Quickly! Dispatches from San Diego Comic-Con

I suspect Pablo took this.San Diego Comic-Con is here, and StarWars.com has snapshots from Preview night. (Watch their Flickr for stuff from today/tonight.) Of special note for EU fans: The cover to John Jackson Miller’s Knight Errant novel. Newsflash: It snows.

The geek girls panel was this evening, but I’m not seeing any reports just yet… It did launch a hashtag, though.

EUbits: Delusions of granduer from Hayden Blackman, the Insider; Sample Fatal Alliance via audio; Taylor interview

TeeEffYou, too. A summary has appeared at Random House for The Force Unleashed II novelization. Admiral Ackbar may appear in the game and Hayden Blackman wants a movie and/or TV show. I’m torn between eye-rolling and snickering, and ended up just pulling something from Robot Chicken. As you do.

Sample. With less than a month to go to release, there’s an audio excerpt of Sean William’s The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance.

Maybe they should just start a blog. The Insider is going digital.

Interviews. SWBooks.co.uk talks to comic writer Tom Taylor; The EU Review has John Jackson Miller.

EUbits: Ostrander and Duursema talk the end of Legacy

Legacy. Comic Book Resources interviews John Ostrander and Jan Duursema about the series as it winds down to the final issue.

Fate of the Jedi. Allies has made #8 on the New York Times and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller lists.

Kemp is a busy dude. Crosscurrent author Paul S. Kemp is interviewed at EU Cantina and reveals the dramatis personae for his Old Republic novel, Deceived.

Sorry, no photoshop today. Pablo Hidalgo has another book coming: a Scholastic guide to Lightsabers.

Gaming annex. The box art for The Force Unleashed II. Starkiller is pissed that Vader is invading his senior portrait!

…What? The Insider has an advertising campaign. Try not to giggle.

The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition gets rated

Slipping out last week was The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition video game, a re-release of 2008’s The Force Unleashed game, with additional content (the exclusive Hoth level, and 2 levels previously only available as downloadable content), and also finally, a PC version. Here’s what gaming reviewers are saying about it:

  • TheForce.Net gives the XBox 360 version a 4 out of 5, while cautioning those who already own the original game (and downloadable content) to consider renting instead of buying.
  • IGN gives it 7.5 out of 10, liking the new content, but again pointing out that this version really is for people who didn’t get the game the first time around.
  • Gamespot gives the PC version a 5 out of 10, calling it a mediocre port of the game, with frustrating graphic frame rate issues, and bland level design on Hoth, which is the only actual new content.
  • About.com gives the PC version 3 of 5 stars, and still enjoys the storyline and new levels, but finds the controls fidgety.

But don’t worry, I’m sure all of these issues on the PC version were fixed in the v1.1 patch. Judging from these reviews, stick to the PS3 or XBox360 version, but if only you don’t already have the original game.

Out this week: Dark Times, Legacy, TFU

Comic fans are getting two titles this Wednesday: Legacy #39 and Dark Times #14. As for book fans, you can pick up the paperback of Sean William’s The Force Unleashed novelization today.

(It’s also a good time to start keeping an eye out for Ryder Windham’s A New Hope: The Life of Luke Skywalker. The official release date is next Tuesday, but Scholastic doesn’t seem to use the same strict streeting as Del Rey, so booksellers may put it out whenever it arrives.)