Well I guess now we know what Microsoft employees do while they are at work. Apparently they surf the web for obscure Star Wars material. Monkey’s point here I think is that all this other weird shit is considered canon so I should accept JK2’s multiplayer. The problem is that, as usual Monkey has no fucking clue what he is talking about. I didn’t bring up canon because that is a slippery slope but since Monkey want's to talk about it lets do it right. There are many different levels of canon, from First level canon all the way down to what Monkey is speaking about here which would be considered apocrypha. First level canon would be items that fall directly under George’s vision for the Star Wars universe. This would include the movies and their respective special editions. Next you would have second, third and fourth levels. These include things like the original screen plays and the radio dramas of the films. After that you get into “official”. This is where the books, comics and some of the games come in. The original Dark Forces games and Jedi Knight when beaten with the light side of the force are considered “official”. After official we get all the shit licensed by Lucas Arts but not actually a part of official continuity. This is called apocrypha or just plain unofficial. It is easiest to think of this stuff as an alternate reality or existing in it’s own timeline. This is where you get crap like the cereal and the other junk Monkey brought up. Finally at the bottom of the list you have fan fiction. I am not certain but I assume the single player portion of the game is considered “official” canon. It would have been nice if the same care that was put into the SP game to make it fit in with the Star Wars universe had also been given to the MP. But instead we get a pretty standard multiplayer experience that only pays lip service to the license. I guess I was just hoping for more.
As for the picture of a stormtrooper with a lightsaber that only serves to prove my point. That was an early concept that was later removed. George wanted lightsabers to be special. Not only are they hard to build but the actual act of constructing one is a spiritual experience in itself. They are not for stormtroopers. Am I too uptight about Star Wars? Yes, most defiantly. Should I just lighten up and enjoy the multiplayer for what it is? Probably. Is it okay for me to say that I think it could be better and offer ideas on how? I think so.
I also want to point out that I don’t place any of the blame for this on Raven. I think they made one of the best single player games I’ve ever played. I can also appreciate the kind of pressure they must have been under from Lucas Arts. I can not thank them enough for the fantastic game they delivered. Maybe later Lucas Arts will let them make the multiplayer game that I know they want to make and that many of us want to play.
-Gabe out
