Friday, June 8, 2012

"Star Wars 1313" Commentary

With all of the buzz about the newest Star Wars video game - Star Wars 1313 - I've decided to talk about it today for this week's Commentary Friday. Even though the game is still in development, there's quite a bit of information about it floating around. So, without further ado, I present to you my current opinion about Star Wars 1313.


What do I think about....


An playable escape scene from "Star Wars 1313"
....The Title:
     Personally, I think that the title should be changed to just 1313. For me, anyway, I think that Star Wars 1313 sounds a bit strange, though even I'm not completely sure why. There's just something about it that's bothering me. But 1313 has a nice ring to it. I mean, it probably wouldn't affect sales to keep the name the same or changed it, so I guess it doesn't matter. Just my opinion.

....The Plot:
     Star Wars 1313 has players take control of a bounty hunter as he makes his way down to Coruscant's lower levels, specifically to level 1313. On the way, he has to take out his marks and uncover some kind of criminal conspiracy. Sounds like a winner to me. Besides, I've always wanted to be a bounty hunter ever since I first saw Boba Fett in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Sure, he didn't do much in the films, but he looks epic and he is epic. Fett makes bounty hunting look awesome, and Star Wars 1313 will give fans the opportunity to follow in his footsteps.

....The Graphics:
The graphics in "Star Wars 1313" are amazing!
     Oh, goodness, they're AMAZING! The people look extremely realistic (I could almost see the pores on one guy's face during a cinematic close-up), and the setting is so beautiful even though it's durasteel and ferrocrete structures. Even the fire and debris during various battle scenes was gorgeous, and I don't usually call debris "gorgeous."

....The Voiceovers:
     Each character in Star Wars 1313 - including the player's character - has his own voice and lines. I've only heard a few scenes, but the voiceover actors - from what I can tell from so little exposure - are pretty good. What's also awesome is that the cinematics are right in the gameplay, so there's no beat this level, blackout, cut to cinematic, blackout, cut to gameplay. It's all put together seamlessly with no cuts and no blackouts. In my opinion, that's pretty cool.

....The Rating:
     Lucasarts, the developer and publisher, said that they are specifically going for an M for Mature rating for Star Wars 1313. I find it interesting that they're targeting more mature adults with this game, especially since the new Star Wars live-action TV show - Underworld - is also being made more dark, adult, and gritty. Is Lucas trying to reach those adults who became disillusioned with SW after childhood? Or is he trying to reach those adults who never got into SW because they thought it was childish? I don't know, but I do know that I'm not really please with the targeted M rating. I've never been a fan of Mature games, but that's a really long, complicated argument that I'd rather not get into right now. Anyway, long story short, I don't like the rating at all and would prefer it if the game was rated T for Teen instead. But, hey, that's just me. *shrugs* I know quite a few people who play M games and really like them. Maybe Star Wars 1313 will be one of the games they would enjoy, too.


Final Tally:

Title: 9/10

Plot: 10/10

Graphics: 10/10

Voiceovers: 8/10 (if I heard more then I would be better able to rate this, but what I've heard has been pretty good)

Rating: 0/10


Total: 7/10


So those were just some of my thoughts concerning Star Wars 1313. What do you think about the game so far?




 - Edessa, signing off


2 comments:

  1. I agree on all your points. The M rating could be put there for various or multiple reasons, as you pointed out. I am not a supporter of M-rated content in video games too (specifically things that should NOT be treated as if they were a game), but the fact that they're pinning it on a Star Wars game immediately caught my attention.

    Maybe they're trying to appeal a new audience. Maybe it's just to impress bloodthirsty, lustful Americans - I'm not sure. But the good side is it will show us a side to Star Wars we haven't seen, maybe a side they didn't want to show in the movies/show/other games but finally decided to in one game.

    All in all, I'm looking forward to what they do with 1313, and how they handle this portrayal of another 'side' to the Star Wars universe :)

    -Stilwater

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  2. I agree the the "M" rating is completely unnecessary, espeically for a Star Wars game. I play a good many M rated since most of the games are now M rated like Halo and Skyrim but I really do not play M rated games with a ton of constant strong swearing and strong sensuality, which has no place in the Star Wars franchise. Hopefully it will just be for violence since I really do not mind that in games.
    But the game its self looks great.

    -James

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