My Top 5 Star Wars Moments in Video Games

These are my top 5 Star Wars moments in video games. The moments that I’ll never forget. They’re specific to my playthroughs, but perhaps you will see what made them special while reading this article. Enjoy!

(Credit for the picture goes to MakingPicsSlowly)

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PC, Mac, Xbox, Gamecube)

Two Pillars on the Streets of Bespin:

You are Kyle Katarn; a mercenary who’s recently rediscovered his connection to the force. As you scour the streets of Bespin in search of vengeance for your comrades death, you come upon two pillars. The architecture of these pillars is unlike any you’ve seen thus far. They demand your attention and for the first time since receiving your lightsaber, you stop.

And you breathe.

It truly is a beautiful sight, yet there’s something off-putting about the serenity; it seems out of place. The dark side is here and you must face this trial. Doubt begins to cloud your mind. You fear that you may not be strong enough to face what’s ahead, but there is no other way. Resolve takes the first step as you move towards your fate.

Two Pillars.

Two Reborn reveal themselves.

*the sound of lightsabers*

Watch this scene here.

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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC, Xbox)

Your Relationship with Bastila:

Passion is within us all. As a Jedi, you’re taught to avoid it. Simple enough… that is until you meet Bastila and the bond you share with her is greater than anything you’ve felt before…

Bastilla: You’re the one who can’t face the truth! Malak has to be stopped. How can I do that if I let myself be blinded by my feelings for you?

You: I’m going to stop Malak, Bastilla. But I want to do it with you by my side.

Bastilla: You… you mean it, don’t you? But how can I be sure you aren’t making a mistake. I… I have to resist. I have to be strong for both of us.

Watch the full scene here.

Passion has good intentions. It can be a powerful fuel to accomplish great things. At first, it may seem confusing that Bastila would want to withhold her true feelings for you, but she is wise beyond her years. She knows that passion can also blind. An emotion that starts as love can quickly dilute into jealousy and hate. Bastila knows that the galaxies best chance at redemption lies devoid of passion; the one battle that very few Jedi have conquered.

Excerpt from the Jedi and Sith Code respectively:

Jedi Code: There is no passion, there is serenity.

Sith Code: Peace is a lie, there is only passion.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic (PC)

The Beginning of an Inquisitor/Warrior:

You’re staring out into the vastness that is Korriban. Up until now, you’ve only heard tales of the red planet; tales that warn against the dark energy that call this place home. You feel it’s pull in the form of curiosity and realize this place is alive and it has a story. Hopes of immortality rise up from depths not yet fully accessed as your eyes wonder about the Valley of the Dark Lords. A temple looms in the background. A datacron shines in the sand beyond. Your story has just begun as you descend the mountainous pathway and begin your trials in the cave below...

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Rakghoul Plague World Event:

A quarantine of Tatooine is reported across the galaxy. Rakghouls, a non-sentient mutated race, are said to have been spotted on the planet spreading a terrible virus among any that come into contact with them. The possibility that the rakghouls may be harnessed for the dark side outweigh the imminent danger that they pose. You must investigate.

Heading to your ship, a new protocol droid greets you in the hangar. The droid performs a scan and asks if you’ve been feeling under the weather as of late. You have been throwing up periodically since being coughed on in the cantina, though you’ve thought nothing of it up to this point. It shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

Before you know it, you’re dodging blaster fire as you dash into your Fury-class interceptor. The words “Rakghoul” and “Plague” are being thrown at you by quarantine droids as the ship doors close. You escape just before reinforcements arrive.

Rakghoul Plague.

It echoes in your mind as you jump to lightspeed on a flight course to Tatooine.

While eavesdropping in the local cantina, you hear talk of a ship that recently crash landed. You mark the coordinates in your datapad and hop on your speeder. As you cross the desert, shadows sporadically appear at a distance too far to make out. They disappear just as fast. Either your mind is playing tricks on you or you’re being watched…

It must be a mirage.

You arrive at your destination. Sure enough, the crash site is scattered with infected passengers. After fending off one of the stronger ones, you find a datapad that confirms your fears.

This is an outbreak. There’s no telling how far it’s spread, but it’s already been over 48 hours. A cure must be found.

Upon further investigation you learn that a hostile beast, known by locals as Urtagh, has been attacked by rakghouls yet somehow avoided infection. This is the key. A cure might lie in it’s blood. You gather a team of Imperials to recover the beast’s body.

As you approach the site, there appear to be a few Jedi with similar plans. Your team easily runs them off.

Urtagh is indeed scraped and bitten by what looks to be rakghoul markings. The beast is weak, but your team begins fighting with everything they’ve got. The body must be recovered. The battle begins to turn in your favor as one of your operatives discovers a blind spot in Urtagh’s sight. The beast is almost subdued when…

"Luke, we're gonna have company!" - Han Solo, Star Wars: A New Hope

In all fairness, you were a little harsh on the Jedi when you ran them off. Now the Republic is back in full force with Alpha Company and they want a shot at the vaccine. A cure will be essential. And in the right hands, it may be worth billions of credits.

But sending Alpha Company... the Republic must also be trying to send a message…

You command your squad to double down on the beast in hopes that a blood sample can be recovered from it’s impenetrable body before Alpha Company overwhelms you. Urtagh finally goes down, but it’s too late. Three of your squad mates fall as you retreat. Alpha Company pursues relentlessly and it seems they’re getting greedy.

What’s left of your team manages to reach an imperial outpost. It was an embarrassing loss, but Urtagh was the mission; not Alpha Company. Now it seems the Republic has won on two fronts. They won the battle and they have the body.

Incoming message.

It’s one of your operatives. She went covert and stayed behind when Alpha Company began attacking. After they left in pursuit she was able to recover numerous blood samples from the body. She asks if it would be advantageous to burn the remains.

Alpha Company and the Republic will pay for their error today.

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Star Wars: Battlefront (PC, PS4, Xbox One)

First Impressions:

I’ve done my very best to convey what it was like to experience my top 5 Star Wars video game moments. The last one I’m going to share with you is more of a recommendation. You don’t need my experiences in the Star Wars universe to live this one. All you need is a copy of Star Wars: Battlefront. It’ll take you right there.

Thanks again for reliving these great memories with me. There’s a lot more that I could share and I’m sure you’ve got some you’d like to add so I’ll see you in the comments!

May the force be with you.

@drockalexander

Waiting For My Destiny

I was really excited for Destiny. It had the opportunity to be the next big thing for me; a game perfectly marketed as a crossover between Halo’s multiplayer and fantasy MMO world building. There weren’t any launch titles for Xbox One or PS4 that I had to have, so I planned on finally jumping into current gen when Destiny released on September 9, 2014.

My calendar was marked and my bank account was ready. I couldn’t wait. But then I started hearing middling rumors about the state of the game. Weeks leading up to launch, cryptic apprehension in the tenor of my favorite games journalists kept echoing through articles and podcasts alike. I was getting nervous.

Destiny launched and I didn’t buy it. I didn’t buy a PS4 or an Xbox One. I had other great games to play at the time and if this experience wasn’t all that was promised, then I could skip it and be happy. So I did and I was.

It’s now been a month since the release of The Taken King; Destiny’s first major expansion. I’ve been playing Destiny for about three months now on Xbox One. I’ve logged 215 hours. I’m having fun.

I could see the flaws when I initially booted up Destiny 1.0 for the first time with @Skye2117 and @DJMornin. The progression system was confusing, the story was not in the game, and the writing was just bad. An MMO foundation was visible, but it lacked the polish you’d expect when spending 5 years and $300 million dollars. I will say the moment to moment gunplay was deceptively brilliant, but eventually shooting aliens gets old and you’re left with an incomplete shell. Simply put, Destiny just wasn’t what Bungie had sold me over the years. I now fully understood how many gamers felt.

I was sad when I didn’t get to dive into Destiny on day one. There’s a lot of energy around the first month or so of a release and it’s fun to be a part of that, but in retrospect, waiting for Destiny worked for me.

(The Loot Cave. R.I.P. September 9-24, 2014)

Destiny has received many updates since launch to fix general issues and address player feedback. I remember reading about how the loot didn’t feel rewarding early on in Destiny’s life cycle. I’m glad to say that I’ve never felt that way. Bungie heard the complaints and patched the game as online game studios generally do with time. This is just one example of an issue I imagine I would have experienced had I been there during the first couple of months. Waiting to purchase Destiny allowed me to enter a smoothed out experienced thanks to day one players who tested the waters for players like me.

(not waiting vs. waiting lol)

I paid $80 for a digital collector’s edition of Destiny that included everything I’ll need to have for the foreseeable future. In comparison, if you bought everything as it was released, you’ve spent at least $140. The latter is still a good deal if you’re talking about Destiny post Taken King, but many customers felt burned with the value they received early on in Destiny 1.0. Like I said before, I understand this sentiment, but it’s not one I share. In a very measurable way, I have received immense value in waiting to play Destiny.

I wasn’t the only person who waited. @DJMornin did too, and since we both decided not to play at launch, we made sure to coordinate when we were finally ready. I’d like to think that I would have made friends with other players in Destiny even if I had no real life friends playing, but nothing beats exploring a multiplayer game for the first time with your brother.

(One day we'll recount the tale of Skolas, bringer of copious cursing and stationary sweating.)

In summary, there’s no right or wrong way to play a game. Sure, I wanted to be one of the first Guardians landing finishing blows on bullet sponges, but looking back I think the longevity of the game in my rotation was increased because I waited. I waited for the version of Destiny I wanted to play. The version that included my friends taking those first steps with me. The version that had 10 months worth of bug fixing and quality of life patches. The version that had a very promising expansion on the near horizon. I waited and it worked. It might work for you too.

Sincerely,

@drockalexander

Pros of Waiting:

• cheaper ($140 vs. $80)
• general updates (bug fixes, balancing, dlc/expansions)
• community content on youtube, podcast, twitch, etc. (tutorials, strategies, reviews)
• no pressure to “finish” a game in x amount of time

Cons of Waiting:

• probably missing out on collector’s editions and/or exclusive dlc
• you end up getting led through group content, such as The Vault of Glass, rather than solving the puzzles with a group of people for the first time
• the internet spoils everything

How I Got Back to Pokémon This Summer

I am THE Pokémon generation. Born in 88, my imagination was ripe when Red and Blue launched in North America. I’ve played every main entry since and I don’t ever plan on stopping. I still remember Pokémon league at Toy Works (R.I.P.) and trading with a link cable. I’ve even won money playing Pokémon competitively. There was a time when I knew the exact stats of 150+ Pokémon. Yes, that’s a lot of Pokémon... and yes, I am bragging.

Then a game called Hearthstone came along. It’s also easy to learn, hard to master, and good for short bursts or long gaming sessions. Unfortunately for my Pokémon street cred, Hearthstone was just a little more shiny than Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

I also recently got an Xbox One with Destiny and Halo. In the words of the Legendary Saba, “Grind don’t stop…”

I’m aware that I can play multiple games, but I’m the type of person that gets quite focused on one thing when I have a goal in mind. I knew I would be back into Pokémon at some point. I just didn’t know when and I wasn’t going to force it. These relationships have to be more natural. So what did it take me to get back into Pokémon?

1. I went on a road trip! I traveled and got away from the PC and console space. Hearthstone plays well on my Macbook and iPhone, but it’s just not the same for me. While we were driving down bland roads or during the night when everything was dark, I’d pull out my 3DS and play Pokémon.
2. I was with my best friend, @DJMornin, who also loves Pokémon. He was about as far as I was so it created great conversations in the car. We laughed about the story and talked new strategies made possible with Pokémon ORAS. It was great!
3. We were in New York City for 3 days. It only makes sense that we visited the Nintendo World Store. There was Pokémon swag galore and I even got approached by a stranger for a battle. Just like the game, I walked in front of him and he challenged me to a duel. Unlike the game, I lost. He kept apologizing for the spanking he was giving me and my Pokémon. I wasn’t mad that he was beating me. I love a good challenge and there’s much to learn from someone who can dismantle your team. I did get pissed that he wouldn’t shut up. What did I do in response after the battle? Play more Pokémon.
4. The Pokémon National Championship took place over my vacation. I’ve been twice before and it’s an amazing experience. Watching the streams and seeing my friends in pictures from the event definitely rekindled fond memories. If I wasn’t on a road trip, I would have been in Indianapolis, Indiana cheering for the underdogs. If you consider yourself a Pokémon fan of any kind, I highly suggest going to Nationals next year!
5. I used Pokémon I’ve never used before. The hardest Pokémon I trained this time around was Grimer. Grimer’s base stats are poor and it doesn’t evolve until level 38, but I’m glad I now know what it’s like to have one on my team. My final team consisted of Sceptile, Latias, Kyogre, Gardevoir, Absol, and Luxray. I know it’s Uber heavy, but Kyogre was the only water Pokémon I caught that I haven’t trained yet besides Lombre and I wasn’t about to have two grass Pokémon. That’s just insane.

There you have it. I beat the game and I’m back on my grind. If you’re struggling to beat Pokémon ORAS or any Pokémon game for that matter, just go on a road trip with your best friend (or friends) during Nationals.

The original Dear Backlog crew at Nationals 2010.

Sincerely,

@drockalexander

Dear Backlog Update

Dear Backlog used to focus on demo reviews because we believe that even demos should be worth your time. We were proud to be the first and only site to offer content like that.

But the industry has evolved and we have to move with it. Sites like Twitch and YouTube have pushed developers to move away from demos. They just aren’t necessary anymore.

Feel free to browse our archives for demo reviews, but don’t expect any new ones. We will now be focusing on content specific to our tastes in hopes that they align with yours. This will include the podcasts and articles that you’ve come to expect, but also new forms on Twitch and YouTube. We look forward to your feedback.

Thanks for taking this journey with us. If you’ve been with us from the beginning, we’re just growing up a bit. We are still just a tweet away. If you’re new to Dear Backlog, you’re catching us at our greatest stride.

Sincerely,

@DearBacklog

Rare Game Experiences 2015

We are well into the digital age of video games. Physical copies displayed at your local game store are just as easily located in downloadable form on Steam, Xbox Live, or Playstation Network.

Overall, this is good for gamers. Gone are the days of driving to Gamestop and sifting through the game spines in alphabetical order just to walk away empty handed. We can now do the shopping from the comfort of our couch. We save money and time.

Ten years ago, it wasn’t like this. It used to be that the only way to play a game was by having a physical copy. Games would retain value because there was no other way to have that experience. If a game sold through its manufacture run, you would have to buy a used copy. If no one wanted to sell that game, you would have to offer more money. A game could achieve a rare status.

It’s no secret that I adore the .hack series. I’ve written articles about them in the past. The sad part is that I only own the first two games. There are seven total. I figured that I would eventually purchase them all as I visit used game stores over time. But time has widened the gap between those games and my dream. It would now cost me over $400 to complete my collection.

Added from left to right: $35 + $65 + $65 + $140 + $100 + $85 + $90 = $580

This left me intrigued. It makes sense for games that never saw a digital release or HD remaster to still hold value, but are the days of rare games behind us now that everything is digital? Are there physical discs being released now that will later be the sole way to experience that game?

Let me be clear… physical copies of games will always hold some type of value for collectors, but this article is focusing on the value of the game experience. That’s what has driven the price of the .hack series and other games like it to skyrocket. If all seven games were released tomorrow on PSN, I guarantee that prices of the physical copies would drop significantly.

First, I’m going to point out a few games from last generation that are now considered rare and explain why their physical forms still hold value. Then I’m going to predict games that are coming out now that will be rare in the future.

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Last Gen:

Marvel Ultimate Alliance: Gold Edition/Platinum Hits - Xbox 360 ~ $60

I’m sure this game was quite unique when it came out, but in 2015 it’s certainly not the only way to have a Marvel-inspired dungeon crawl with friends. What makes this specific version of the multiplatform title rare? In April 2007, Activision released downloadable content exclusive to Xbox Live that enabled you to play as 8 new heroes. Then, in May 2007, Activision released the Gold Edition on Xbox 360 that included all the DLC packaged in. Lastly, on December 31, 2009, Activision decided not to renew their Marvel license and, without warning, yanked the DLC from Xbox Live. Overnight, the Gold Edition became the only way to play as Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Hawkeye, Magneto, Sabretooth, Venom, Doctor Doom, or The Hulk. There’s now a $50 difference between a regular copy and a gold edition.

If you enjoyed this game and one of your favorite heroes was locked behind a $50 difference, would you pay up?

Aquanauts Holiday - PS3 ~ $100

In Aquanauts Holiday, you play as a journalist in search of a missing oceanographer. It’s an adventure game where you use a submarine to search for clues and explore marine wildlife in the sea. The game was originally released in Japan and Southeast Asia in September 2008. Two months later, a Chinese and English translation of the Japanese version was released in China.

The only way to play this game outside of Asia in 2008 was to import it. That, coupled with the fact that it didn’t sell very well, created a recipe for scarcity. I may have seen this game in the bargain bin back in the day when no one knew what it was, but now it sells for about $100.

Do you remember seeing this game preowned at your local game store?

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn - Wii ~ $80

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is the tenth title in the series and the first on Wii. It’s a tactical role-playing game where you control a small team of characters around a square-based battlefield. It’s known for being hard and having permadeath. If you’ve played a Fire Emblem game before, then you know what you’re getting into. Radiant Dawn does have one feature that sets it apart from the other 9 titles; it’s a direct sequel to the gamecube game, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. You don’t need to play the previous entry to enjoy Radiant Dawn, but it improves the experience in the same way that Mass Effect has for gamers.

Being a sequel to a rare game on Gamecube has definitely driven prices up for this title and with Nintendo’s history, we will likely never see a digital release.

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As you can see, most games from last gen were rare because of special conditions like localization or some type of digital misstep. If it wasn’t a Nintendo title, chances are the experience can still be found in some digital form.

So to answer my original question… will rare games still exist in the future? Will a game that’s released in 2015 reach the $100 heights that a game like Marvel vs. Capcom 2 once commanded?

Well, yes and no. Yes, I think there will still be rare physical discs, but no I don’t think there will be very many rare game experiences. Let me explain with some examples.

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Current Gen:

Retro City Rampage - PS4 ~ $150

Retro City Rampage DX is an open world action game that parodies games and pop culture from the 80’s and 90’s. It’s most akin to the early top down games in the Grand Theft Auto series.

This game released on December 11, 2014 on every digital platform available. It’s not a rare experience to have, but the physical disc is very rare. About a month after the digital-only release, the developer, Vblank Entertainment, shipped out 2,000 copies for PS4. The game is now worth $150 or more. Keep in mind that you can purchase the digital version on any platform for about $7…

Shenmue 3 - PS4 ~ $???

Shenmue 3 promises to continue the traditional open world action-adventure gameplay which includes fight scenes broken up by life simulation minigames and quick time events.

This game wasn’t even supposed to happen. The first two titles were critical hits but commercial failures. Sega canceled development of Shenmue III and 15 years years later, Sony parades the Kickstarter relaunch during their E3 2015 press conference.

It’s hard to say for sure, but chances are the only physical copies of this game will initially be in the hands of people who backed the Kickstarter. If you’re willing to purchase a game that doesn’t even exist yet, I doubt you’d be willing to turn it over for less than you originally paid for it. You can buy a digital version of Shenmue 3 once the game releases, but I’m confident that the “exclusive backer-only” version will be a very rare game from this generation.

Shader - One Lil Netbook - $Priceless

Shader is the rarest game that I know of. I can’t explain it because a) I’ve never played it and b) there’s no video of this game on YouTube. Here’s an article on Kotaku that explains the story of how it came to be.

The important thing to know about this game is that it only exists on one little netbook. The game can’t be copied, therefore the only way to experience it is to have the netbook in your hands.

Shader is perhaps the rarest game in the world, but I think that we may see this approach from another developer in the near future.

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In closing, rare games still exist and will continue to exist in the digital era. They’ve changed from what we’ve always known and they will continue to change. If you’re a collector, you may have the hardest job of this generation as you can no longer just collect niche JRPGs. We’ll be on the lookout for more rare games, but if you have any predictions, we’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Thanks again.

Sincerely,

@drockalexander

Top 5 Video Game Podcasts

In 2008 I purchased a much hyped $250 device that promised to keep me company on long track and field trips. It was a black iPod with 160gb of space. This was the moment I really started listening to music. I was now free from carrying scratched up burnt cds with no identifier. I could now go from Kanye West to All-American Rejects with a couple circular motions of my thumb. I could now create playlists on the go! But little did I know, this device was also going to introduce me to podcasts.

Seven years later and I love podcasts just as much as video games. In fact, podcasts have enhanced my video game experience and vice versa.

I started Dear Backlog so that I could have a space to share both of these loves with you! I hope you’ve enjoyed our shenanigans thus far, but I’d also like to point you in the direction of some of the podcasts that inspired us. Here are my top 5 favorite podcasts: the ones I listen to the most and the ones we aspire to be like.

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1. Rebel FM
   
   

I’m at the point where Arthur Gies, Matt Chandronait, and Anthony Gallegos feel like family. I will shed tears if this podcast ever ends. The cast is consistent about playing a new game during their busy week so that they have something new to talk about. Since they’re all ex-1up and EGM staff, their opinions are critical and fair. Their rapport is great and while this is the best gaming podcast out there, they never take it too seriously. Occasionally they’ll share relationship advice and introduce you to your next favorite musical artist during their breaks. My favorite moments are when they poke fun at each other; you can hear the love.

Best for: Friday nights when you’re feeling lonely

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2. CAGcast
   
   

CheapAssGamer’s podcast is formulaic and that’s one of the reasons it’s awesome! It starts out with the cast talking about what they’re currently playing, then goes on to new releases, and closes out with letters from the community with life events sprinkled throughout. These guys make content for the industry, but their success is owed to having the closest perspective to how consumers feel. They’re critical, but they have no reason to pull their punches like other podcasters may need to.

Best for: video game collectors, gamers with families

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3. Podcast Beyond
   
   

“Beyond!” This iconic battle cry is all you’ll need to feel right at home whether you’ve been listening from the beginning or are just tuning in. IGN’s own Playstation Podcast has been running for over 300 episodes. Beyond has succeeded by having meaningful dialogue with their community rather than just taking a few email questions here and there. They’re famous for having meet and greets and live podcasts at various video game events. Even though the podcast focuses on everything Playstation, I find that Beyond is entertaining and insightful regardless of where your allegiances lie.

best for: playstation gamers, people who want to interact with the podcast crew and community

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4. 8-4 Play
   
   

This podcast is born and bred in Japan so if a new Final Fantasy or Monster Hunter comes out, you can guarantee they’ll have in depth conversations about it! The crew consists of industry veterans that now work on localization of Japanese games. Their opinions are sometimes biased and that’s what makes this a great podcast. They’re not afraid to praise your favorite JRPG even when it’s flawed.

best for: people who love Japanese games

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5. Giant Bombcast
   
   

This podcast lives off of random tangents and comedy. While all the podcasts I mentioned already are funny at times, this one will definitely have you smiling every five minutes or so. Most podcasts aim for concise one-hour episodes, but the Bombcast has no rules! For example, at the end of each year, they do a Game of the Year podcast series that lasts a week. After it’s all said and done, they end up sharing ten or more hours of free content about the best video games of the year with us!

best for: people who want three hour podcasts

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This is my top 5, but our hope at Dear Backlog is that you find your perfect fit and go on to make your own personal ranking based on what you value. With that being said, we’d love for our community to share suggestions in the comments. We'd especially appreciate podcasts where other gender's voices are represented. Thank you!

Derrick B @drockalexander

Dear Backlog @dearbacklog