All over the world, scientists (and most likely Star Wars geeks) have made huge advances in holographic tech. In Japan, the Digital Nature Group has developed tiny, interactive holograms known as Fairy Lights. At the MIT Media Lab, Michael Bove and his group rigged a Kinect camera sensor to project a low-grade but very real 3D holographic image. The image they chose? A grad student dressed as Princess Leia stating, “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.” (Photo by: Lucasfilm)
The Empire Is Watching You
In the Star Wars films, imperial probe droids roam the galaxy, hunting rebels. Today, drones roam the world on recon missions, military airstrikes, deliveries, farm pest patrol, and movie shoots. (Photo by: Lucasfilm)
Lightsabers Are Real, Kind Of
Wielding your very own laser sword is no longer exclusively for Jedi Knights and Sith Lords. Wicked Lasers has added a chamber to its high-powered laser, creating the look of an actual blue or green lightsaber. (No word on red or purple editions.) Those gadgets can’t cut through substances, but the British-based Welding Institute has crafted a laser cutter that slices through metal like butter. Is it so hard to put an epic laser cutter on a sword hilt? (Photo by: Lucasfilm)
You Can Store Data Just Like A Jedi...Or Sith
Jedi and Sith holocrons may be a bit esoteric for casual Star Wars fans, but they’re far from mysterious. In the Star Wars universal, they're basically external hard drives that are used to store centuries of data about the Force. On Earth, hard drives roughly the size of the fictional holocron can hold around 5 to 10TB. (Photo by: Lucasfilm)
Boeing’s Blaster Guns Will Sound Exactly As You Imagine
Laser pistols, rifles, and other assorted weaponry play a big role in the Star Wars saga. In real life, Boeing plans to add sounds to their lasers to confirm they've been fired. The sound samples they’re testing come straight from Star Wars and Star Trek. (Photo by: Lucasfilm)
DARPA Is All About Protocol Droids ... Sorta
Thank the Maker! The U.S. Department of Defense’s advanced research agency recently held a competition to develop better, faster, stronger bots that can be used to aid humans in disaster scenarios. The need (or want) for a protocol droid may be a long-term goal, but DARPA's robotic challenge is getting us there faster.
You Can Play Hologames Just Like Chewbacca
Oculus Rift and similar VR headsets bring 3D gaming to a whole new level. But other technology–such as the Voxiebox and a prototype display from the Panasonic Silicon Valley Lab–makes the hologame table a reality without special eyewear. Just don’t forget to let the Wookiee win. (Photo by: Lucasfilm)
Speeder Bikes Are On Kickstarter
Zoom through the redwoods or the desert on an actual hovercycle! Companies such as Aerofex are working on selling their version of the speeder bike using hovercraft air technology. Even the U.S. Department of Defense has taken notice, contracting Mallory Aeronautics, which led a successful Kickstarter campaign, to develop a vehicle for recon missions. (Photo by:Lucasfilm)
The U.S. Navy Has Its Own Laser Cannon
Turret guns and turbolasers and superlasers, oh my! The very real USS Ponce can take down drones and small boats with its quick-reacting laser weapon. While the laser isn’t visible from the naked eye, it does pack quite a punch, just like the Millennium Falcon’s quadlaser. (Photo by: Lucasfilm)
DARPA Is Working on Luke Skywalker-Approved Prosthetics
DARPA has been developing prosthetic limbs that allow for nuanced motion and neural connection. The Reliable Neural-Interface Technology (RE-NET) program has made great strides in prosthetic technology, focusing on perfecting the neural control systems that allow users to regain high performance function. (Photo by: Lucasfilm)
Elon Musk Is A Fan Of The X-Wing
Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, has made a few nods to the ships of Star Wars. Its Falcon 9 rockets (Get it? Falcon?) rock hypersonic grid fins crafted in an "X" configuration to stabilize descent. (Photo by: Lucasfilm)
Energy Force Fields Have Officially Been Patented
In another technological feat, Boeing has issued a patent for an energy field that protects people and objects from shockwaves in an explosion. According to the patent, the field, created by an electromagnetic arc, is said to deflect and absorb explosive force to protect whatever it surrounds. (Photo by: Lucasfilm)
J.J. Abrams, the director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is hosting a panel on July 10 at San Diego Comic-Con. Starwars.com said there will be a "special look" at the upcoming blockbuster. Fans also expect the unveiling of a brand-new trailer. (Photo: Corbis)
Han Solo and Chewbacca are back "home"
Harrison Ford and Peter Mayhew return to play Han Solo and Chewbacca, respectively. As the second Force Awakens trailer hinted, Han and Chewie haven't been flying the Millennium Falcon, but ultimately return "home" to their ship. (Photo: Disney)
The Force Awakens is Set 30 Years after Episode VI
With Luke, Leia and Han returning, the Star Wars timeline has been set for the next trilogy. The Force Awakens takes place thirty years after the Battle of Endor and the events of Return of the Jedi. (Photo: Corbis)
Rey & Finn Will Play Huge Roles
Daisy Ridley and John Boyega star as Rey and Finn in The Force Awakens, respectively. Despite rumors that she's from the desert planet Tattooine, Ridley says Rey is from Jakku. Finn is revealed to be a stormtrooper at the beginning of The Force Awakens trailer, but Boyega has hinted that might not be his actual role. (Photo: Disney)
The Search for Luke?
Your favorite characters from the original trilogy are set to return in The Force Awakens, but their roles are unclear. Rumors say Rey, Finn and Han are on the search for Luke Skywalker in Episode VII. (Photo: Corbis)
The Best Frickin' Pilot in the Galaxy!
Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) will play the new character Poe Dameron in The Force Awakens. Details of his story in Episode VII are scarce, but Isaac said a certain princess has sent him on a mission. Isaac hasn't been shy about his character's skills, proclaiming that Dameron is "the best frickin' pilot in the galaxy!" (Photo: Disney)
Kylo Ren is the Bad Guy
Details are scant on the new big bad Star Wars antagonist Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Ren will have big shoes to fill without Darth Vader in the upcoming trilogy. It doesn't hurt that Ren is the one wielding the crossguard lightsaber in The Force Awakens trailer. (Photo: Disney)
The Lovable Droids Will Return
Of course, a Star Wars film wouldn't be complete without everyone's favorite droids: R2-D2 and C-3PO. R2 and 3PO actually were the first characters confirmed for The Force Awakens. (Photo: Corbis)
Star Wars: Rogue One (2016)
The first anthology film of the Star Wars universe is titled Star Wars: Rogue One. The 2016 standalone movie is directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla). The plot is centered around a group of rebels on a mission to steal the Death Star plans. Rumors are swirling that Darth Vader will reprise his role for the film. (Photo: Corbis)
Han Solo Anthology Film
Disney announced that the second anthology film in the Star Wars universe will be a Han Solo origin film directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord (The Lego Movie). Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) is rumored to be up for the role of the scoundrel. Paul fueled the fire by revealing that the official Star Wars Twitter feed is following him on social media. (Photo: Corbis)
John Williams returns to score The Force Awakens
Many fans worried that John Williams would not return to score the soundtrack for The Force Awakens, but those concerns were quelled when J.J. Abrams confirmed he would return for another film. (Photo: Corbis)
Ezio Auditore, the main character from . You can buy the Hall of Fame Edition for $30, which comes with all eight heroes, or you can purchase each army separately for $5 each. If you want just G.I. Joe, Cobra Commander, Ezio, and He-Man, the Legendary Heroes bundle is available for $15.
Gravity Falls, the successful animated show aired on the Disney Channel, is getting a . In the vein of those other games, Gravity Falls will be a 2D sidescrolling platformer. From the reveal trailer, it looks like the game will have Metroidvania elements, as well. There's a store to purchase items at, and the video implies that you'll be able to return to locations you've already visited.
The game launches this fall for Nintendo 3DS. Keep an eye on GameSpot for more news about the game in the coming months.
While the PlayStation Network has , adding new PSN features like Share Play, verified accounts, and a way to search for PSN friends using your Facebook account.
Capcom has announced Ken Masters will join its growing cast of fighters for . Keep an eye on GameSpot for more news about Street Fighter coming out of Comic-Con.
The Microsoft Hololens augmented reality headset had an impressive showing at E3, but it was limited to demos behind closed doors. The public wasn't able to see what looking through the headset is like.
A new Warcraft trailer is out, and it gives you a 360-degree view of Azeroth's Stormwind region.
Built for Google's cheap VR headset for mobile phones, Cardboard, the trailer lets you look up, down, and around from the back of a gryphon, a creature used for transport in , and that he might possibly make a trilogy of Warcraft movies.
While we've come to expect digital and physical versions of games to cost the same at launch, it remains somewhat bizarre to see physical versions discounted heavily after launch while digital ones maintain their pricing. This point was raised during a Ubisoft investors call today, prompting CEO Yves Guillemot to shed some light on why this is.
During a post-earnings conference call Q&A session, Ubisoft was asked this digital/physical pricing disparity. For instance, .
If you try to move through the map too fast, you'll die. Go too slow? You'll die. Stray away from your team or stay too close to your buddy? Dead and dead. If you want to survive The Red Solstice, a top-down shooter with an emphasis on tactics, you need to adapt quickly to new situations. Even then, you should probably prepare yourself to die a lot.
The Red Solstice is not very welcoming to newcomers, especially if you try to jump directly into multiplayer (something the game itself advises against). Its core gameplay isn't too hard to grasp--it controls like a real-time strategy game in which you have only a single soldier or small handful of units. Right-clicking moves your soldier(s) to a location, left-clicking orders them to attack, each unit has a variety of skills (each with its own cooldowns), and you have a limited inventory of items. But there is a lot of depth beneath these basics, and if you try to treat The Red Solstice as a pure action game, you will struggle to succeed.
You can slow the action down to a crawl with a tap of the button, giving you some extra seconds to breathe and plan your next move. This slow-mo tactical mode is only available when playing solo, but making good use of it is imperative for single-player success. Sure, you could try running through the map with auto-aim turned on so all your squad members automatically pivot toward and attack incoming threats, but that's a recipe for inaccurate shots and wasted ammo, neither of which you can afford if you want to make it out alive.
One of the key elements of The Red Solstice is that it's class-based, and having a balanced squad of various classes is essential. This goes beyond the obvious "Take a medic with you so you can heal yourself" strategy in that each class has a variety of available skills that can make the difference between success and failure. Using the right support skill at the right time could save lives, and most classes have weaknesses that make it difficult for them to survive alone.
It can also be good to hop online and try to find some experienced players willing to show you the ropes, especially because you aren't likely to learn them all without some help. Even after playing through all 10 missions of the single-player campaign, I felt that the game never communicated some things to me--at least not well. For example, I did not know you could pick up (and then toss) exploding barrels until I saw another player do it online. This bit of knowledge would have made one specific section of a single-player mission, in which I needed to blow up some barricades, a bit less frustrating.
Getting to the center of the storm that is The Red Solstice isn't easy. A less-than-stellar tutorial and initial overload of information combined with a handful of quirks and bugs make it a game you have to stick with for a little while before you can fully appreciate its depth. If you can reach that point, though, and you have some friends to reach it with, this a storm you will successfully weather.
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