Its no secret that I love this series. Its one of my favourite monthlies (only slightly behind the GL titles) and its currently the only one of the Dark Horse Star Wars books I’m getting (budget cuts meant Legacy got dropped). For me, its got a great combination of action, mystery and, most importantly, humour that really give it a great Star Wars feeling. Sometimes I think the humour of the films gets lost in some of the expanded universe stuff, but its in this book in force (pun unintended).

I found this a really satisfying end to the main driving arc of the series thus far. Lucien and Zayne’s fight was great to see (and showed how far Zayne’s come in terms of his Jedi abilities since the early issues), and I loved Lucien’s final fate (and the fact that the Darth Sion comment appears to have been a red herring). Zayne turning his back on the Jedi Order (as they’d turned their backs on him) in order to stick with Griff rang true to me, and I’ll be really interested to see what direction this series takes now. They’ve been careful to keep some plot threads on the back burner (Rholan, Jarael), and they’ve still got the backdrop of the Mandalorian war with the Republic, and the Revanchanist movement to play with.

A brilliant series, and I’m glad they didn’t drag out the Covenant plotline past its due date. If you like Star Wars, you should really be checking this series out, and next month’s issue should be the perfect jumping on point.

For those that haven’t followed the series, its about Zayne Carrick, a failing Jedi Padawan, who finds himself on the run with the local wannabe crime lord and various others when the Jedi Masters kill his fellow padawans. Finding himself framed for their deaths, he has to find out why his friends were killed while avoiding being caught by the Jedi or the Republic. Fortunately at the same time, the Mandalorians go to war with the Republic, which provides him ample chaos to have all kinds of adventures in.

And now, series writer John Jackson Miller is wrapping up this main plot thread.  After over 30 issues, Zayne has closed in on the Jedi Covenant, and we’ve discovered how they’ve been manipulated from the beginning.

I love how Miller is not taking the option of keeping that plot thread running indefinitely, and instead giving us a conclusion to Zayne’s fugitive arc.  We get to see how Haazen has manipulated the covenant into becoming his instruments as he attempts to seize power for himself, and the one who has most been manipulated has been Zayne’s master, Lucien.   There’s a real feeling here that with his world unravelling around him, Lucien’s really lost the plot, and the hints from Haazen that Lucien coul go onto become Darth Sion were a big twist.

While Legacy tends to be the series that gets the most attention online, Knights of the Old Republic has always been my favourite of the Dark Horse series (and indeed, is currently the only one I’m buying monthly).  Its got a great balance between humour and adventure that I think is important to Star Wars.

I’m also pleased to see Brian Ching return to the art duties with this issue.  The art on this series has sadly been a mixed bag lately, so its nice to see the original artist returning to wrap up the story arc that started with issue 1.

Roll on issue 35.  I can’t wait to see how this ends.

I’m glad to see Bioware having another go at the Old Republic era.  Since I’d pretty much given up hope on ever seeing Knights of the Old Republic 3 it’ll be great to at least have the chance to revisit that era in game format once again.  From the sounds of the storyline, the Knights of the Old Republic plot will be touched upon within the MMO, so at least that should give some closure.

I’ve enjoyed playing Star Wars Galaxies, so it’ll be interesting to see what this new game brings to the table.  Of course, it’ll have the advantage from the outset of having the experience of what worked and didn’t in SWG, not to mention knowing what people liked about the KotOR series.

Is there any chance we could meet a descendant of Gryph in the game?  It’d rock to get some henchman quests from him

And HK-47 is a must, of course.

Issue #30 picks up where we left off. Zayne and his crew have discovered the covenant’s store of Sith artifacts when they are captured by Feln, a member of the Covenant who has perverted his race’s traditions to serve the Covenant.

Its a cracking read, and Zayne fairing so well in combat against Feln was great to see. We’re seeing the cracks show in the remaining members of the Covenant as well, with Lucien’s command over them slipping as their members dwindle and Zayne coming ever closer to exposing what they’ve done.

I’m really looking forward to the conclusion of this arc. Its the story that has dominated the series from the beginning, and I’m really hoping we see Zayne finally cleared of the Padawan massacre (of course, there’s a reasonable number of people now who know the truth, or at least suspect, in the case of Master Vandar).

While Legacy (also a good read) tends to get the praised heaped upon it, this title is still my top pick from Dark Horse’s Star Wars range.

Next up was Green Lantern 31.   I admit, I wasn’t really looking forward to the retelling of Hal’s origin.   However Johns is doing a reasonable job of interweaving in new elements that play into the Blackest Night prophecy, while also establishing a new friendship between Abin Sur and Sinestro that’s added a new level to the mythology.

I do still hold onto my reservations about the “Hal Origin” parts of the story.  Most of them are things we’ve seen before and don’t really add anything new.   Granted the removal of the drunk driving from Emerald Dawn will please many (I personally enjoyed that series, but I can see the complaint), however some of Johns’ small retcons do niggle me in a fanboy way (no GL symbol on first getting the ring was previously a post-Rebirth thing – now its been retconned in as the way its always been.  Similarly all the GLs now sport the Rebirth-tweaking of Hal’s logo.  Really small things, but they do pull me out of the story slightly.  Still, this is New Earth, not the post-Crisis DCU).

I am enjoying the arc though, however without the Blackest Night stuff, it would be a fairy dull aftermath to the Sinestro Corps.

Morrison and Quitely’s All Star Superman had its penultimate issue hit the stands, and once again, its a doozy, that sees Superman putting his affairs in order as he knows he’s getting closer to death.

Everthing about this series just fits the “All Star” tag perfectly, and in a way that All Star Batman & Robin can only dream of.   While that later title is a parody of the Batman mythos, this really embraces everything that makes Superman popular, and then ramps it up.  Definitely a series I’ll pick the trades up for once the final issue is out.  If Final Crisis is half as good as this has been, then we’re all in for a treat.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #29 sees the main story moving on now that the crossover Vektor has moved onto the Dark Times title.  The main cast are back in force, and picking up from the plot threads sown in Vektor, Zhane and the crew head to the Sith artifacts repository held by the Jedi Covenant.

While the art has improved from the Vektor crossover, its still a far cry from the quality this series had when it started, which is a shame.  However, unemcumbered by the crossover, it was great to have Jarael and the rest of the regulars rejoining the action.

While John Jackson Miller did his best to tie Vektor into his ongoing plot threads, it still had felt like too much of a diversion from this title’s story, so its great to have all the plot threads returning.   There’s definitely a feeling from this arc of things moving towards some kind of endgame.  Lucien Dray is now on the Jedi Council, although Master Vandar is smart enough to know that they need to keep an eye on them.  And with Zhane now on the offensive, determined to prove the machinations of the Covenant, clear his name, and bring them to justice for murdering his classmates, it really feels like its all kicking off.

First up, and possibly the biggest release of the week for DC fans is the Final Crisis sketchbook.

As a tease of what’s upcoming I think it works well.  We get a look at the redesigns instore for some of the New Gods as well as a look at some of the new superhero teams Morrison has lined up.

As I’ve said before, I’m not a big fan of the New Gods, but I liked the look of these redesigns, and the concepts behind them (although I’m still unsure about the Darkseid having trouble moving thing).   We get a really interesting tease in terms of the “Multiverse Machine” (perhaps a sign that there’s a larger plan for the multiverse which will definitely see it sticking around?  I hope so), and a look at some of the new Japanese super teams (I love the Super Young Team a crazy Japanese version of the JLA).

Less successful for me, was Titans #2.   I’m not a dyed-in-the-wool Titans fan, although I enjoyed Geoff’s relaunch of the Teen Titans, and I like the characters well enough.   I thought I’d give this series a couple of issues, but to be honest, its not grabbing me.  Some of the characterisations felt a bit off to me, and I’m not big on the art.   The three crossovers going on that I’m picking up, I’m going to have to get brutal on titles that I don’t love, so I can’t see me picking up the next issue.

The first part of Batman RIP though, I enjoyed.  While it very much felt like a first part, with not a huge amount happening, and more introducing things, I’m definitely intrigued enough to be sticking with this crossover for now.  I have to say though, as someone who’s not been buying Morrison’s Batman, I loved the interaction between Bruce, Tim and Alfred.

From the non-DC side of things, I had Knights of the Old Republic #28.  Although not a series I talk about a lot on the blog, its one I’ve enjoyed immensely, possibly ranking alongside GL in terms of my pull list.

I have to say though, that the much-vaunted Vector crossover has done nothing for me.   I disliked the fact that most of the main cast were missing for the last 4 issues, and I found the art badly off-putting.   I can’t say I’ve been left with any real desire to pick up the rest of the crossover, and I’m really hoping that now its over, the series will get back to telling stories I more enjoy.    I will say though, that I did appreciate the writer trying to fit the crossover around his ongoing story of Zhane being on the run from the Jedi Masters.

From Marvel, I picked up Captain Britain #1.   Now being written by Paul Cornell (of Dr Who fame), and with “Secret Invasion” stamped on the top, I couldn’t resist.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was probably the surprise hit of the week for me, as something I ended up enjoying a lot more than I thought I would.  Its really grabbed me, and its really nice to be reading about a British hero, and set in Britain as well.   In that regard, I think Marvel have probably done a very wise thing in getting a British writer on board.   However, I’m going to stop saying “Britain” now, lest I end up sounding like an episode of League of Gentlemen.

I do love the setup though, with Captain Britain resolving to be more like a proper counterpart to Captain America, and the Skrull disguised as John Lennon who’s working with MI 13 (the agency Cap works for) to help find other Skrull infiltrators.  I’m definitely onboard for the next issue.

The big win of the week for me though was Blue Beetle. I’d picked up the first few issues of Keith Giffen’s run, but I didn’t really get into it. However the JLI-reunion promised on the title suckered me and I picked up issues 23 and 24 as well to get a better feel for the story.

What an absolutely cracking title. I’d only read 3 issues of this storyline (which has been built up to throughout the run) yet I was still reading it with a huge grin on my face. Jamie’s plan to stop the Reach’s invasion plans was really well presented and there was a big “coming of age” feel here with him risking everything to stop the invasion.

As a GL fan though, Guy Gardner was just the icing on the cake:

“My brother calls you the crazy one.”

“That’s right, baby girl. I’m the crazy one.”

“We’re dead.”

Classic Guy.

I really need to get the trades of Rogers’ run on this book.

I’ll talk about GL #29 in another post, but the last DC comic of the week I got was the Booster Gold Showcase. I’ve really been enjoying reading his early stories, as I largely only knew the character from JLI. Dan Jurgen’s stuff is brilliant. Its interesting to read the mystery that was applied to the character in the beginning, with his stories launching with him already established, and only later issues revealing that he was from the future. Jurgens does a great job of presenting a hero that’s only out for number one, raking in the money from merchandising from his public status as a superhero. Its a great take, especially since most DC heroes were about the greater good, so its interesting to have a more self-interested hero. And its a testiment to that direction how well the character’s lasted, enjoying more of a spotlight thanks to 52 and his own re-launched title. Its also interesting reading the two-parter where he teams up with Rip Hunter to return to the 25th century, since it nicely serves as a pre-cursor to Booster’s current storylines. With Geoff Johns leaving the title, and Jess Katz rumoured to be leaving, there’s a lot worse things could happen than Dan Jurgens taking over the writing. Although the current rumours have John Rogers (from Blue Beetle, above) relaunching the book as Blue and Gold. Something which, given my glowing review of Blue Beetle, you’ll understand me being excited about the prospect.

The only other title, which I won’t really go into too much, is Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. Usually this is one of my favourite reads when it comes out, but to be honest, the much-hyped Vector crossover hasn’t really been working for me. I’m missing the regular cast and storylines (although Griff’s on good form), and the art’s not been great. Frankly I’ll be glad once the crossover’s done, and I may skip the Legacy issues (the only other SW title I buy).

Set an uncertain amount of time after the original, the player takes the role of the Jedi Exile. The Sith have returned to the galaxy, wiping out most of the jedi, and they’ve now set their sights on the Exile, believing him/her to be the last remaining Jedi.

Unlike the first game, the sequel starts you on your Jedi path straight away. While owning a lightsaber only comes much later on in the game, right away you get to start selecting force powers. The upshot of this being, that as you proceed into the later stages of the game, you’re a veritable Jedi powerhouse, cutting down enemies with lightning, and healing your companions from near-death with ease.

This game also introduced the influence system with your travelling companions. As is usual with these RPG games, as you travel to different locations new NPCs join your party. What was new in this game however was that your actions could determine the amount of influence you had with these party members. So if you helped out someone in trouble with the local mob, then your good-aligned companions would look more favourably on you, while you’d lose influence with those more inclined to the dark side.

The great thing about this system being that having increased influence would mean that your companions would only tell you certain things once they trusted you, and for some of them, once that trust reached a certain level, you could actually train them in the ways of the Force, and they’d become Jedi characters. Really helpful having a couple of jedi around to use Force Healing in the tougher fights.

However, the game suffered from one big flaw. Lucasarts had been incredibly keen on a tight development timescale for this game, so as a result, it was rushed onto the market. As a result of this, bugs are rife (some causing big gameplay issues), and huge sections of the game had to be abandoned, leaving several parts where its clear something was significant, but doesn’t actually lead anywhere.

Despite this, I still love this game. Revan’s character in the first game was very well defined (in terms of his/her backstory), whereas I find it more easy to role-play the Exile, as their past and motivations are a blank text. Getting influence with your companions and having them become Jedi was a great addition to the game, and gives you lots of different things to attempt on various run-throughs.

The new Sith Lords are great as well. Darth Sion is a really great, freaky creation, and Darth Nihilus had a great sense of mystery.

The bugs are the main downfall. Just the other night, I had a quest which stuck whenever I tried taking the light-side path to completing it, and so I eventually just had to take the hit and gather some darkside points in order to progress. Perhaps not a huge issue in terms of making progress, but in a role-playing game it really drags you out of the character.

Oblivion had petitioned LucasArts to allow them to complete the game in a later patch, straightening out the bugs, and providing some of the missing content, but sadly LucasArts said no. Some of what was intended (The HK Droid Factory for example) can still be found in the depths of the PC data files, and there is a project making progress at trying to restore some of this content.

Overall, I really do love this game. Its just such a shame it was never completed to the developer’s original intentions, as I reckon it’d have surpassed its predecessor. As it stands, the first game probably pips it to the post for stability, and having a more complete, coherent storyline, which is a shame, because the potential really was there.

It and its sequel are two fantastic games (although the second has its problems due to its rushed nature), and I never tire of playing them. I tend to play through each of them a couple of times a year, especially since Bioware seems to have moved away from making PC games.

It was a great idea, picking a time in Star Wars lore that wasn’t as well known, and being able to build up their own story with it. Especially since its now spawned the fantastic Knights of the Old Republic comic series which is acting as a prequel.

Sadly, it does now mean I’m going to end up sleep-deprived for the next few days.

Finished replaying Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic again the other night. I do love those games. Work’s been quite busy lately, so I’ve been tired at night, so not really in the mood for anything real time. So the turn-based combat of KotOR was pretty appealing. I’ve played through it and its sequel loads of times now. I really do wish they’d get round to making KotOR3. I’ve been quite dissappointed that Bioware seem to have started favouring consoles over PCs for their games. Admittedly, its where the money is these days, but as a PC gamer, I do miss having good, new Bioware games to play.

With it finished though, I do need to try and play through the new Oblivion expansion: The Shivering Isles. I’ve started playing it, although so far I’m not sold on the new area. When it comes to RPGs, I tend to prefer running around woods and grasslands, bumping into towns and such on the way, which is probably why I liked Oblivion so much. However, the new area is designed to be a bit weirder. Still, I imagine once I start finding my way around it, I’ll get settled in.