Just getting out of my appointment with LucasArts and tapping out a quick overview for you of their line-up.  Unfortunately the appointment was loaded and fast so there wasn’t much time to delve deep into any one title.  Here’s the simple version:

Thrillville: Off the Rails [X360, Wii, PC, DS, PS2]

Trying to repeat the performance of Thrillville Lucas has brought in the guys behindRoller Coaster Tycoon 3, Frontier, to work up this latest entry in the series.  The main focus this time is o non-standard – or rather – what I’ll call fantasy coasters.  Or as the guys put it – you’ll be creating rides that’ll have ‘your friends screaming for mamma.’  By using new ‘Whoa!’ pieces when creating your rides you’ll be able to develop attractions that could only spawn from the minds of the world’s most sinister engineers and furthermore, that no one in their right minds would insure!

I saw an X360 version running that looked pretty slick but the Wii version, while taking good advantage of the wiimote’s capabilities to make ride creation a bit more physical, looked a little rough around the edges visually.  The team says they’re pretty far along and have nothing but polish left which should bring up the overall quality.  Hopefully this isn’t just due to the Wii’s limited graphics capabilities.

Battlefront: Renegade Squadron [PSP] 

Lucas is bringing their multiplayer Battlefront title to PSP for another run.  I’ve not been able to get into the first two  - multiplayer shooters on the PSP just seem to be much too limited by the control schema and screen real-estate – even despite Lucas concerted efforts to make the games fun.  With Renegade Squadron the multiplayer returns – and space combat is in there as well – but the most interesting bit for me was the promise of an actual single-player campaign which would land in between episodes four and six from when the Battle of Yavin ends to the shootout on Endor.  The addition of this new single-player experience could serve well not only as a multiplayer primer but also to add value to the game when there’s no one to play with. Which will most likely be often.

Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga  [PS3, X360, Wii, DS]

This entry finally brings the series to PS3 with all the graphical updates you’d expect from the amped up PS3 hardware and in 1080p no less.  The story spans all six films and brings new force powers and power-ups as well.  Space combat is in with the ability to control your X-Wing directly with the six-axis – this actually looked pretty fluid in action.

A Wii version of the game adds the most unique feature with the ability to actually wield your light-saber vis as vis the wiimote.  While this won’t be nearly as satisfying as a full on serious Star Wars FPS it will at least serve to add some variety to the gameplay for those who choose this platform.

Star Wars: Force Unleashed [PC]

We only saw a very, very short trailer for this title so we can’t comment more than to say, “It looked brilliant!”  The story itself delves into the time between episodes three and four and centers on Darth Vader’s secret apprentice whom it would appear you’ll get to control. Powering this story concept will be two technologies, which Lucas is co-developing with third-parties, that we actually saw on demo two years back within the Indiana Jones title currently under development.

The first allows for more realistic ‘molecular level’ destruction simulation which translated means – when stuff blows up – it looks damned real!  No preset polygon chunks go flying here.  The second allows for more organic procedural animation giving characters more life-like motion and physics reactions.  These two technologies were evidently in play throughout the trailer as the scenes we saw depicted the young apprentice wreaking havoc in various settings and the resulting destruction was simply, amazing.

We’re big fans of the Jedi Knight series over here and Unleashed looks like it might just be the shot in the arm the Star Wars franchise needs to bring action gamers back to the table.

Fracture [PS3, Xbox]

In development by Day One Studios in Chicago this new IP for Lucas is a breath of fresh air.  The name of the game for Fracture is Terrain Deformation.  This unique looking shooter – well, actually the models and environments intone Mass Effect – relies heavily on new tech that allows for real-time deformation of the games environments. Think Red Faction on steroids and you’re getting there. 

Players will be outfitted with numerous weapons that alter the environment around them to create natural defenses, burrow past otherwise impassable crevices or alter the terrain to reach objectives otherwise out of range.  There are many other intriguing weapons which I’ll detail further in my preview.

The story is equally intriguing as it plays out in a future based upon assumptive outcomes of social and global issues we’re struggling with today.  Stem Cell research goes out of control until scientists breed super-human soldiers – the first batch of which die from an unknown disease afflicting these mutated souls.  Global Warming physically separates the Eastern and Western Coasts of the United States flooding much of the Mid-West and fracturing the continent along ideological as well as geographical lines.  War will ensue and you’ll be at the center of it – of course

We wouldn’t want it any other way!