anywhere on the map and all squad members will be able to spawn on the location of the beacon.
Several game modes are present, including Conquest, Rush, Squad Deathmatch, Squad Rush and for the first time since Battlefield 1942, Team Deathmatch.
The PC version of Battlefield 3 is by default launched via a web browser from the Battlelog web site. A server browser is present in console versions of the game, however.

Synopsis

Characters

Staff Sergeant Henry "Black" Blackburn

A member of the U.S. Marine Corps 1st Reconnaissance Battalion and the game's main protagonist.

Sergeant Jonathan "Jono" Miller

Miller is a tank operator, taking part in an operation against the PLR in order to support the USMC forces in Tehran.

Lieutenant Jennifer "Colby" Hawkins

Hawkins is an F/A-18 NFO (Naval Flight Officer) responsible for manning her aircraft's weapon systems while participating in an aerial operation over Tehran.

Dimitri "Dima" Mayakovsky

A GRU operative deployed in Paris and Northern Iran to stop a nuclear threat.

Solomon

The game's main antagonist, he works closely with the PLR, Kaffarov and the CIA.

David Montes

An American Marine who fights together with Sergeant Henry Blackburn, and is also the last surviving member of his squad.

Plot

Set in 2014, Sgt. Blackburn leads a five-man squad on a mission to find and safely return a US squad investigating a possible IED in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, whose last known position was a market controlled by a hostile militia called the PLR. Several weeks later, the US sends Marines into Iran. Naval aviator and F-18 pilot Lt. Hawkins engages fighters over Iran and takes part in an air strike against Mehrabad Airport. In the aftermath of the air strikes, Blackburn and his squad are sent to Tehran to perform battle damage assessment and apprehend the leader of the PLR, Al-Bashir. While investigating an underground vault in the target's suspected location, Blackburn and his team learn that the PLR acquired Russian portable nuclear devices, and that two of the three devices are missing. Being overrun, and requesting back-up, an M1 Abrams convoy led by Sergeant Miller is deployed to extract Blackburn's team. Miller facilitates Blackburn's helicopter extraction, but is captured when waiting for a Quick Reaction Force. Miller is promptly executed by Solomon and Al-Bashir, with the event being filmed.
Later, Blackburn and his squad manage to capture Al-Bashir, who realizes Solomon betrayed him and reveals his plot to detonate the nukes in Paris and New York, before dying from the wounds he sustained in his capture. Blackburn's team also gets a lead on an arms dealer, Kaffarov, who was working with Solomon; however, while pursuing Kaffarov, the Americans encounter a large Russian force, who are also attempting to apprehend Kaffarov and are hostile towards the Americans. Almost all of Blackburn's squad is killed, while a Spetsnaz team led by Dima assaults Kaffarov's villa. Dima successfully interrogates Kaffarov, and reveals Solomon's plot to Blackburn.
Blackburn's commanding officer arrives and to save Dima's life and let him escape, Blackburn shoots the commanding officer. Due to this, Blackburn is captured and interrogated by agents within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and explains all of his previous operations to them in flashbacks. During Blackburn's capture, Dima attempts to stop the attack in Paris, but he is unsuccessful and his team is wounded in the resulting detonation. The CIA agents do not believe Blackburn's story, since Solomon is a CIA informant and there is no concrete proof of his involvement in the terrorist attacks. They instead believe that Russia is responsible for the attacks and that Dima had played Blackburn.
Left with no other option, Blackburn and surviving squad member Montes break out of captivity to stop the attack in New York. As a result of the chase after Solomon, Montes is killed but Blackburn manages to kill Solomon by hitting his head repeatedly with a brick as well as recovering the last nuclear device. In the epilogue, having been diagnosed with radiation poisoning, Dima writes about the efforts of both him and Blackburn to stop Solomon's plot. He then readies his gun when a knock is heard at his door.

007: Quantum of Solace

007: Quantum of Solace is a first-person shooter (third-person shooter for PlayStation 2) video game based on the films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. The game was released on October 31, 2008 in Europe and November 4, 2008 in North America The game's release coincided with the release of Quantum of Solace. The game is the first James Bond title published by Activision; the company acquired the video game licence to the James Bond franchise in 2006. The game was released on multiple platforms and was developed by four different companies: Treyarch, Eurocom, Beenox, and Vicarious Visions. It is powered by the Call of Duty 4 game engine. It is also the first James Bond video game to be released on a seventh generation console as well as the first to feature Daniel Craig's voice and likeness, as well as those of Eva Green, Judi Dench, Mads Mikkelsen, Olga Kurylenko and Mathieu Amalric.

Plot

The game begins with James Bond kidnapping Mr. White, a member of the previously unknown organization Quantum. While he and M interrogate White, White escapes with the help of a traitorous MI6 agent, who is killed by Bond while White escapes. Later, Bond spies on a meeting of Quantum members and photographs them; among them is Dominic Greene, a well known environmentalist.
The game jumps forward to Bond crash landing in Bolivia, where Greene is trying to buy land. By this time, Bond has met Camille Montes, who is seeking vengeance against General Medrano, who is trying to overthrow the Bolivian government. Bond learns that Medrano killed Camille's family, and this is why she wants revenge. Bond opens up to Camille about the death of his former love, recounting the events of Casino Royale.
Bond and Camille soon arrive at a hotel in the middle of the Bolivian desert. There, Greene and Medrano are discussing the land that Greene want to buy; Greene plans to fund Medrano's attempt to overthrow the government in exchange for the land that Greene wants. Bond and Camille break up the meeting; Camille then kills Medrano while Bond kills Greene. During the fight, the hotel's fuel cells are ignited; Bond and Camille manage to escape from the hotel before it explodes. They leave the area in an MI6 helicopter.

Weapons

Most weapons in the game are named after James Bond films and are based on real weapons such as the FRWL, which is an assault rifle which is based on the AKS-74U and named after the film, From Russia with Love and the A3 Raker, which is an assault rifle as well which is based on the Steyr AUG and is named after the film, Moonraker. Weapons in the games which are made by Walther Arms are given their real name and feature the Walther logo on them, such as the P99 and the WA2000.

Gameplay

Multiplayer

The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows editions of the game support 12 players online, while the Beenox-developed Wii version supports 4 players online and offline.

Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

• Bond Versus: A lone Bond plays against six other members of the 'Organization'. Bond will win if he defuses two of the three bombs, or else eliminates every member of the Organization. To make the game fairer Bond has two lives, can see all enemies, and can use any weapon set (whereas the members of the Organization have only 3 basic options). The Organization wins if Bond dies twice or if he cannot defuse two bombs in the time limit.
• Team Conflict: Basic Team Deathmatch of MI6 versus the 'Organization'.
• Golden Gun: This is a standard free-for-all conflict, which the main aim is to score 100 points. One point is scored for a kill with normal weapons, or for picking up the Golden Gun, while kills while holding the Golden Gun (or killing the person with it) scores 6. The winner is the first to score 100 points, or the highest amount of points in the allotted time limit.
• Bond Evasion: There are two teams, MI6 and The Organization. One player from the MI6 team is randomly designated as Bond, and therefore as the VIP. MI6 wins the round if Bond can get to the escape point, or if all of the Organization are eliminated. The Organization wins if Bond is prevented from escaping within the time limit, or if he dies.
• Territory Control: Basic match of one team having to control a point to gain points for their team.
• Classic: You start with a GF 18 A (glock 18). Weapons and explosives are spawned around the level for you to pick up.

When playing in Multiplayer, credits are earned based on the number of points accrued. These are used, in a currency format, to purchase further enhancements and upgrades. These can be spent on unlocking new weapons, explosives, gadgets (such as increased health or better accuracy) and attachments for weapons. The upgrades can be accumulated in any order, instead of in a set order, and are able to stack.

Wii

• Conflict: This is a death-match. Up to four players compete versus each other to score as many kills as possible in a selectable number of minutes.
• Rush: This is a mission death-match. All players (up to four) are against each other, and are assigned certain missions to complete in a selectable number of minutes.
• Team Conflict: The goal is to get the most kills for your team (Organization versus MI-6). The teams can be constructed in any way (3 vs 1, 2 vs 2, 4 vs 0, in a four player match). There is a time limit of 15 minutes.
• Team Rush: This is a team play game. The goal is to do specific missions before the other team does, all while staying alive. 15 minutes is the time limit.

The Wii's ranking system is the same as Mario Kart Wii's online. Players start at 5000 points, and can gain or lose points depending how well they played. The 5000 points are separate for each game mode, for example: A player can have 5350 points in Conflict, and have 5000 points in Rush or Team Rush.

Music

The music for the game was written by composer Christopher Lennertz, who recorded the strings for his score overseas, but then recorded brass, percussion and guitar with members of the Hollywood Studio Symphony in Los Angeles at the Capitol Records Studios. The game features a different theme song from that of the film, "When Nobody Loves You" (written by Richard Fortus and Kerli; performed by Fortus, Kerli, and David Maurice; produced and arranged by David Maurice). The song plays over an opening title sequence in the Bond tradition that is proprietary to the game, but is based on the (pre-credits) car chase sequence from the film.

Assassin's Creed III

Assassin's Creed III is an upcoming historical action-adventure video game being developed and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and Microsoft Windows. It will be the fifth major installment in the Assassin's Creed series, and the third numbered title in the series. The game is set for release on October 30, 2012. Ubisoft has said that the game will be bigger than any of its previous installments.

Origins

Work on Assassin's Creed III began almost immediately after the release of Assassin's Creed II (2009) by a senior team of Ubisoft developers. When Ubisoft first revealed Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood in 2010, as new details came to light, there was some confusion within the gaming community as to whether this would be Assassin's Creed III. According to the developers Brotherhood was not Assassin's Creed III, and that the third installment will not star a "pre-existing character". Ubisoft Montreal's developers stated in their interviews that Assassin's Creed III will be released eventually. Jean-François Boivin of Ubisoft also stated that each numbered title in the series will introduce a new lead character and a new setting. Patrice Désilets, former series' creative director, said that the series has always been planned as a trilogy. He also commented on the story of Assassin's Creed III, saying that it will focus on Assassins' quest to prevent the end of the world in 2012, and their race against time to find temples and Apples of Eden built by "Those Who Came Before". Desmond will be searching for clues as to the locations of these temples, by exploring memories of one (or more) of his other ancestors.
In October 2011 Alexandre Amacio, creative director of Assassin's Creed: Revelations, announced that the next installment of the franchise was to be released before December 2012, however, Amacio himself would not be directing the game. This comes from the idea that Desmond Miles, the modern day protagonist of the series, was to finish his tale by December 2012. Amacio said that gamers should not have to play a futuristic game after the time period in which it is set.

Pre-announcement

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed during an earnings call on November 8, 2011, that a new "major" Assassin's Creed game will be released in 2012. Guillemot refused to go into any further detail on the title beyond its confirmation. Speaking to MCV, Guillemot dismissed the notion that annual Assassin's Creed installments are diluting the brands, stating instead that they're necessary to "satisfy the demand". Guillemot also claimed in the same interview that this year's Assassin's Creed will be the series' "biggest to date."
In February 2012, Ubisoft officially confirmed the existence of Assassin's Creed III, and its North American release date of October 30, 2012. Guillemot described Assassin's Creed III as "the true next generation of both the Assassin's Creed brand and interactive entertainment/storytelling in general. We will push the title a lot because it's a fantastic product that the team has been working on for three years. What we have seen is just fabulous." Guillemot went on to say the publisher's investing more heavily in the game than in any other title in the series.

Internal leaks

Reports of Assassin's Creed III would take place during the American Revolution surfaced following a supposed "inside source" at Ubisoft claimed that in January 2012. On February 29, 2012, an upcoming promotional image of the game was sent to Kotaku by a Best Buy employee, along with information from the retailer that a full reveal was imminent. The leaked promotional image led to a general consensus that the game is set in North America during the American Revolution, and at least in part, a snowy setting.Around the same time, Ubisoft mentioned "a major announcement from Assassin's Creed" was "only days away" via the series' official Facebook. The page's cover photo also depicted a snowy and bleak setting. Further GameInformer appeared ready to confirm the fresh details via an advertising banner posted on its site. Images show the new assassin standing next to American revolutionary leader George Washington.
Following the reports, Ubisoft released Assassin's Creed III's official box art on March 1, 2012, which confirms the game's American Revolution setting. The company said it will announce "all the details" at 5pm on March 5. Additionally, Game Informer revealed its latest cover feature which includes more artwork of the game's new main character. On March 2, several screenshots were leaked ahead of Ubisoft's official reveal, and the first gameplay details emerged via Game Informer.

Post-announcement

Assassin's Creed III was unveiled with a first cinematic trailer on March 5, 2012. Ubisoft described the game as the "most ambitious" project in the company's history, with twice the production capacity of any previous title from the publisher. The game features a new engine, AnvilNext, for improved visuals, character models and AI, allowing for battlefields full of fighters. Ubisoft later said it's aiming to make Assassin's Creed III "look next-gen" on current-gen consoles using the new AnvilNext engine.
Ubisoft said that when Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption released mid-way through Assassin's Creed III's development, it was surprised to see Rockstar had included wild animal hunting and a giant frontier to explore - features both planned for its own sequel. Lead writer Corey May said Ubisoft's now looking at Red Dead's success and trying to take the formula in "new directions". Similarities between these two games are down to "a convergence of minds", said Assassin's Creed III lead writer Turner.Creative Director Alex Hutchinson said Ubisoft steered clear of making the Assassin's Creed III protagonist a female character because the game's setting is not a strong match. Hutchinson said while many people wanted to see female assassins in the series, the American Revolution setting makes it difficult this time round.
Ubisoft recommends the PC version of the game to be played with a controller even though it will still support keyboard and mouse setup. Ubisoft Montreal's Creative Director Alex Hutchinson admitted: "We're definitely supporting PC, we love PC, but I think it'll be PC with a controller. I don't see us investing hugely in a mouse and keyboard setup. I think if you want to play on PC and you want to play Assassin's Creed, you have a controller."

The Sims 3

The Sims 3 is a 2009 strategic life simulation computer game developed by The Sims Studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims 2. It was first released on June 2, 2009 simultaneously for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows - both versions on the same disc. The Sims 3 was released to home consoles on October 26, 2010, for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS, Android and Nintendo DS and later the Wii platform on November 15, 2010. The Windows Phone version was made available on the Windows Phone Marketplace on the 15th October 2010 for $6.99. There is also a Nintendo 3DS version, released on March 27, 2011, as one of its launch titles. It has also been released for mobile phone platforms, and a simpler version for mobiles with Java.
The Sims 3 was an instant success, selling 1.4 million copies in its first week. Critics issued mostly positive reviews. The Sims 3 gained an 86/100 score from aggregator Metacritic.The game has sold over ten million copies worldwide since its 2009 release, making it one of the best-selling computer games of all time.

Gameplay

The Sims 3 is built upon the same concept as its predecessors. Players control their own Sims in activities and relationships in a similar manner to real life. The gameplay is open-ended and indefinite. Sim houses and neighborhoods are entirely in one continuous map. The developers stated, "What you do outside your home now matters as much as what you do within." One of the biggest changes to the franchise is the use of rabbit-holes. Sims aren't allowed to go inside the majority of city buildings; instead, they simply disappear inside for a certain amount of time—a feature known in video games as a rabbit-hole—while the player is given several choices on what happens inside using a text-based notification.

The Sims 2 used a reward system called Wants and Fears. This is replaced with a new system called Wishes in The Sims 3. Fulfilling a Sim's wish contributes to the Sim's Lifetime Happiness score and mood. Some wishes, such as "Go to the Park", may add little points to their lifetime happiness while "Have A Baby Boy" may add thousands of points. In The Sims 2, Wants and Fears also contributed to a Sim's "Aspiration" meter, roughly analogous to current self-esteem. In The Sims 3, Aspiration is removed entirely, replaced with "Moodlets", which contribute positive or negative values to the original Motivation meter. Moodlets can be inspired by physical events, such as having a good meal or comfort from sitting in a good chair, as well as emotional events like a first kiss or a break-up. Most moodlets last for a set duration, but some negative Moodlets can be cured (such as the one incurred by an urgent need to urinate) and some positive ones rely on the Sim's surroundings and traits.
The game includes an optional feature called "Story Progression," which allows all Sims in the neighborhood to autonomously continue as if the player were controlling them, such as grow up, get married, get jobs and promotions, have children, build or buy their dream house while the player isn't playing. Sims live for a set duration of time (adjustable by the player) and advance through several stages (baby, toddler, child, teen, young adult, adult, and elder). Sims can die of old age or they can die prematurely from causes such as fire, starvation, drowning, electrocution, (as of the World Adventures expansion pack) Mummy's curse, (as of the Ambitions expansion pack) a meteor, and (as of the Late Night expansion pack) by thirst (vampires only). One of the major new additions to gameplay is Opportunities, tasks that Sims can complete to earn rewards. These challenges occur randomly based on aspects of each Sim's lifestyle, such as relationships, skills and job. Career opportunities such as working overtime or completing special tasks can yield a pay raise, cash bonus, or relationship boost. Skill opportunities are requests by neighbors or community members for Sims to solve problems using their acquired skills for cash or relationship rewards. If the opportunity is connected to a Sim's school, the reward may be increased school performance.

Create a Sim

A player editing a Sim in Create a Sim.

Create a Sim (CAS) now has more customizable options for Sims than the CAS in The Sims 2. The player now has a larger selection of body types for Sims, and are able to create different hair styles for every Sim. The player is now able to pick their Sim's shoes.
There are a total of 22 hairstyles for female Sims and 17 hairstyles for male Sims. There are a variety of hats and hair accessories that the player can use, but they all come with set hairstyles. Each of the hats and accessories can also have their colors and textures altered. Hairstyles can be chosen separately for each outfit. Each hairstyle's color can be customized with one of eight basic colors. but players can customize the hair further by clicking the paintbrush icon. Individual colors for the base, roots, tips and highlights of the Sim's hair can be customised with a color palette and slider. 4 new men hairstyles were added with the Pets expansion pack, along with some men clothes. The Sim's basic hair color can even be changed to unnatural colors, as can the color of the roots, tips, and highlights. User-made hair colours can be saved onto the bin and used later, and will be used by generated Sims. Hair colors can be shared to the exchange for other players to download and use.
Compared to previous games in the series, a lot more things can be modified. It is possible to just change the nose of a sim, for example, and it is possible to use the Advanced Mode to go into more depth (such as to change nostril definition, nose tip scale and bridge height). There are more hairstyles than that in The Sims 2 and The Sims core games combined. The player cannot add layers when customizing clothing, but if the clothes already have layers then the colors and textures for each layer can be altered. The player can also click on any part of the Sim and the Create a Sim tool takes them directly to the right menu for editing whatever is selected. There is an eyelash length slider bar. Socks and shoes are also fully customizable. Muscle and body weight sliders have been introduced and can be fully adjusted to create much more varied and realistic looking Sims. Late Night expansion pack added sliders for breast size and muscle definition.
The player can also choose the Sim's full name, age, gender, and skin tone. There are six possible skin tones, but only three of the six are realistic. The other three are green, red, and blue. There is a slider so the player can edit how light or dark the skin tone is. For example, they can make a light green Sim with a dark green mother and a light skinned father. Height still cannot be changed, due to conflicts with animation. In The Sims 2, players could only choose between two basic body types: normal and fat. A third body type - Fit - could only be achieved in the game and not on the Create A Sim menu. In The Sims 3, however, body weight is determined by moving a slider left or right. Sims can be extremely skinny or extremely fat. However, toddlers do not have the option to have their weight customized. Weight can be decreased through gameplay if the Sim exercises or increased if the Sim continues eating after they have filled up their hunger meter.
In the clothing tab, players can choose what their Sims will wear. The five categories of outfits are everyday wear, formal wear, sleepwear, athletic wear, and swimwear. Each type of clothes found in each categories include tops, bottoms, full-body outfits, footwear (which players can choose, unlike in The Sims and The Sims 2), eye wear, earrings, gloves, bracelets, rings and socks. Players can create up to three outfits in all categories. Outfits can be customized during gameplay by clicking on a dresser. The color and pattern of the clothes can be chosen by the player with the Create a Style tool. However toddlers do not have the option to have athletic wear, swimwear and accessories chosen and/or customized. Accessories can also be added and customized also with the Create a Style tool.
Players can choose any of the traits available in the menu. Players can also can choose their Sim's favorite food, music and color. The Sim's voice is customizable as well. Toddlers have one voice slider, children have two voice sliders, and teenagers and older have three voice sliders. They can also pick the Sim's lifetime wish, which is a goal a Sim will be working for all of their lifetime until it is fulfilled. Zodiac signs are added in Late Night and Patch 1.7, which make Sims more friendly with other Sims of compatible signs. Players can also write the biography of their Sims. Toddlers, children and teenagers don't have the option to have their lifetime wish chosen in CAS, but will be provided with lifetime wishes occasionally as they grow up and the player will be able to select one.

Skills

There are several skill-dependent abilities, such as advanced social interactions available from high charisma, special songs for guitar players and appliance upgrades (self-cleaning, more TV channels, etc.) for high handiness. Painting, writing and guitar are now different skills, instead of the all-encompassing "creativity" skill of The Sims and The Sims 2. Paintings are now more particular to each Sim, based on their traits. Sims can increase their skills by practising a skill (e.g. playing the guitar, working in the garden, writing a novel, etc.), reading a book about the skill, or taking a class in the skill at a civic building. Sims can begin building their skills as early as their toddler days. While skills do not show up in the meter right away, using skill building objects is rewarded once the toddler grows into a child. Logic can be used to teach children skills that will help them in later life. The skills include Logic, Cooking, Painting, Gardening, Writing, Guitar, Athletic, Handiness, Charisma and Fishing. New skills were later added in expansion packs. When Sims reach level 10 of a skill, they will get a certificate in the mail to display on a wall or sell for 1000 Simoleons.
Players do not see the skill in the Sim panel until the first point is unlocked, then they can view them in a skill journal. Each skill has a tab in the skill journal detailing the level of the skill, statistics, what the challenges are, and sometimes other special information. For example, the athletic skill journal shows the statistics: hours of cardio workout, hours of strength workout, distance jogged. The skill journal is viewed by pressing the 'J' key in-game or selecting the skills tab and clicking the small document that appears at the end of the skill bar after unlocking the first point. Various challenges are also available in the skill journal. For example, in the Painting skill journal, a challenge to paint thirty paintings is available. When completed, the Sim earns a reward of being able to paint significantly faster than normal Sims. There are multiple skill challenges for each and every skill, as well as collections. All of them earn some kind of benefit, such as quicker completion, better results, etc. With The Sims 3: Ambitions, the skill journal also shows hidden skills that a Sim has learned.


Careers



Many of the careers from The Sims 2, such as the Law Enforcement and Athletic tracks, are in The Sims 3. Of course, there are also some new ones. Sims can look for these jobs in the newspaper or apply right at the building where they’d like to work. (Every career has a building in the neighbourhood.) Sims are also able to make a living at home selling paintings, writing novels,playing guitar for tips or growing fruit and vegetables. Jobs such as nectar making can become a profession with the Sims 3 World Adventures. To get some extra cash on the side if the Sim also has some cash to spare, they can buy out businesses and receive a percentage of the profits they earn. If Sims are less inclined towards pursuing a full-time career or if they need more time during the day, they can get part-time jobs at certain career locations within the town. Part-time jobs have a lower pay than full-time jobs and do not give career opportunities. Part-time jobs are also available for teen Sims.
Advancing in a career still depends on mood and skills, but also relationships with colleagues/boss and even certain goals that have to be fulfilled. The player can decide how hard they work while on the job. The option to work hard will increase the Sim's performance faster at the expense of their mood. Taking work home, schmoozing the boss, reading medical journals, or completing opportunities also have an impact on a Sim's job performance. Chance cards and at-work events can still cause the Sim to lose their job, but may actually help them get a better job in another career track. Reaching the top of a career doesn't mean they're done, either. If a Sim keeps excelling at their duties, they can rake in extra Simoleons through additional raises.
A new feature The Sims 3 offers is branching careers, which allows Sims to choose a certain path in their career (such as Sim in the Music career can eventually choose to specialize in Symphonic music or Rock).
The Ambitions expansion pack introduces professions, careers that allow the player direct control over their Sims’ work and how they spend their days, and the ability for Sims to register at City Hall as self-employed in a skill career.
The careers in the core game are Business, Culinary, Criminal, Journalism, Law Enforcement, Medical, Military, Music, Political, Science, and Professional Sports. Professions in the Ambitions expansion pack include Firefighter, Ghost Hunter, Investigator, Architectural Designer, and Stylist. The part-time jobs available include such positions as a Bookstore Clerk, Grocery Store Clerk, Spa Receptionist, Spa Specialist and a Mausoleum Gravedigger. If the Sim is a Rockstar, other Sims recognize this and react. The same if he/she is at the top of other careers, like the Military career: Sims use their military greeting and their children can then also use the military greeting. There are some banners that can be found depicting them. Careers and part-time jobs pay hourly, not daily. Sims in a professions from Ambitions, will get money for performing each job, while receiving a weekly stipend. NPCs such as the maid and repairman, when asked about their career by a Sim, will state Maid and Repairman, but if they move into a household they will be listed as unemployed. So far most service NPC jobs are off limits to the player.

Worlds

Neighborhoods are now being officially referred to as 'worlds', possibly due to Electronic Arts' use of the Create a World tool and the neighborhoods scale. Worlds are now 'seamless', open to exploration between lots and are affected by a new game mechanic called story progression. The primary world in the game is Sunset Valley, while an additional world called Riverview can be obtained for free. More worlds can be bought at the Sims 3 store.
The Create a World tool allows players to make their own neighborhoods with custom terrains similar to SimCity 4. A game patch, released in conjunction with the release of Ambitions, also allows players to manipulate pre-made neighborhoods to a limited degree, such as adding or removing lots and scenery. As of Late Night, worlds are divided into "Sims 3 Towns and "Late Night Towns". There seem to be important differences between the two, like the sims they can spawn, etc. Up to now, Bridgeport is the only pre-made world to be catalogued as a city. The rest, including the exotic destinations from World Adventures, are considered suburbs.
On March 19, 2008, EA revealed open world, a new feature, for The Sims 3. Players can explore the world outside their Sims' homes without having to face strenuous loading times. Every house lot is now synchronized with the main neighborhood time. In previous Sims games, the time of day was separate and different for each house lot. Players can interact with every building and amenity in a city. Although players are unable to see inside of certain commercial buildings often called rabbitholes (grocery, bookstore, theater, police station, school, etc.), they are able to enter and retain limited control over their Sims' actions while in these locations. The player has complete control in some other commercial buildings - such as the gym, library and the beach house. All occupied residential buildings can be entered in the same manner as a Sims' home, provided that the buildings are not empty or it is not too late at night.

Build/Buy modes

A player placing doors in their Sim's house in Build mode. Build mode is very prominent in the game, as without it a Sim would not have a house.

The build and buy modes have received their own makeover. The square tile outlines that appeared on the ground in previous Sims games' build and buy modes are now a quarter of their original size to give the player more liberty to place objects where they want.Alternatively, it is possible to place objects freely without square tiles, an option that was missing in previous Sims games. Players can re-color and re-pattern the furniture and other items to specific shades and patterns with the new Create-a-Style and make six storey houses with basements.
Build mode is one of three modes in The Sims 3. It is used mainly for construction and architectonic work. Some items that would be considered to be in build mode, such as counters and lights, are actually in the buy mode section. Build mode can be used to do many things including adding walls, paint/cover walls, add doors and windows, lay down flooring, create foundations and raised decks, create basements by using either foundations or the Basement tool, add columns and supports, create pools, raise and lower land, create ponds, build gardens and landscape a lot, add fireplaces, add additional floors/stories to a building, add stairs, and add a roof. Some expansion packs released after The Sims 3 add extra build mode features such as ceiling construction and designing the terrain, Players cannot build or place objects outside the limits of the lot. Walls and foundations cannot be placed within 2 tiles of the outer limit of the lot, or within 2 tiles of the front sidewalk. The sidewalks mark the limit on which a player can place objects on their lot. Fences can be placed all the way up to the edge of the lot and all structures built by the players are limited to eight stories. The height of a section of wall is equal to the length of 3 floor squares. This is most noticeable while placing a 45° roof. It is possible that the length of a game tile is 1 meter, and that the height of a section of wall would then be 3 meters. In some situations, Build mode, as well as Buy mode, may become disabled, such as during a fire, burglary, or other major event. This is done to prevent modifications to the lot that may impact or prevent a game event from occurring. After the event has ended, Build and Buy modes will be re-activated. This feature has been an annoyance to many player and is disabled in many mods. Depreciation of objects is visible in The Sims 3. All objects depreciate 10% as soon as the player exits build mode. This adds realism to the game and gives the player limited tries at building before the costs of building use up too much of the funds intended for furnishing and living expenses. When in build mode, players can return items for full value by using the undo tool.
Buy mode in which the player may purchase items from the catalog, sell objects that are on the current lot, and arrange objects on the current lot. Construction-related elements such as doors, windows, fences, and stairs are not associated with buy mode, but are in build mode. Buy mode largely focuses on furniture and appliances. The descriptions of many of the objects available for purchase in the game (namely the least expensive ones) involve humor, sarcasm, insults towards the player, and wit, and serves as comic relief in the game. For example, one of the cheapest cars available in The Sims 3, the "Big Lemon", notes that although the car's doors are jammed and its ignition is faulty, it is still worth buying. Another example is the outdoor entertainment item "Foot-and-Hand Ball" used to train the athletic skill, which references and pokes fun at American football, which, despite its name, rarely involves contact with the ball via the feet. A feature that was introduced in The Sims 2 and stays present currently is the eyedropper tool. When the eyedropper tool is pointed at a wall covering, floor covering, or most objects, will show the name of what it's pointed at. Clicking on a wall or floor covering will switch to the appropriate area of build mode and select that covering so it can be applied. Clicking on an object will make an exact duplicate of it, and will focus the catalog on that object. The family inventory is a space where objects that are too large to be held in a Sim's personal inventory are kept. Certain opportunities may make an object available in the Family Inventory. When a Sim family moves, if "pack furniture" is selected, all objects in the household will be placed in the Family inventory, to be moved and rearranged in the new house.

Max Payne 3

Max Payne 3 is an upcoming video game and the third title in the Max Payne franchise set to be published by Rockstar Games for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Development is led by Rockstar Vancouver in collaboration with the New England, London and Toronto studios. This is the first game in the series not to be developed by Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment and not being written by series creator Sam Lake. The lead writer of Max Payne 3 is Dan Houser, who was also the writer of most games in the Grand Theft Auto series, and of Red Dead Redemption. ameplay Max Payne 3 is a third-person shooter in which the player assumes the role of its titular character, Max Payne. Max Payne 3 will feature the over-the-shoulder zoom aiming and cover mechanics. However, these will just serve as garnish to the game's classic run-and-gun shooting. Max Payne 3 will also make return of bullet-time in action sequences, which the franchise is notable for. In bullet time it will be possible to see every bullet make a hole in your foes. There will be a "Last Man Standing" mechanic, which gives Max a reprieve from death for a small period if he has one painkiller on him. If the player is able to kill the enemy that delivered the wounding shot with bullets he'll recover enough energy to soldier on. Max Payne 3 retains the shoot-dodge mechanic from the previous games. Max will also be able to stay grounded after a dive, which enables him to shoot 360 degrees around. Rockstar has blended physics and animation, so that when Max dives around, he does so appropriately according to his surroundings. Through advanced utilization of the Euphoria physics engine, shooting and killing enemies in Max Payne 3 will look noticeably more realistic than in any preceding Rockstar games as well. New to the series are cinematic action movements, interactive cut-scenes which will transition seamlessly into continuing gameplay. Moreover there will be no loading screens across gameplay and cutscenes. Multiplayer The game's online multiplayer features maps and modes that dynamically change within a match, as well as reward, ranking and clan systems. Max Payne 3 will let players form private crews with friends, or join public crews. Players can be a member of up to five at the same time, and completing tasks as a crew will gain XP points for the player. Among the crew features promised are persistent Feuds, that see the player scrapping with opposing gangs who've killed someone on the team. Social Club integration connect play across multiple titles, starting with Max Payne 3 and Grand Theft Auto V. By playing both games multiplayer "crews" that the player set up in one will be carried over to the other. Synopsis Plot According to Rockstar's Sam Houser, it is their intention on starting a new chapter of Max Payne's life with the game. "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever." Since the last game, the press release states Max has left New York City behind and has "drifted from bad to worse." The press release then goes on to say Max has been double-crossed in this new city and he is searching for the truth and a way out. The game will be set in São Paulo, Brazil, where Payne is working in the private security sector for a wealthy local family, set eight years after the events of the second game. Max Payne now works in executive protection for the wealthy Rodrigo Branco in the hopes of escaping the memories of his troubled past. When a street gang kidnaps Rodrigo's wife, Max is pulled into a conspiracy of shadowy, warring factions threading every aspect of São Paulo society in a deadly web that threatens to engulf everyone and everything around him. Characters Rockstar initially claimed that series staple James McCaffrey would not return to the role of Max Payne, instead opting for an older actor. However, in Edge it was confirmed that James McCaffrey will not only return to voice Max Payne, but will also return in a full acting role through motion capture. Development "We've been blessed with being able to actually see the game and give some feedback. We've been meeting with Rockstar and looking at Max 3 – it looks absolutely phenomenal – the nice thing is we've been giving our feeling on the game but at the end of the day we don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting, which is nice. Rockstar don't make bad games, so you already know it's going to be good. Just like we hope the Remedy brand is a seal of quality, you know that Rockstar's brand is a seal of quality. It's been nice to be part of the process, but we don't want to take any of the limelight. From what we've seen it's going to be absolutely fantastic." —Oskari Hakkinen, Remedy Entertainment franchise development head. The game was originally scheduled for release in late 2009. However, it was pushed back to 2010 alongside several other Take-Two Interactive franchises in order to "benefit from having more development time." In June 2010, the game was again pushed back to 2011. On December 21, it was not present on the 2011-2012 calendar year, and was pushed back again. The game was still in development and not canceled or indefinitely halted when Rockstar released two new screenshots for the game. On September 8, 2011 Rockstar announced a March 2012 release date for the game, with a debut trailer released on September 14 In January 2012, Take-Two delayed the game by two months from its original March release date to May 2012. The publisher said the decision's been made to "ensure that Max Payne 3 delivers the highest quality." The debut trailer was released on September 14, 2011. Responding to criticism regarding the decision to abandon the film noir theme of the previous games in the series, the writer for the series, Sam Lake, responded by commenting that the game would "maintain its dark and gritty origins" and that fans of the series would be "in for a surprise." Remedy boss Oskari Hakkinen praised Rockstar's take on the series, and said Max Payne 3 looks "brilliant" Rockstar conducted research to ensure that the vibe, culture, police, weapons and every element of São Paulo, Brazil is as authentic as possible. The research team visited São Paulo several times and went to lengths researching the local gangs, police and special forces, including each group's choice of equipment and firearms. In a November 2011 interview, Dan Houser of Rockstar Games said that despite what the general public might think, Rockstar likes to "spend a bit of time" at the end of projects before deciding what to do next. "Basically we have been meaning to start [Max Payne 3] for a while, but we have limited bandwidth and limited studios, and more games to make than we've started. So suddenly it was a good slot," Houser said, explaining why it took eight years to follow up Max Payne 2. "Also, contrary to a lot of people, we like to take a little bit of time at the end of a game before starting a sequel, so we can wait for the excitement or disappointment and everything else of the experience to shake down and really see what we should do in the next game." In March 2012, it was confirmed that the PC version of the game will feature DirectX 11 and stereoscopic 3D rendering. The Xbox 360 version of Max Payne 3 will be shipped on two discs due to the disc size limit; however, the PS3 version ships on one Blu-ray Disc. Marketing and release Mural ad for the game at the Figueroa Hotel in Los Angeles, March 2012. Max Payne 3 will be Rockstar's "biggest and boldest marketing effort thus far". Highlights of the campaign will include prominent TV spots during the Champions' League finals and other mainstream programming, as well as outdoor campaigns. Rockstar Games ran a competition where its Twitter followers who tweet using the #MaxPayne3 hashtag through January 13 2012, could see their likeness featured in the title's multiplayer. Rockstar also ran another competition to win a trip from New York to São Paulo to attend at Sonar São Paulo, get a customized Max Payne 3 Xbox 360 console, and play the game a week before its official release. Rockstar collaborated with several retail outlets on pre-order bonuses available through several store chains throughout the world. The Cemetery Multiplayer Map is a map pack, where pre-order customers get early access to the map. The Silent Killer Multiplayer Loadout Pack includes the "devastatingly destructive" Light Anti-Tank Weapon, the slippery character burst to quickly escape a deadly firefight, and the listening device item that amplifies hearing, allowing the player to hear approaching enemies from a greater distance. Those who pre-orders the game from specified retailers receive a code that allows to get the game's first paid Multiplayer DLC Pack for free. A "Special Edition" of Max Payne 3 is available for pre-order. The "Special Edition" includes a 10" tall collectible Max Payne statue, series of game-inspired original still life art prints, bullet keychain (copper and brass-plated iron bullet-shaped) and Max Payne 3 official soundtrack. Exclusive multiplayer content consists of Classic Multiplayer Character Pack and Disorderly Conduct Multiplayer Weapons Pack. A three-part Max Payne comic book series will be released just in time for the launch in the third game. Published in partnership with Marvel Custom Solutions it'll explore the events of the original Max Payne game and its sequel, as well as delving a little further back in the protagonist's troubled past. Rockstar boss Dan Houser and Sam Lake of original developer Remedy are authoring the books. The series will be released as a digital graphic novel and in limited print editions. Both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions features rewards respectively for PlayStation Home and Avatars. Rockstar re-released the first Max Payne, subtitled Mobile, for iOS devices on April 12, 2012, with the Android version launching later. Max Payne Mobile has been optimized for both iOS and Android devices and features HD graphics, high-resolution textures, Social Club connectivity and user-customizable controls. The Rockstar Games Social Club is a website that displays the gameplay statistics of registered users and feature competitions and awards based on player activity within the game, which will support both Max Payne Mobile and Max Payne 3.

Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy's final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released. The three films were also released at three-year intervals, with the final film released on May 19, 2005.

Currently, the overall box office revenue generated by the Star Wars films has totaled at $4.49 billion,^[1] making it the third-highest-grossing film series,^[2] behind only the Harry Potter and James Bond films.

The Star Wars film series has spawned a media franchise including books, television series, video games, and comic books. These supplements to the film trilogies comprise the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and have resulted in significant development of the series' fictional universe. These media kept the franchise going in the interim between the film trilogies. In 2008, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released to theaters as the first-ever worldwide theatrical Star Wars film outside of the main trilogies. It was the franchise's first animated film, and was intended as an introduction to the Expanded Universe series of the same name, a 3D CGI animated series based on a previous 2D animated series of a similar name.

Setting

"Star Wars galaxy" redirects here. For other uses, see Star Wars Galaxy (disambiguation).

The events depicted in Star Wars media take place in a fictional galaxy. Many species of alien creatures (often humanoid) are depicted. Robotic droids are also commonplace and are generally built to serve their owners. Space travel is common, and many planets in the galaxy are members of a Galactic Republic, later reorganized as the Galactic Empire.

One of the prominent elements of Star Wars is the "Force", an omnipresent energy that can be harnessed by those with that ability, known as Force-sensitives. It is described in the first produced film as "an energy field created by all living things [that] surrounds us, penetrates us, [and] binds the galaxy together."^[3] The Force allows users to perform various supernatural feats (such as telekinesis, clairvoyance, precognition, and mind control) and can amplify certain physical traits, such as speed and reflexes; these abilities vary between characters and can be improved through training. While the Force can be used for good, it has a dark side that, when pursued, imbues users with hatred, aggression, and malevolence. The six films feature the Jedi, who use the Force for good, and the Sith, who use the dark side for evil in an attempt to take over the galaxy. In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, many dark side users are Dark Jedi rather than Sith, mainly because of the "Rule of Two" (see Sith Origin).^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Theatrical films

The film series began with Star Wars, released on May 25, 1977. This was followed by two sequels: The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21, 1980, and Return of the Jedi, released on May 25, 1983. The opening crawl of the sequels disclosed that they were numbered as "Episode V" and "Episode VI" respectively, though the films were generally advertised solely under their subtitles. Though the first film in the series was simply titled Star Wars, with its 1981 re-release it had the subtitle Episode IV: A New Hope added to remain consistent with its sequel, and to establish it as the middle chapter of a continuing saga.^[9]

In 1997, to correspond with the 20th anniversary of Star Wars, Lucas released "Special Editions" of the original trilogy to theaters. The re-releases featured alterations to the original films, primarily motivated by the improvement of CGI and other special effects technologies, which allowed visuals that were not possible to achieve at the time of the original filmmaking. Lucas continued to make changes to the films for subsequent releases, such as the first ever DVD release of the original trilogy on September 21, 2004 and the first ever Blu-ray release of all six films on September 16, 2011.^[10]

More than two decades after the release of the original film, the series continued with the long-awaited prequel trilogy; consisting of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, released on May 19, 1999; Episode II: Attack of the Clones, released on May 16, 2002; and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, released on May 19, 2005.^[11]

On August 15, 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released theatrically as a lead-in to the weekly animated TV series of the same name.

Plot overview

The prequel trilogy follows the life of a young slave named Anakin Skywalker who is discovered by the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn, who believes him to be the "Chosen One" foretold by Jedi prophecy to bring balance to the Force. The Jedi Council, led by Yoda, sense that Anakin's future is clouded by fear, but reluctantly allow Qui-Gon's apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi to train Anakin after Qui-Gon is killed by the Sith Lord Darth Maul. At the same time, the planet Naboo is under attack, and its ruler, Queen Padmé Amidala, seeks the assistance of the Jedi to repel the attack. The Sith Lord Darth Sidious secretly planned the attack to give his alter ego, Senator Palpatine, a pretense to overthrow the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and take his place.^[4]

The remainder of the prequel trilogy chronicles Anakin's gradual fall to the dark side of the Force as he fights in the Clone Wars, which Palpatine secretly engineers in order to destroy the Republic and lure Anakin into his service.^[5] Anakin and Padmé fall in love and secretly wed, and eventually Padmé becomes pregnant. Anakin has a prophetic vision of Padmé dying in childbirth, and Palpatine convinces him that the dark side holds the power to save her life; desperate, Anakin submits to the dark side and takes the Sith name Darth Vader. While Palpatine re-organizes the Republic into the tyrannical Galactic Empire—appointing himself Emperor for life—Vader participates in the extermination of the Jedi Order, culminating in a lightsaber battle between himself and Obi-Wan.^[6]

Obi-Wan ultimately defeats his former apprentice and friend, severing his limbs and leaving him for dead beside a lava flow. However, Palpatine arrives shortly afterward and saves Vader, putting him into a black, mechanical suit of armor that keeps him alive. At the same time, Padmé dies while giving birth to twins Luke and Leia. The twins are hidden from Vader and are not told who their real parents are.^[6]

The original trilogy begins 19 years later as Vader nears completion of the massive Death Star space station, which will allow the Empire to crush the Rebel Alliance, which has formed to combat Palpatine's tyranny. Vader captures Princess Leia Organa, who has stolen the plans to the Death Star and hidden them in the astromech droid R2-D2. R2-D2, along with his counterpart C-3PO, escapes to the planet Tatooine. There, the droids are purchased by Luke Skywalker and his step-uncle and aunt. While Luke is cleaning R2-D2, he accidentally triggers a message put into the droid by Leia, who asks for assistance from Obi-Wan. Luke later assists the droids in finding the Jedi Knight, who is now passing as an old hermit under the alias Ben Kenobi. When Luke asks about his father, Obi-Wan tells him that Anakin was a great Jedi who was betrayed and murdered by Vader.^[13]

Obi-Wan and Luke hire the smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca to take them to Alderaan, Leia's home world, which they eventually find has been destroyed by the Death Star. Once onboard the space station, Obi-Wan allows himself to be killed during a lightsaber rematch with Vader; his sacrifice allows the group to escape with the plans that help the rebels destroy the Death Star. Luke himself fires the shot that destroys the deadly space station.^[3]

Three years later, Luke travels to find Yoda and start his Jedi training, but is interrupted when Vader lures him into a trap by capturing Han and the others. During a fierce lightsaber duel, Vader reveals that he is Luke's father and attempts to turn him to the dark side.^[7] Luke escapes, and, after rescuing Han from the gangster Jabba the Hutt a year later, returns to his training with Yoda, who by this time is on his deathbed. Before he passes away, Yoda confirms that Vader is Luke's father; moments later, Obi-Wan's spirit tells Luke that he must face his father before he can become a Jedi, and that Leia is his twin sister. As the Rebels attack the second Death Star, Luke confronts Vader as Palpatine watches; both Sith Lords intend to turn Luke to the dark side and take him as their apprentice.^[8]

During the subsequent lightsaber duel, Luke succumbs to his anger and brutally overpowers Vader, but controls himself at the last minute; realizing that he is about to suffer his father's fate, he spares Vader's life and proudly declares his allegiance to the Jedi. An enraged Palpatine then attempts to kill Luke with Force lightning, a sight that moves Vader to turn on and kill his master, suffering mortal wounds in the process. Redeemed, Anakin Skywalker dies in his son's arms. Luke becomes a full-fledged Jedi, and the Rebels destroy the second Death Star and, with it, the Empire.^[8]

Cast and characters

Further information: List of Star Wars films cast members and List of Star Wars characters

Character

Themes

See also: Philosophy and religion in Star Wars and Force (Star Wars)

Star Wars features elements such as knights, witches, and princesses that are related to archetypes of the fantasy genre.^[15] The Star Wars world, unlike fantasy and science-fiction films that featured sleek and futuristic settings, was portrayed as dirty and grimy. Lucas' vision of a "used future" was further popularized in the science fiction-horror films Alien,^[16] which was set on a dirty space freighter; Mad Max 2, which is set in a post-apocalyptic desert; and Blade Runner, which is set in a crumbling, dirty city of the future. Lucas made a conscious effort to parallel scenes and dialogue between films, and especially to parallel the journeys of Luke Skywalker with that of his father Anakin when making the prequels.^[4]

Technical information

All six films of the Star Wars series were shot in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The original trilogy was shot with anamorphic lenses. Episodes IV and V were shot in Panavision, while Episode VI was shot in Joe Dunton Camera (JDC) scope. Episode I was shot with Hawk anamorphic lenses on Arriflex cameras, and Episodes II and III were shot with Sony's CineAlta high-definition digital cameras.^[17]

Lucas hired Ben Burtt to oversee the sound effects on A New Hope. Burtt's accomplishment was such that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with a Special Achievement Award because it had no award at the time for the work he had done.^[18] Lucasfilm developed the THX sound reproduction standard for Return of the Jedi.^[19] John Williams composed the scores for all six films. Lucas' design for Star Wars involved a grand musical sound, with leitmotifs for different characters and important concepts. Williams' Star Wars title theme has become one of the most famous and well-known musical compositions in modern music history.^[20]

The technical lightsaber choreography for the original trilogy was developed by Hollywood sword-master Bob Anderson. Anderson trained actor Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and performed all the sword stunts as Darth Vader during the lightsaber duels in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, wearing Vader's costume. Anderson's role in the original Star Wars trilogy was highlighted in the film Reclaiming the Blade, where he shares his experiences as the fight choreographer developing the lightsaber techniques for the movies.^[21]

Production history

Original trilogy

"Original trilogy" redirects here. For the video game, see Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.

In 1971, Universal Studios agreed to make American Graffiti and Star Wars in a two-picture contract, although Star Wars was later rejected in its early concept stages. American Graffiti was completed in 1973 and, a few months later, Lucas wrote a short summary called "The Journal of the Whills", which told the tale of the training of apprentice C.J. Thorpe as a "Jedi-Bendu" space commando by the legendary Mace Windy.^[22] Frustrated that his story was too difficult to understand, Lucas then wrote a 13-page treatment called The Star Wars, which was a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress.^[23] By 1974, he had expanded the treatment into a rough draft screenplay, adding elements such as the Sith, the Death Star, and a protagonist named Annikin Starkiller. For the second draft, Lucas made heavy simplifications, and introduced the young hero on a farm as Luke Starkiller. Annikin became Luke's father, a wise Jedi knight. "The Force" was also introduced as a supernatural power. The next draft removed the father character and replaced him with a substitute named Ben Kenobi, and in 1976 a fourth draft had been prepared for principal photography. The film was titled Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars. During production, Lucas changed Luke's name to Skywalker and altered the title to simply The Star Wars and finally Star Wars.^[24]

At that point, Lucas was not expecting the film to become part of a series. The fourth draft of the script underwent subtle changes that made it more satisfying as a self-contained film, ending with the destruction of the Empire itself by way of destroying the Death Star. However, Lucas had previously conceived of the film as the first in a series of adventures. Later, he realized the film would not in fact be the first in the sequence, but a film in the second trilogy in the saga. This is stated explicitly in George Lucas' preface to the 1994 reissue of Splinter of the Mind's Eye:

It wasn't long after I began writing Star Wars that I realized the story was more than a single film could hold. As the saga of the Skywalkers and Jedi Knights unfolded, I began to see it as a tale that could take at least nine films to tell—three trilogies—and I realized, in making my way through the back story and after story, that I was really setting out to write the middle story.

The second draft contained a teaser for a never-made sequel about "The Princess of Ondos," and by the time of the third draft some months later Lucas had negotiated a contract that gave him rights to make two sequels. Not long after, Lucas met with author Alan Dean Foster, and hired him to write these two sequels as novels.^[25] The intention was that if Star Wars were successful, Lucas could adapt the novels into screenplays.^[26] He had also by that point developed an elaborate backstory to aid his writing process.^[27]

When Star Wars proved successful, Lucas decided to use the film as the basis for an elaborate serial, although at one point he considered walking away from the series altogether.^[28] However, Lucas wanted to create an independent filmmaking center—what would become Skywalker Ranch—and saw an opportunity to use the series as a financing agent.^[29] Alan Dean Foster had already begun writing the first sequel novel, but Lucas decided to abandon his plan to adapt Foster's work; the book was released as Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following year. At first Lucas envisioned a series of films with no set number of entries, like the James Bond series. In an interview with Rolling Stone in August 1977, he said that he wanted his friends to each take a turn at directing the films and giving unique interpretations on the series. He also said that the backstory in which Darth Vader turns to the dark side, kills Luke's father and fights Ben Kenobi on a volcano as the Galactic Republic falls would make an excellent sequel.

Later that year, Lucas hired science fiction author Leigh Brackett to write Star Wars II with him. They held story conferences and, by late November 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment called The Empire Strikes Back. The treatment is very similar to the final film, except that Darth Vader does not reveal he is Luke's father. In the first draft that Brackett would write from this, Luke's father appears as a ghost to instruct Luke.^[30]

Brackett finished her first draft in early 1978; Lucas has said he was disappointed with it, but before he could discuss it with her, she died of cancer.^[31] With no writer available, Lucas had to write his next draft himself. It was this draft in which Lucas first made use of the "Episode" numbering for the films; Empire Strikes Back was listed as Episode II.^[32] As Michael Kaminski argues in The Secret History of Star Wars, the disappointment with the first draft probably made Lucas consider different directions in which to take the story.^[33] He made use of a new plot twist: Darth Vader claims to be Luke's father. According to Lucas, he found this draft enjoyable to write, as opposed to the yearlong struggles writing the first film, and quickly wrote two more drafts,^[34] both in April 1978. He also took the script to a darker extreme by having Han Solo imprisoned in carbonite and left in limbo.^[7]

This new story point of Darth Vader being Luke's father had drastic effects on the series. Michael Kaminski argues in his book that it is unlikely that the plot point had ever seriously been considered or even conceived of before 1978, and that the first film was clearly operating under an alternate storyline where Vader was separate from Luke's father;^[35] there is not a single reference to this plot point before 1978. After writing the second and third drafts of Empire Strikes Back in which the point was introduced, Lucas reviewed the new backstory he had created: Anakin Skywalker was Ben Kenobi's brilliant student and had a child named Luke, but was swayed to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine (who became a Sith and not simply a politician). Anakin battled Ben Kenobi on the site of a volcano and was wounded, but then resurrected as Darth Vader. Meanwhile Kenobi hid Luke on Tatooine while the Republic became the Empire and Vader systematically hunted down and killed the Jedi.^[36]

Image of the original trilogy DVD collection on the top and the prequel trilogy DVD collection on the bottom.

With this new backstory in place, Lucas decided that the series would be a trilogy, changing Empire Strikes Back from Episode II to Episode V in the next draft.^[34] Lawrence Kasdan, who had just completed writing Raiders of the Lost Ark, was then hired to write the next drafts, and was given additional input from director Irvin Kershner. Kasdan, Kershner, and producer Gary Kurtz saw the film as a more serious and adult film, which was helped by the new, darker storyline, and developed the series from the light adventure roots of the first film.^[37]

By the time he began writing Episode VI in 1981 (then titled Revenge of the Jedi), much had changed. Making Empire Strikes Back was stressful and costly, and Lucas' personal life was disintegrating. Burned out and not wanting to make any more Star Wars films, he vowed that he was done with the series in a May 1983 interview with Time magazine. Lucas' 1981 rough drafts had Darth Vader competing with the Emperor for possession of Luke—and in the second script, the "revised rough draft", Vader became a sympathetic character. Lawrence Kasdan was hired to take over once again and, in these final drafts, Vader was explicitly redeemed and finally unmasked. This change in character would provide a springboard to the "Tragedy of Darth Vader" storyline that underlies the prequels.^[38]

Prequel trilogy

After losing much of his fortune in a divorce settlement in 1987, Lucas had no desire to return to Star Wars, and had unofficially canceled his sequel trilogy by the time of Return of the Jedi.^[39] Nevertheless, the prequels, which were quite developed at this point, continued to fascinate him. After Star Wars became popular once again, in the wake of Dark Horse's comic book line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels, Lucas saw that there was still a large audience. His children were older, and with the explosion of CGI technology he was now considering returning to directing.^[40] By 1993 it was announced, in Variety among other sources, that he would be making the prequels. He began outlining the story, now indicating the series would be a tragic one examining Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Lucas also began to change how the prequels would exist relative to the originals; at first they were supposed to be a "filling-in" of history tangential to the originals, but now he saw that they could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's childhood and ended with his death. This was the final step towards turning the film series into a "Saga".^[41]

In 1994, Lucas began writing the first screenplay titled Episode I: The Beginning. Following the release of that film, Lucas announced that he would also be directing the next two, and began working on Episode II at that time.^[42] The first draft of Episode II was completed just weeks before principal photography, and Lucas hired Jonathan Hales, a writer from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, to polish it.^[43] Unsure of a title, Lucas had jokingly called the film "Jar Jar's Great Adventure."^[44] In writing The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas initially decided that Lando Calrissian was a clone and came from a planet of clones which caused the "Clone Wars" mentioned by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope;^[45][46] he later came up with an alternate concept of an army of clone shocktroopers from a remote planet which attacked the Republic and were repelled by the Jedi.^[47] The basic elements of that backstory became the plot basis for Episode II, with the new wrinkle added that Palpatine secretly orchestrated the crisis.^[5]

Lucas began working on Episode III before Attack of the Clones was released, offering concept artists that the film would open with a montage of seven Clone War battles.^[48] As he reviewed the storyline that summer, however, he says he radically re-organized the plot.^[49] Michael Kaminski, in The Secret History of Star Wars, offers evidence that issues in Anakin's fall to the dark side prompted Lucas to make massive story changes, first revising the opening sequence to have Palpatine kidnapped and his apprentice, Count Dooku, murdered by Anakin as the first act in the latter's turn towards the dark side.^[50] After principal photography was complete in 2003, Lucas made even more massive changes in Anakin's character, re-writing his entire turn to the dark side; he would now turn primarily in a quest to save Padmé's life, rather than the previous version in which that reason was one of several, including that he genuinely believed that the Jedi were evil and plotting to take over the Republic. This fundamental re-write was accomplished both through editing the principal footage, and new and revised scenes filmed during pick-ups in 2004.^[51]

Lucas often exaggerated the amount of material he wrote for the series; much of it stemmed from the post–1978 period when the series grew into a phenomenon. Michael Kaminski explained that these exaggerations were both a publicity and security measure. Kaminski rationalized that since the series' story radically changed throughout the years, it was always Lucas' intention to change the original story retroactively because audiences would only view the material from his perspective.^[6][52] When congratulating the producers of the TV series Lost in 2010, Lucas himself jokingly admitted, "when Star Wars first came out, I didn't know where it was going either. The trick is to pretend you've planned the whole thing out in advance. Throw in some father issues and references to other stories – let's call them homages – and you've got a series".^[53]

Sequel trilogy

Main article: Star Wars sequel trilogy

The sequel trilogy was a reportedly planned trilogy of films (Episodes VII, VIII and IX) by Lucasfilm as a sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes IV, V and VI) released between 1977 and 1983.^[54] While the similarly discussed Star Wars prequel trilogy (Episodes I, II and III) was ultimately released between 1999 and 2005, Lucasfilm and George Lucas have for many years denied plans of making a sequel trilogy, insisting that Star Wars is meant to be a six-part series.^[55][56] In May 2008, speaking about the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Lucas maintained his status on the sequel trilogy:

"I get asked all the time, 'What happens after Return of the Jedi?,' and there really is no answer for that. The movies were the story of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, and when Luke saves the galaxy and redeems his father, that's where that story ends."^[57]

In January 2012, Lucas announced that he would step away from blockbuster films and instead produce smaller art-house films. In an interview regarding whether or not the scrutiny he received from the prequel trilogy and the alterations made on the original trilogy were a factor on his retirement, Lucas stated:

"Why would I make any more,... when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?"^[58]

Future releases

At a ShoWest convention in 2005, Lucas demonstrated new technology and stated that he planned to release the six films in a new 3-D film format, beginning with A New Hope in 2007.^[59] However, by January 2007, Lucasfilm stated on StarWars.com that "there are no definitive plans or dates for releasing the Star Wars saga in 3-D." At Celebration Europe in July 2007, Rick McCallum confirmed that Lucasfilm is "planning to take all six films and turn them into 3-D," but they are "waiting for the companies out there that are developing this technology to bring it down to a cost level that makes it worthwhile for everybody".^[60] In July 2008, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation, revealed that Lucas plans to redo all six of the movies in 3D.^[61] In late September 2010, it was announced that The Phantom Menace would be theatrically re-released in 3-D on February 10, 2012.^[62][63] All six films would be re-released in order, with the 3-D conversion process taking at least a year to complete per film.^[64]

Expanded Universe

Main article: Star Wars Expanded Universe

The term Expanded Universe (EU) is an umbrella term for officially licensed Star Wars material outside of the six feature films. The material expands the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace to 140 years after Return of the Jedi. The first Expanded Universe story appeared in Marvel Comics' Star Wars #7 in January 1978 (the first six issues of the series having been an adaptation of the film), followed quickly by Alan Dean Foster's novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following month.^[93]

George Lucas retains artistic control over the Star Wars universe. For example, the death of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devotes efforts to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across companies.^[94] Elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films, such as the name of capital planet Coruscant, which first appeared in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire before being used in The Phantom Menace. Additionally, Lucas so liked the character Aayla Secura, who was introduced in Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars series, that he included her as a character in Attack of the Clones.^[95]

Lucas has played a large role in the production of various television projects, usually serving as storywriter or executive producer.^[96] Star Wars has had numerous radio adaptations. A radio adaptation of A New Hope was first broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981. The adaptation was written by science fiction author Brian Daley and directed by John Madden. It was followed by adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back in 1983 and Return of the Jedi in 1996. The adaptations included background material created by Lucas but not used in the films. Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams reprised their roles as Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and Lando Calrissian, respectively, except in Return of the Jedi in which Luke was played by Joshua Fardon and Lando by Arye Gross. The series also used John Williams' original score from the films and Ben Burtt's original sound designs.^[97]

Other films

In addition to the two trilogies and The Clone Wars film, several other authorized films have been produced:

• The Star Wars Holiday Special, a 1978 two-hour television special, shown only once and never released on video. Notable for the introduction of Boba Fett.
• Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, a 1984 American made-for-TV film—released theatrically overseas.
• Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, a 1985 American made-for-TV film—released theatrically overseas.
• The Great Heep, a 1986 animated television special from the Star Wars: Droids TV series.
• Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2, a 2009 official comedy spoof primarily based on The Clone Wars film.

Animated series

Following the success of the Star Wars films and their subsequent merchandising, several animated television series have been created for the younger fan base:

• Star Wars: Droids, also known as Droids, which premiered in September 1985, focused on the travels of R2-D2 and C-3P0 as they shift through various owners/masters, and vaguely fills in the gaps between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
• Star Wars: Ewoks and colloquially as The Ewoks, was simultaneously released in September 1985 and focused on the adventures of Wicket and various other recognizable Ewok characters from the original trilogy in the years leading up to Return of the Jedi.
• Star Wars: Clone Wars animated micro-series created by Genndy Tartakovsky, which aired on Cartoon Network from November 2003 to March 2005.
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars CGI-animated series continuation of the animated movie of the same name, which has been airing on Cartoon Network since October 2008.
• Untitled Star Wars Animated Series: an animated comedy series written by Brendan Hay, who is a writer for the comedy news show The Daily Show, and with creative consulting from the co-creators of Robot Chicken: Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. The series will take place during the original trilogy and the setting will be remote from the front line of war.^[98]

Literature

Main articles: List of Star Wars books and List of Star Wars comic books

Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first film, with the 1976 novelization of Star Wars (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster and credited to Lucas). Foster's 1978 novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, was the first Expanded Universe work to be released. In addition to filling in the time between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, this additional content greatly expanded the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series. Star Wars fiction flourished during the time of the original trilogy (1977–1983) but slowed to a trickle afterwards. In 1992, however, Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy debuted, sparking a new interest in the Star Wars universe. Since then, several hundred tie-in novels have been published by Bantam and Del Rey. A similar resurgence in the Expanded Universe occurred in 1996 with the Steve Perry novel Shadows of the Empire, set in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and accompanying video game and comic book series.^[99]

LucasBooks radically changed the face of the Star Wars universe with the introduction of the New Jedi Order series, which takes place some 20 years after Return of the Jedi and stars a host of new characters alongside series originals. For younger audiences, three series have been introduced. The Jedi Apprentice series follows the adventures of Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi prior to The Phantom Menace. The Jedi Quest series follows the adventures of Obi-Wan and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker in between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. The Last of the Jedi series follows the adventures of Obi-Wan and another surviving Jedi almost immediately following Revenge of the Sith.

Marvel Comics published Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin, Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Gene Day, Walt Simonson, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Whilce Portacio, Jo Duffy, and Ron Frenz. The Los Angeles Times Syndicate published a Star Wars newspaper strip by Russ Manning, Goodwin and Williamson^[100][101] with Goodwin writing under a pseudonym. In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new Star Wars comic by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. However, in December 1991, Dark Horse Comics acquired the Star Wars license and used it to launch a number of ambitious sequels to the original trilogy instead, including the popular Dark Empire stories.^[102] They have since gone on to publish a large number of original adventures set in the Star Wars universe. There have also been parody comics, including Tag and Bink.^[103]

Games

Main articles: Star Wars computer and video games, List of Star Wars video games, and Star Wars Trading Cards

Since 1982, dozens of video games have been published bearing the Star Wars name, beginning with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back published for the Atari 2600 by Parker Brothers. Since then, Star Wars has opened the way to a myriad of space-flight simulation games, first-person shooter games, roleplaying games, RTS games, and others. Two different official tabletop role-playing games have been developed for the Star Wars universe: a version by West End Games in the 1980s and 1990s, and one by Wizards of the Coast in the 2000s. The best-selling games so far are the Lego Star Wars and the Battlefront series, with 12 million and 10 million units respectively.^[104][105] Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is also an extremely well known game.^[106]

The most recently released games are Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, for the PS3, PSP, PS2, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and Wii. While The Complete Saga focuses on all six episodes of the series, The Force Unleashed, of the same name of the multimedia project which it is a part of, takes place in the largely unexplored time period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope and casts players as Darth Vader's "secret apprentice" hunting down the remaining Jedi. The game features a new game engine, and was released on September 16, 2008 in the United States.^[107][108] There are three more titles based on the Clone Wars which were released for the Nintendo DS (Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Jedi Alliance) and Wii (Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Lightsaber Duels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes).

Star Wars trading cards have been published since the first 'blue' series, by Topps, in 1977.^[109] Dozens of series have been produced, with Topps being the licensed creator in the United States. Some of the card series are of film stills, while others are original art. Many of the cards have become highly collectible with some very rare "promos", such as the 1993 Galaxy Series II "floating Yoda" P3 card often commanding US$1000 or more. While most "base" or "common card" sets are plentiful, many "insert" or "chase cards" are very rare.^[110]

The board game Risk has been adapted to the series in two editions by Hasbro: Risk Star Wars: The Original Trilogy Edition^[111] (2006) and Risk Star Wars: Clone Wars Edition^[112] (2005).

Fan works

Main article: Star Wars fan films

The Star Wars saga has inspired many fans to create their own non-canon material set in the Star Wars galaxy. In recent years, this has ranged from writing fan-fiction to creating fan films. In 2002, Lucasfilm sponsored the first annual Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards, officially recognizing filmmakers and the genre. Because of concerns over potential copyright and trademark issues, however, the contest was initially open only to parodies, mockumentaries, and documentaries. Fan-fiction films set in the Star Wars universe were originally ineligible, but in 2007 Lucasfilm changed the submission standards to allow in-universe fiction entries.^[113]

While many fan films have used elements from the licensed Expanded Universe to tell their story, they are not considered an official part of the Star Wars canon. However, the lead character from the Pink Five series was incorporated into Timothy Zahn's 2007 novel Allegiance, marking the first time a fan-created Star Wars character has ever crossed into the official canon.^[114] Lucasfilm, for the most part, has allowed but not endorsed the creation of these derivative fan-fiction works, so long as no such work attempts to make a profit from or tarnish the Star Wars franchise in any way.^[115]

Attractions

In 1986, George Lucas established a partnership with the Walt Disney Company and its Walt Disney Imagineering division to create Star Tours, an attraction that opened at Disneyland in 1987. The attraction also had subsequent incarnations at other Disney Parks worldwide, with the exception of Hong Kong Disneyland.

The attractions at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios closed on July 27, 2010 and September 7, 2010 respectively, in order to allow the rides to be converted into Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. The successor attraction opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios on May 20, 2011 and June 3, at Disneyland.

The Jedi Training Academy is a live show where children are selected to learn the teachings of the Jedi Knights and the Force in order to become Padawan learners. The show is present at the Rebels stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios and at the Tomorrowland Terrace at Disneyland.

The Walt Disney World Resort's Disney's Hollywood Studios park hosts an annual festival, Star Wars Weekends during specific dates from May to June. The event began in 1997.

Legacy

Main article: Cultural impact of Star Wars

The Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on modern American pop culture. Both the films and characters have been parodied in numerous films and television.

• Notable film parodies of Star Wars include Hardware Wars, a 13-minute 1977 spoof which Lucas has called his favorite Star Wars parody, and Spaceballs, a feature film by Mel Brooks which featured effects done by Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic.^[116][117]
• Lucasfilm itself made two mockumentaries: Return of the Ewok (1982), about Warwick Davis, who portrayed Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi; and R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (2002), which depicts R2-D2's "life story".^[118][119]
• There have also been many songs based on, and in, the Star Wars universe. "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded two parodies: "Yoda", a parody of "Lola" by The Kinks; and "The Saga Begins", a parody of Don McLean's song "American Pie" that retells of The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan Kenobi's perspective.^[120]
• In television, the creators of the Robot Chicken series have produced three television specials satirizing the Star Wars films ("Robot Chicken: Star Wars", "Episode II", and "III"), and are developing an animated comedy series based in the Star Wars universe.^[121] The creators of the Family Guy series have also produced three Star Wars specials titled "Blue Harvest", "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side", and "It's a Trap!".^[122]

When Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a system of lasers and missiles meant to intercept incoming ICBMs, the plan was quickly labeled "Star Wars," implying that it was science fiction and linking it to Ronald Reagan's acting career. According to Frances FitzGerald, Reagan was annoyed by this, but Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle told colleagues that he "thought the name was not so bad."; "'Why not?' he said. 'It's a good movie. Besides, the good guys won.'"^[123] This gained further resonance when Reagan described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire".