Score one for Lucasfilm

Actually, make that a few. The decision to pursue a regular cartoon based on the Star Wars universe (seeing as how Clone Wars was so successful, and so damn good) is probably the single best decision he's made since letting somone else direct Empire. Add to that news of a live-action show, and it looks like Star Wars may continue to live on for just a little while longer, and seeing as how none of those will be written or directed by Lucas, it's a win-win situation for fans. Add to those two things two very excellent video games that were recently released, and it looks like it's a good time to be a Star Wars fan. Well, unless you count Episode III, and I don't.

Lego Star Wars might be the single best console game ever to carry the Star Wars name. Yeah, that might not be saying a lot outside of some of the X-Wing fighter games, but it is a damn good game nonetheless. Playing out the saga as a cut little lego figure is a hell of a lot of fun, and it even makes Episode I interesting. Add in the massive amounts of unlockables (including just about every character in the SW universe), and the replay value of some of the levels, and you have a game that's likely to keep the best gamer busy for at least a few weeks, and the rest of us probably months.

Next is Republic Commando, think Halo only within the SW worlds. The gameplay is swift and it looks great. I haven't really gotten far into it due to the Lego game's distraction, but what I have played I've enjoyed immensely. With system link capability, it's probably really fun in multiplayer mode, and I hope to get more into it in the coming weeks. I'll keep you updated.

I've got lots of reviews coming up at CBG in the forseeable future, including Ex Machina Vol. 1, Helios #3, Billy the Kid's Old Timey Oddities #1, Beowulf #1 and Batman Chronicles Vol. 1, so I've got a lot of work to do.

-L