At E3 a Square Enix representative told us Chrono Trigger would include a single screen classic mode for purists and here it is. This is a screenshot from the DS arrange version or Chrono Trigger classic with the addition of enemy HP meters on the bottom screen. I guess Lucca’s default accessory, the Sightscope, is completely useless if you’re playing Chrono Trigger in arrange mode.

If you want to play Chrono Trigger with touch screen controls the battle menus appear on the bottom screen with huge buttons. The benefit of touch screen layout is less clutter and no more enemies hiding under the ATB meter.

http://www.siliconera.com/2008/09/09...-arrange-mode/ ...

The game is finally done, after several years of hard work by an incredibly talented team, and I can now just enjoy playing the game and begin to reflect on the experience of building it. When I do look back on the development effort, I’m amazed and humbled by the fact that we actually managed to finish the game. As the first internally-developed title from LucasArts in quite some time, we bit off several huge challenges, including: building a brand new game engine and tools from scratch for two new (at the time we started, anyway) platforms (including PlayStation 3); crafting a new story that bridges the gap between the two Star Wars trilogies; assembling a new team that had never worked together before; and integrating new and cutting-edge simulation-based technologies. Along the way, we also formed a new and unique partnership with our sister company Industrial Light & Magic, and worked closely with Krome Studios in Australia on the PS2 and PSP versions of the game.

From the outset of development, we were committed to building games from the ground up for each platform, taking advantage of each platform’s strengths. We really tried to push the visual boundaries on the PS3, with lighting, cinematics, and VFX that I believe are world-class. In order to achieve the scale of destruction necessary to make the Force feel truly “unleashed,” we worked with Pixelux Entertainment to incorporate a simulation-based technology called Digital Molecular Matter (or DMM), which simulates the way that materials behave based on real world physics. If you throw a stormtrooper through a plate glass window, that window will shatter differently every time based on the angle of impact, the velocity of the stormtrooper, and other factors. We also use DMM on things like metal doors, which you can blast your way through using a powerful charged Force Push that causes the doors to bend and warp. To bring our characters to life, we collaborated with Natural Motion to integrate biomechanical AI called euphoria into the game. Euphoria infuses each of our enemies with a central nervous system and full suite of reflexes. Stormtroopers you pick up with the Force will writhe and flail, and will protect their heads or grab onto objects when thrown. The power of the next-gen systems allowed us to bring together these technologies – alongside the Havok physics system – to create authentic environments that are ultimately designed to be just really fun and interactive Force “playgrounds.”

The feel of being “unleashed” has also been brought to life on the PlayStation 2 through robust physics. The physics system allows the player to affect and move around more objects than I’ve personally ever seen in a PS2 game. This allowed us to create highly-interactive and destructible environments. We also added exclusive content to both the PS2 and PSP. You’ll be able to visit the Jedi Temple, for example, a location that’s not found in the PS3 version of the game. On the PSP, we also have the concept of “historic missions,” which allow players to relive some of the key fights from the Star Wars Saga – but with “unleashed” powers. Imagine Luke and Darth Vader battling on Cloud City, but with amped up Force Push, the ability to create violent shockwaves, and more… And the PSP is one of the few platforms to include a multiplayer mode, again because we wanted to ensure that each version of the game has its own unique features.

Everyone at LucasArts, ILM, Krome, n-Space, Skywalker Sound, and Lucasfilm who has touched The Force Unleashed has worked extremely hard to realize the core vision: a game about kicking ass with the Force, wrapped up in a compelling new story that bridges the gap between the two trilogies. Most of us on the team are Star Wars fans, and we tried to make a game that we’d want to play, with a story that we felt remained true to the saga. But ultimately, I’m just hoping that people will find the game fun and addictive, whether you’re tossing stormtroopers into oncoming TIE fighters or punting Jawas into chasms on the junk world of Raxus Prime. I’m really looking forward to meeting fans at our Launch Event on Monday the 15th, and to hearing reaction to the gameplay and story.

We’ll have more on that - and a way for you to win some Star Wars/The Force Unleashed loot - next Monday.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/...rms-next-week/ ...

The game is finally done, after several years of hard work by an incredibly talented team, and I can now just enjoy playing the game and begin to reflect on the experience of building it. When I do look back on the development effort, I’m amazed and humbled by the fact that we actually managed to finish the game. As the first internally-developed title from LucasArts in quite some time, we bit off several huge challenges, including: building a brand new game engine and tools from scratch for two new (at the time we started, anyway) platforms (including PlayStation 3); crafting a new story that bridges the gap between the two Star Wars trilogies; assembling a new team that had never worked together before; and integrating new and cutting-edge simulation-based technologies. Along the way, we also formed a new and unique partnership with our sister company Industrial Light & Magic, and worked closely with Krome Studios in Australia on the PS2 and PSP versions of the game.

From the outset of development, we were committed to building games from the ground up for each platform, taking advantage of each platform’s strengths. We really tried to push the visual boundaries on the PS3, with lighting, cinematics, and VFX that I believe are world-class. In order to achieve the scale of destruction necessary to make the Force feel truly “unleashed,” we worked with Pixelux Entertainment to incorporate a simulation-based technology called Digital Molecular Matter (or DMM), which simulates the way that materials behave based on real world physics. If you throw a stormtrooper through a plate glass window, that window will shatter differently every time based on the angle of impact, the velocity of the stormtrooper, and other factors. We also use DMM on things like metal doors, which you can blast your way through using a powerful charged Force Push that causes the doors to bend and warp. To bring our characters to life, we collaborated with Natural Motion to integrate biomechanical AI called euphoria into the game. Euphoria infuses each of our enemies with a central nervous system and full suite of reflexes. Stormtroopers you pick up with the Force will writhe and flail, and will protect their heads or grab onto objects when thrown. The power of the next-gen systems allowed us to bring together these technologies – alongside the Havok physics system – to create authentic environments that are ultimately designed to be just really fun and interactive Force “playgrounds.”

The feel of being “unleashed” has also been brought to life on the PlayStation 2 through robust physics. The physics system allows the player to affect and move around more objects than I’ve personally ever seen in a PS2 game. This allowed us to create highly-interactive and destructible environments. We also added exclusive content to both the PS2 and PSP. You’ll be able to visit the Jedi Temple, for example, a location that’s not found in the PS3 version of the game. On the PSP, we also have the concept of “historic missions,” which allow players to relive some of the key fights from the Star Wars Saga – but with “unleashed” powers. Imagine Luke and Darth Vader battling on Cloud City, but with amped up Force Push, the ability to create violent shockwaves, and more… And the PSP is one of the few platforms to include a multiplayer mode, again because we wanted to ensure that each version of the game has its own unique features.

Everyone at LucasArts, ILM, Krome, n-Space, Skywalker Sound, and Lucasfilm who has touched The Force Unleashed has worked extremely hard to realize the core vision: a game about kicking ass with the Force, wrapped up in a compelling new story that bridges the gap between the two trilogies. Most of us on the team are Star Wars fans, and we tried to make a game that we’d want to play, with a story that we felt remained true to the saga. But ultimately, I’m just hoping that people will find the game fun and addictive, whether you’re tossing stormtroopers into oncoming TIE fighters or punting Jawas into chasms on the junk world of Raxus Prime. I’m really looking forward to meeting fans at our Launch Event on Monday the 15th, and to hearing reaction to the gameplay and story.

We’ll have more on that - and a way for you to win some Star Wars/The Force Unleashed loot - next Monday.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/...rms-next-week/ ...

Apple's decision to transition from the fat third-generation iPod nano to the new svelte fourth-generation iPod nano must have been an easy one. The latest version has the same size screen (just rotated vertically) and the same video support as before, but adds a much more comfortable (sorta) oval shape, a curved screen, an accelerometer, a 16GB version and most importantly, a much improved user interface that aims to solve some of the limitations the Clickwheel has compared to the iPod Touch and iPhone UIs. This evolution succeeds beautifully.

http://gizmodo.com/5047578/ipod-nano-review ...

Multiple unnamed sources have allegedly confirmed that Ensemble Studios will be shuttered upon completion of Halo Wars, reports Shacknews. Layoffs have reportedly struck staff not currently working on the project, while Microsoft, Ensemble's parent company, has supposedly offered incentives to those employees critical to the Halo-themed RTS, goading them to stick around. We'll hit you with an update as soon as we've got one. Update: Microsoft rather unsurprisingly told Big Download it had no comment about this story.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/09/ru...ter-halo-wars/ ...

We didn't wake up today hoping to hate on Nintendo, but they're making it a bit too easy. Granted, the Nintendo WiFi router could certainly find a place in the homes of the tech illiterate, but Nintendo keeps hiding behind the apron strings of its casual gamer fanbase, and we don't have to sit around and take it. Two months after Nintendo finally admitted it had a problem with Wii storage and claimed to be "working on a solution," Reggie's still playing that line -- to diminishing effects -- in Club Nintendo, the official Nintendo mag of Latin America. He went on to say that "we have never said that it will be a hard drive nor have we mentioned how we will fix this issue, but we are going to deliver a better way to store the games." Weak. Nintendo could easily create a backup solution for SD cards or the ubiquitous thumbstick, but instead the company is letting its most active users suffer with the mere 512MB of built-in storage, requiring them to re-download games from the Wii Shop, and making few promises about when or what the storage solution will be -- not cool, Nintendo. Phew, good to get that off our chests. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some "High School Musical: Sing It!" to attend to.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/08/r...-line-for-wii/ ...

You've seen the PR, now check the videos. The zunitedcommunity just posted four introductory videos straight outta Redmond -- three demonstrate the new WiFi Marketplace, buy from FM, and Channel features in the 3.0 firmware while the fourth demonstrates the updated desktop software with new Zune mix, improved Now Playing view, and new Picks view auto-populated to reflect your listening habits. CNET News also had the chance to get some hands-on time courtesy of Zune's Joe Belfiore. Joe confirms that WiFi access to Marketplace only works from hotspots that don't require a browser-based login (duh) while once again hinting at future Xbox and Zune integration since "both stores are based on the same technology." He also confirms that the 3.0 firmware will work with all Zune devices as we expected. Curiously, when asked about accessing your Zune music collection from a phone, Joe responded by saying, "that's another really interesting device that you may someday see us do work on but nothing that we're announcing here today." Funny response since CNET asked him about accessing Zune music from a phone, not a Zune phone. See all five videos after the break.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/09/z...-a-zune-phone/ ...

As expected, Apple just updated the iPod touch with a new thinner stainless steel case -- it's still got the same display. There's now hardware volume controls (hooray!) and a built-in speaker, and a Nike+ receiver is also built in, so you just need the shoe transmitter. On the software side, the UI has been tweaked and the new iTunes Genius features have been added, and the App Store is now included (obviously). Battery life is decent at 36 hours of music and 6 hours of video, and Apple's doing the same "environmentally sound" design thing it did with the new nano. Three price points: 8GB for $229, 16GB for $299, and 32GB for $399. So much for that rumored price drop below the iPhone's $199 price point, but we won't complain too much about a $100 price drop.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/09/i...reen-new-case/ ...

Although not announced, the iPod shuffle also got turned out in four new colors in addition to the ol' standby, (PRODUCT) RED. Still 1GB and 2GB for $49 and $69, respectively. Hey, what more do you want, aluminum MacBooks? See what's been left behind after the break.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/09/o...huffle-colors/ ...