zombie84 said:

With the Clone Wars on Tatooine, and Anakin partaking in the mission, it seems he really does. Its not that its bad that its made up as they go, just that it never stays consistent or within the same series. As far as I'm concerned I'm not really a Star Wars fan anymore because what is currently considered "Star Wars" is an entirely different franchise from the one I fell in love with. Not in a metaphorica, philosophical sense, but in a literal sense, the story and characters are different and exist in this weird alternate universe that bears a vague resemblance to that older series but is really a seperate remake of sorts.

Just to expound on this them a bit more, has everybody seen the new "Force Unleashed" video from last week, where the developers talk about the different experiences on each "platform" (Wii, PS2, PS3, DS, PSP)? It's here:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/32575.html

They talk a lot about recreating scenes from the OT, but with the "Unleashed" powers, which are WAY over the top, even compared to what we saw in the PT. There are also a number of mentions of how "powerful" the player will feel, wielding the "Unleashed" powers. Now, I realise that the main character in "The Force Unleashed" is supposed to be Vader's "secret apprentice" from sometime before the OT, but all this talk of how powerful the player will feel sounds EXACTLY like Vader/Palpatine trying to tempt Luke to the Dark Side in the OT, except its being used to sell a video game. Doesn't anybody at LFL see the irony in this?

I have to say, all of this feels like just one more instance where real-world technology has simply overwhelmed the original idea of Star Wars, and turned it into a completely different thing. Much as technology (and unlimited resources) took away the limitations that shaped the early OT (everything before ROTJ) and allowed GL to follow his every whim down the rabbit hole (or up his own posterior, depending on your point of view) in the pT, technology in the video game industry is pushing the "quaint" OT into the background, as well.

Much like the movie industry, technology allows for more over the top, showy effects, which are then used to hype the product to power-hungry teenage boys. Whatever story might be involved is completely overshadowed by the awesome powers and physics simulation in the game.

And, just to keep the self-referential streak going, Vader finds his "secret apprentice" on Kashyyyk. The player also gets to play one level as Vader, force-choking Wookiees and flinging them about the forested landscape with abandon................