Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is hitting the PSP this coming September 16. In case you didn't hear about it yesterday over on PS3 Fanboy, Force Unleashed lets players run amok as Darth Vader's secret apprentice. That means feel free to kill any and all younglings your dark heart so desires.

The PSP version of Force Unleashed is not being developed by LucasArts but is under the care of Krome Studios. The portable version will also not be featuring the Digital Molecular Matter and Euphoria engines that make the PS3 version so life-like; however, it will include exclusive levels. Expect this title to ship out to Southeast Asia and Australia by Sept. 17, and Europe on Sept. 19.

The Star Wars Battlefront blog was recently updated with a video, revealing something your PSP Fanboy writers have known for some time: the cinema sequences in the game are drawn in comic form, akin to the style used in the Metal Gear Solid digital comics. "We knew that our storytelling method would have to be pretty simple, as we didn't have the time or budget for any sort of full-on FMV," Mike Rosser admits.

The cinemas look sharp on the small screen, and with voice acting, they certainly feel adequately cinematic. We've been playing the game for the past few weeks, and although we can't reveal too much, we advise you to stay tuned for our impressions.

The Star Wars Battlefront blog on IGN has been updated nearly daily, with more and more videos slowly being released. The game keeps on looking better with each iteration, and we're particularly impressed of this video of Asajj Ventress. Why? The glow of the lightsabers is strangely alluring, with its vividly pulsating aura.

Stay tuned for even more on Renegade Squadron. Until then, see more videos after the break.

Mike Rosser has once again updated the Star Wars Battlefront blog with new footage of his "new favorite hero character." Robot bounty hunter (the best kind of bounty hunter) IG-88 is loaded with some awesome weaponry, which is on display in this latest vid. "In BF:RS, we've kitted him out with dual blaster rifles, a flamethrower and cluster grenades. And he's pretty deadly, as he should be! I'm also pleased that we managed to work IG-88 into the storyline, so expect some face-offs!"

The basics of the upcoming PSP-exclusive Battlefront are explained in this new IGN video. We're impressed by some of the gameplay choices, such as the intelligently designed lock-on system. The longer you hold the lock-on button, the better your aim will be. While the gameplay looks to be shaping up nicely, we're glad to say that it appears the graphics are also getting better. The framerate has become far more stable -- it looks like the game is actually playable! There's still more time left for development, but we're glad to see the game make such significant strides over the past few weeks.

[Thanks, Don!]

Han Solo better watch out! The upcoming Star Wars Battlefront game has a number of brand new weapons, one of them being the awesome new Carbonite Freeze Gun. The weapon will stop any character, no matter how fast, dead in its tracks. In addition, there's a new, mean rifle called the Orbital Strike. On the IGN blog for the game, Mike reveals that his favorite strategy for the game involves using the new weapons in tandem: "My personal favourite tactic is to freeze someone, then tag them with an Orbital Strike beacon -- the victim can see the strike building up, but is powerless to evade it. It's a bit tricky to pull off, so it's not the most efficient tactic, but it sure is satisfying! "

There's a number of other weapons to check out. In fact, all of the weapons are showcased on his blog entry. (Spoiler alert?)

The latest PSP rendition of Star Wars Battlefront, subtitled Renegade Squadron, recently came under fire for its framerate and lack of graphical optimization. However, lead designer Mark Rosser is convinced that they'll be able to silence the critics, in a rant posted on the game's official IGN blog.

The framerate, he attributes, was shaky due to an older build of the game. It has since been optimized and now delivers a steady rate. As for the graphics, Rosser stuck a comparison shot of Battlefront II and Renegade Squadron side-by-side and the difference is obvious. The new title has a far more impressive draw distance and much smoother character models. However, the smoothing seems to have erased a lot of texture detail on the characters. It does look like an improvement, but we want to see the improvements in motion! Hopefully, the talented team at Rebellion will make good on their word.

[Thanks, Don!]

If there's one upcoming game on PSP that needs every ounce of power the system can produce, it's Star Wars Battlefront. The upcoming online multiplayer game is ambitious, even by console standards. But, so far we've been underwhelmed by its lackluster graphics and sluggish framerate. The slow performance of the game could be a hindrance to actual gameplay, which is worrisome.

In a E3 interview with Gamespot, it appears that a Lucasarts representative confirmed use of PSP's full 333MHz capabilities. (Watch video at the 7 minute mark.) "Well, we're teaming up with Sony, so absolutely it's going to take advantage of that."

But ... did he appear not to fully understand what he was talking about? Watch for yourself, and you'll see his somewhat shaky response. We hope Star Wars Battlefront will take advantage of everything the PSP can do -- it certainly needs it.

[Thanks, Don!]

Sony made a big deal about Star Wars Battlefront at this year's E3. So much so, that they had a Chewbacca announce a special Star Wars-branded PSP Lite. We still have serious reservations about the game -- it still seems much too ambitious for our system to handle. Well, will we be proved wrong? (Hopefully!)

Renegade Squadron will be playable at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego, from July 26th-29th. We're still recovering from post-E3 shock, and won't be able to make it to the event ... but maybe some of our readers can? If you're able to play the game for us, please send us a tip so that we can get your impressions.

Now, check out some brand new screenshots of the game, fresh from E3:

One of the biggest new features of the upcoming PSP-exclusive Star Wars Battlefront game is the ability to customize your character in a number of ways. No longer limited to simple classes, players will be able to assign points to certain abilities, allowing players to experience the game in a highly tailored way. Watch this interview and get the full details, and some game footage to boot.

Is a game too ambitious for its own good? Maybe. The new Star Wars Battlefront title brings brand-new massively multiplayer battles ... exclusively for PSP. We're not complaining, however. The new trailer from LucasArts shows there's much to celebrate in this jam-packed UMD. The game promises so much that if Rebellion is able to deliver, our console brethren will have a lot to be jealous of.

There's a Star Wars Battlefront game coming out, and it's exclusive for PSP. Titled Renegade Squadron, this new action game will feature an a "never before told" story that takes players through new missions and new battles that spans the classic trilogy (Episodes IV to VI). Han Solo has been recruiting "battle-hardened rogues and scoundrels" to fight the tired-and-true evil Empire. This ragtag team will travel throughout the Star Wars universe. Some of the levels include: Ord Mantell, Boz Pity, Korriban, Sullust and Saleucami. There will also be new space battles at Kessel, Hoth, Bespin, and the remnants of Alderaan. Star Wars mainstays, like Endor and Hoth, will also be returning.

Renegade Squadron promises to provide a greater customizable experience than its predecessors. Players will be able to choose their own weapons, equipments and abilities. A variety of vehicles will be available, including the Millennium Falcon, Darth Vader's TIE Advanced, Slave I, and the Jedi Starfighter. Capitol ships can be controlled as well.

To top it all off, Renegade Squadron will also feature 16 player Infrastructure multiplayer, with leaderboards, stats tracking, and profile pages. With such robust online features, Renegade Squadron looks to easily outdo the PSP version of Battlefront II. The game is planned to release this fall. For more details and screenshots, visit the official Battlefront web site.

LEGO Batman has been rumored to be in development for quite some time, but finally fans of building blocks and super heroes are having their dreams met (at least the ones that can be rated E for everyone). Variety of all places is reporting that TT Games is eagerly following up the success of LEGO Star Wars with a LEGO dark knight game. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will do the publishing rights this time and LEGO Batman is set to come out sometime 2008.

I'm personally more excited about this LEGO title than Star Wars simply because I'm a bigger fan of Batman. If you could have any property turned into a LEGO game, which would you choose?

[Via Firing Squad]

The Death Star wasn't build in a day and apparently Star Wars: The Force Unleashed won't be either. The game did have an official release date of November 2007, but now its release date has switched to "TBD" and the rumor is that it won't be out until sometime in 2008. Much like the Star Wars universe, game delays are both good and bad because while the extra time usually helps make the game better, it tortures fans awaiting that particular title. Let's hope that like cookies in the oven, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is worth the wait. Mmmmm cookies.

[ Via Games Radar ]

There is an upcoming CG Star Wars Clone Wars TV series coming in 2008. LucasArts must have lots of confidence in the property because their making a game based on it and Clone Wars will be their first internally developed handheld title. LucasArts Shanghai is doing the honers and has Feargus Carroll as the project lead. He previously worked on such popular games as Freedom Fighters, Black & White 2 and Battlefield: Modern Combat.

If both the game and and the new TV show are as good as the previous Cartoon Network Clone Wars than I'll be a huge fan of both.

[Via DCEmu]