Clone Wars Review: "To Catch A Jedi"

By Martin Coronell-Rodriguez

Before I begin my review of “To Catch a Jedi”, I’d just like to say that this is my first article that has nothing to do with SWTOR and that won’t include green colored font. I’m happy to be given the opportunity to be writing my first-ever review of a Clone Wars episode and I hope you all enjoy it. I’m also happy to be writing this as I see no one has really written a review of a Clone Wars episode in a while, so I guess I’ll be taking over until Chris or some other Underworld volunteer wants to tackle an episode.

“To Catch a Jedi” is the 19th episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series’ fifth season, and is the 107th episode of The Clone Wars series.

At the start of the episode, seeing that the Council thinks that Ahsoka is responsible for what she’s done really angered me. Many of the Council members know Ahsoka and have even teamed up with her! I was happy to see that Plo Koon was siding with Anakin and Ahsoka… sort of… but to see that neither of them weren’t really standing up for her just fueled my anger towards these Jedi even more. I would have loved to see either Anakin or Plo come to her defense a lot better, and heck, maybe even Anakin showing a bit of defiance towards the Council would have given me a sigh of relief. I just hope karma bites these Jedi in the ass one day! Oh wait… *thinks back to Order 66*.

Now upon laying my eyes on the Coruscant Underworld, without all of the filthiness it kind of reminds me of Queens, New York. The transportation, the people, the buildings, that city-like atmosphere—it all reminded me of the place I used to call home. It’s one of the reasons why I love the planet Coruscant, and I just hope we get more arcs that run through different locations on Coruscant in the future.

Now the train scene with Ahsoka was pretty epic! Running from law enforcement with her acrobatics just filled me with adrenaline, and I was happy to see her get out of there once the train was approaching the lower platform. The scene where she disrupted one of the locals got me chuckling, too. But then again, more policemen spot her and she runs into a nearby elevator which the policemen happen to damage before she gets away. As it forces its way down to the lowest level she really couldn’t keep her cool there, deciding to use her lightsaber at the last minute to get out from the top, only for the little kid inside that elevator to save her own skin other than the other way around. She was right once she told the kid that she really wasn’t on her game that day.

As she treaded lightly through the streets I see a familiar head, and once the camera showed her full body I was sort of blown away to see Ventress here of all places. Things certainly got more interesting here seeing the Force-sensitive Separatist war criminal, who has now taken the status as a bounty hunter. As Ahsoka was speaking to Ventress about how she’d get away with the bounty, she proceeded to reluctantly agree about what Ventress said about the Jedi not seeing her as a Jedi. Afterwards, Ahsoka asked for Ventress’s help in trying to help find out who is trying to frame her. I loved how Ventress expressed her feelings on what would ever get her to try and help her in any way, for Ahsoka to give quite a good bargain that’s better than credits—something Ventress almost can’t refuse. I also love how Ventress described the Jedi as not being all that holy as she first thought, but I have to agree with her because what the Jedi have decided to do about Ahsoka is just plain inexcusable.

As they’re walking towards the Coruscant Underworld portal, that’s when things start taking a turn for the worse. Anakin, Plo and the Clones catch up to Ahsoka and as Ahsoka escapes with Ventress, that’s when Ahsoka stops and notices Anakin behind the shields. I get those feels right at that moment, and then she takes off back into the shadows of the Underworld along with Ventress. Anakin seems to be quite upset, notifying the clones to send in the probes and to track them down quickly.

Once Ahsoka and Ventress find an area to settle down, Ahsoka gets back in touch with Barriss Offee and after that Ahsoka informs Ventress of where she’s supposed to go. As they start to make their way there, they are stopped by Commander Wolffe and a squad of clones. I liked how Ventress was so eager to “play”, and they eventually had to so they did. Once Ventress and Ahsoka incapacitated the clones (glad Ventress didn’t kill them), they made their way to the warehouse that Barriss told Ahsoka about. Here is where they decided to part ways, and this part really saddened me because who could ever see them team up? Not me! I thought this was really special for the series and I was happy to see them working together. I was also happy to see that Ventress could fight without killing, and remarks to Ahsoka in the end of the fight that this is the new Ventress.

In the end of the episode, Ventress is incapacitated by this unidentified Dark Jedi who stole her helmet and lightsabers and ambushed Ahsoka, pushing the Togruta to her limits and defeating her in the fight with a final blow by kicking her into the stomach and down into the area where the nano-droids are. Although Ahsoka tried her best with the battle against the Dark Jedi, her best just wasn’t enough. When she gets up, Wolffe finds her and he stuns her before she could even finish her statement. The ending is very sad, as Ventress didn’t even have a chance to fight back against the Dark Jedi and Ahsoka is taken into custody by the clones.

In conclusion, this whole episode was just done impressively! I believe this is the best, if not, one of the best episodes up to date! I honestly have to give this episode a 10/10. I really have to give it a perfect score because of how things are turning out good at the moment for the Dark Jedi (I have to admit that), how Ventress decided to help Ahsoka out, how the fights really meant something, and the cinematography along with the flow of the episode. I was very disappointed with the first episode of the arc, but each episode got better and better! I’ve been getting chills, filled with excitement and I’ve had my body flowing with adrenaline because of how this arc has progressed. I can’t wait for the 20th and final episode of season five, and I hope it can rock with a 10/10 in my book once it premiers!

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization

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The SWU Podcast Episode 51 | 9/17/2012

In this episode of the SWU Podcast, fans Dave Gremillion and Stephanie Till come on the show to talk about their experiences at Celebration VI, gamers Trey, Martin, Adam, and Kari discuss the current state of the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, and Chris and Dominic read this week's headlines and announce the winner of the first ever SWU giveaway. Plus listen to hear what a certain Gungan has to say about "arm-sliceage-offage".



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» Dave Gremillion on Facebook

» Stephanie Till's Photography and Videography

» Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

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The SWU Podcast Episode 36 | 5/15/2012

In this episode of the SWU Podcast, hosts Chris, Jordan, and Savanna are joined by SWTOR expert Martin from The Old Republic Cantina. They discuss the status of the MMO and its latest updates, read this week's Star Wars headlines, and give a comprehensive preview of Disney Star Wars Weekends.



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» The Old Republic Cantina

» This Is The Blog You're Looking For

» Pandas, Lightsabers, and Cameras, oh my!

» Fangirls On Felucia

» Empire Fails on Youtube

» The Star Wars Talk Show

» One Man Star Wars Rants Podcast

» Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

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The Woes of EA, BioWare and SWTOR

By: Martin Coronell-Rodriguez/The Galactic Press

Image Courtesy of EA/BioWare.

These past few weeks have been pretty rough for BioWare Austin, the developer company for Star Wars: The Old Republic, and the publishing company Electronic Arts. From the rumored layoffs of 500–1,000 employees EA was going to do to the subscriptions of SWTOR going down nearly 25%, there hasn't been much of a positive outlook for the game nor for EA or BioWare.

Approximately four weeks ago, a Startup Grind report claimed EA was going to layoff 5–11 percent of its workforce, which would equal about 500–1,000 employees. Layoffs would begin as soon as the end of the week of April 8th.

The story is written by former EA employee and Burnout franchise Product Manager Derek Andersen, and cites multiple sources within the company for the news. Andersen pointed out what have contributed to the layoffs, noting that the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic did not meet internal sales estimates and is facing declining subscription numbers. Additionally, he pointed to Battlefield 3's post-launch marketing campaign, which he reported at an estimated $30 million.

However, EA responded and denied the unconfirmed reports claiming it would lay off 500–1,000 of its employees.

Despite the article explaining the negative contributions of SWTOR and Battlefield 3 and the ongoing internal pressure CEO John Riccitiello is going through, the publisher offered the following statement to MCV after denying the news:

"There are no layoffs as such, we always have projects growing and morphing. At any given time there are new people coming in and others leaving. EA is growing and hiring and building teams to support the growing demand for digital games and services."

And although "seasonal roll-offs" are nothing new for the publisher, it's been a while since mass layoffs hit the company.

Here is also an update that was sent to Joystiq by EA Corporate Communications:

EA is growing and looking to hire hundreds of people for our digital, console, mobile and social games. Like all game companies, we make occasional adjustments to resize teams as projects are completed and new priorities are established. Overall, we expect that headcount will be up at the end of this year.

A while after EA denied the report of its mass layoffs for the company, a confirmation from the publisher indicated that a "small" number of layoffs had been put into effect for the Montréal branch of EA—the branch with the same minds behind Army of Two, SSX and Need for Speed. However, EA noted that the number wouldn't be as expansive as the original numbers that were originally rumored.

According to GamesIndustry.biz International, they received word from EA Corporate Communications that...

"EA Montreal is reorganizing some teams to focus on digital initiatives, including new mobile and social projects," ... "These are routine changes which address the cyclical nature of the game industry. A very small number of employees will be impacted - many will be assigned to new projects at EA, others will leave the company."

"Overall, we expect that EA's headcount will be up at the end of this year."

This basically reinforces what EA stated before, that they would be hiring more than firing by the end of the year.

No official number on the "small" number of layoffs, so there's no way to verify just how many employees have been fired. However, this does contradict what EA had reported denying the rumors saying that "There are no layoffs as such, we always have projects growing and morphing...", which they released to a number of sources.

Regardless, EA had no choice but to deny the layoff reports for the sake of protecting resources, and ensuring that public perception of the publishing company wouldn't be tarnished any further than it already is, which in turn could affect the company's already-low stock price, which has steadily declined by a few points since the Mass Effect 3 fiasco that began in early March.

What the future population of SWTOR might look like.

And if all of that isn't bad news enough from EA, but Star Wars: The Old Republic has lost 400,000 subscribers (a 24% drop of subs), which leaves subs totaling at around 1.3 million active subscribers. That is quite the drop from the 1.7 million reported in February.

EA also blames these drops in subscribers on the casual gamers leaving the sci-fi MMO, and the Eurogamer article highlighted some quotes from an investor call. EA Games Label President Frank Gibeau said this about the significant loss of subs:

"When we launched the product back in December, it was an event launch. We brought in a lot of users, and with a brand like Star Wars, it reaches out much past the hardcore MMO fan base into the broader market."

"And as the service evolves from here, what we're seeing is that some of the initial casual customers have gone through a billing cycle and decided not to subscribe to the game."

I find this quote to be quite interesting, due to the fact that it would traditionally be the hardcore players that would be harder to retain, as opposed to the casual crowd. They grind through the content at a faster pace, and are generally more critical of changes inside a game.

Additionally, EA CEO John Riccitiello made a few statements towards the amount of attention SWTOR is receiving:

The Old Republic is in EA's top 10 franchises in terms of profitability, "but it's not in our top five". "So it's a business contributor, while important, is not as important as Medal of Honor or Battlefield or FIFA or Madden or The Sims or SimCity, but it's more important than Tiger Woods PGA Golf."

"So while I understand there's an enormous amount of interest, I don't know that it warrants as much as what we're seeing right now. But we love the franchise, we're going to grow the franchise and just like we want to see Tiger Woods Golf grow or SSX grow, or Madden for that matter, we're going to drive this one for growth."

I found this really disappointing to hear. It sounds like EA is making the subscriber loss and the potential of the game in general very insignificant—which it isn't at all. Regardless if this is truly the case or if they're adjusting to the current situation, it remains to be seen, but EA should devote a ton of their time and effort into SWTOR. The sci-fi MMO has only been out for less than 5 months, and it has to expand in many ways in order to keep current subscribers, to receive new ones and to regain ones that were lost.

Even though analysts were right with the declining subscriptions, I'm hoping for the best for this game as it has a lot of potential and could bring in a ton of more money for EA and BioWare in the years to come.

Be sure to stay tuned for my appearance on The Star Wars Underworld Podcast, where I'll be talking about Game Update 1.2: Legacy instead of writing it, and get to hear lots more like a more in-depth look on the history of the Old Republic era and already-known information on Game Update 1.3: Allies.

To keep up with all the latest news and updates about Star Wars: The Old Republic, be sure to 'Like' us on Facebook. And for everything that the rest of the Star Wars universe has to offer, please 'Like' The Star Wars Underworld, also on Facebook. Comment, share, and 'like'!

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TOR-iffic Awareness – Events You SHOULD Participate In!

By: Martin Coronell-Rodriguez/The Galactic Press

The new and improved SWTOR website. The aesthetics are very easy on the eyes.

Another TOR-iffic Awareness article here! I will just be recapping the current events going on at The Old Republic Cantina, that I believe none of you should miss! Participating in these events will make the community a great place to go to everyday, where new things will always pop up and everyone would like to mingle with others at any time. Having a community with participation will bind us all together, always helping to bring something fresh to the table and being able to further enhance gameplay on Star Wars: The Old Republic, just the few of many things people already participating would like. I just cannot fathom how some will "support" and then stay in the background, not really putting their effort in a community they were invited to join that they'd possibly like. So please, I urge you all to support us! This would also mean a lot to communities that have been helping us out like The Star Wars Underworld, Order of the Sith, For F***'s sake it's Star Wars, and more (that last page mentioned was censored for the younglings).

Already-drafted, in-game events for The Old Republic Cantina include:

• Beginning the Journey: Even during the very beginning of the game, all of us will add each other and go through our class' starting planet to keep track of our journey. Not all classes start at the same planet, so we will keep track of our adventure until we can all meet together at our faction's respective fleet.
• Underworld Invasions: We will have schedules for raiding bases of the opposite faction and attacking opponents and bosses that would generally require more manpower to take down.
• Datacron Hunting: While going through the planets we will also be hunting down the datacrons. The datacrons will give us a bit of an extra stats buff to our character while giving us a sense of achievement. I plan to collect all the datacrons with all of our group players.
• Flashpoints and Operations Campaigns: As a group or as a guild, we will gather to easily complete planet Heroics, Flashpoints and Operations that would normally be extremely difficult to complete if you're playing solo the entire game.
• R&R: There are many things we'll do to get some more fun out of SWTOR. We will be taking a run through the planets to explore the scenery, listen to the sounds and look at the different species, play Fleet Tag, and have Speeder Racing events with prizes.
• Formation: The Republic/Imperial Underworld!:  Once we get to the capital planet of our faction's planet, I will take my main character for the Empire and the Republic and we shall form both guilds. Those members who do assist me in the creation of these guilds will be given a high-ranking position within the guild.

The in-game events shown above were last mentioned in this article. It'd mean a lot for you to join me and other possible supporters and make a big part of the community from the servers we will be joining—we'd eventually be well-known. We're also trying to reach 200 'likes' by the end of April, so sharing and advertising our page to friends and other communities would be grateful—just make sure you have permission, if needed!

The Old Republic Cantina is now hiring, and we are looking for writers and consultants to collaborative with Chris and I to make more frequent updates on Star Wars: The Old Republic. Here is what I said regarding the information on the recruitment:

If a team is going to be assembled, I would take on the role as the Lead Writer for the team. Chris Seekell would be a consultant for us, and the rest of the team would consist of a few reporters and writers, with more consultants to help the team. You will also receive an administrative position on The Old Republic Cantina page on Facebook, and will have the chance to organize the Imperial and Republic guilds for The Star Wars Underworld. Keep in mind that this is a volunteer-type of service so you will receive no payment. This is because I'm looking for people who want to help The Star Wars Underworld-Old Republic community. This doesn't mean you can't participate in any events that could win you money or a free 60-day subscription, because we will try to organize events that anyone in the community will be eligible to join, whether you're an admin or not, consultant or writer, droid or Wookiee, Quarren or Mon Cala, Jedi or Sith; no matter the preference, most of our events will be held for anyone!

So if you're interested in working with me and Chris Seekell, please send me a message at HomicidalWhales@facebook.com, or preferably, contact me at HomicidalWhales@yahoo.com. Please give me a brief explanation on why you'd like to be part of the team, and if you're applying as a Writer or Consultant. I recommend providing me with related works you've done in any other communities. The deadline is Saturday, April 28, at 11:59pm EST. I will be discussing with Chris and possibly other Star Wars Underworld sponsors on each entry, and then we will choose from there. You will be notified via email or Facebook private messaging, whichever you prefer (make sure you tell us in your message).

Here is the full article, which also explains my disappointing, reoccurring absences.

The Old Republic Cantina is now hosting our first Profile Picture and Timeline Cover Contest! Click here to read the rules on the contest and how you can participate. I'd really love to see what people can do creating Old Republic era pictures! So if you're just an art newbie or an expert and are interested in participating, I highly recommend joining in the festivities!

Cleansing the Galaxy is another newly formed, in-game event The Old Republic Cantina is hosting on Star Wars: The Old Republic. This is the first official, in-game event that is being conducted by the page, and it will all begin on Saturday, April 21^st, at 1pm EST/10am PST. The event will last until Monday, April 23^rd, at 11:59pm EST. For more information on this event, please click here.

^{Thank you all for reading this TOR-iffic Awareness article, and please stay tuned for my upcoming Legacy article, which will I write soon! You all will like what you see about Game Update 1.2—I guarantee it!}

To keep up with all the latest news and updates about Star Wars: The Old Republic, be sure to 'Like' us on Facebook. And for everything that the rest of the Star Wars universe has to offer, please 'Like' The Star Wars Underworld, also on Facebook. Comment, share, and 'like'!

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Legacy Update: Rakghoul Outbreak Across the Galaxy!

By: Martin Coronell-Rodriguez/The Galactic Press 

Yesterday, BioWare kicked off a dynamic event for Star Wars: The Old Republic, with a surprising Rakghoul Virus Outbreak which has been contained on the desert world of Tatooine. The Rakghoul plague, which BioWare invented for the original Knights of the Old Republic, is somewhat like a zombie apocalypse in the Star Wars universe.

As of now players are being alerted about the growing threat via news reports at their faction's fleet, with additional reports on Tatooine itself. Players are warned to stay clear from Tatooine, and to avoid travel. The desert planet has been put on a level 1 "state of emergency", and that other planets whether Republic, Imperial or unaligned, are being affected by the growing threat.

Becoming infected is very simple—one scratch can immediately turn you into one ravenous, rampant Rakghoul. You definitely don't want to turn into one, believe me!

This virus outbreak of the Rakghouls has been a part of the game for some time now, but this is the first of many to come for a dynamic world event. This also puts a new twist on the story of Rakghouls, and many players seem to be enjoying what the event offers.

Currently there is an event going on with Urtagh, who's been infected with the virus, and is a level 50 world boss wandering the Outlaws Den. Just north of the Republic Outpost in the Dune Sea is a crashed ship surrounded by Rakghouls.Visiting this area will grant you the first in a chain of new daily quests available for levels 25 and up. If your character is currently traveling through Tatooine finishing its class quests there, you're bound to run into the short quest chain.

Since players can become infected with the plague, they can explode; therefore, spreading the plague to anyone else in the vicinity—this will happen if you're left untreated. You can make yourself temporarily immune with a vaccine sold by all medical droids, and quarantine droids are in place in all major starports to prevent the virus from spreading. Many players are also taking advantage of the virus by using fast-travel and warzones as an expressway to transmit the infection, and by hanging around at their faction's fleet. I've also noticed there is some humor added into this because in the roleplaying aspect, if this were real, you would probably become infected (like being at airports, major transit hubs, commercial districts, etc).

The event will allow you to obtain new Rakghoul DNA items, which can be used for exclusive lightsaber crystals, companion customizations, and you can also receive a new cute, mini-Rakghoul pet.

Here are some screenshots (courtesy of Physo) and info on completing the quests and achievements for this new world event:

 

   

 

There are 3 infected bosses that each give a Codex Entry:

• Trapjaw He's at his usual spot. Still at level 30, this would be a cakewalk for any level 50.
• Urtagh At Outlaws Den. This is the PvP area in which anyone that's not in your group can attack you, even your same faction. Boss does AoE damage from time to time that bursts out to 20 meters, but unfriendly players are the biggest threat. It's recommended you bring lots of friends! Urtagh has a 2 hour respawn timer.
• Zam Brak He's near the Sarlacc Pit. You can't miss him. 

There are 2 new AREA quests that each give a Codex Entry:

• One is located at the northeastern part of the Dune Sea; just north of the Republic Entrance to the Dune Sea (loc. -800, -1700).
• Another is located in the Jundlands, south of Outpost Largona and east of Ridgeside Sentry Post (loc. 2000, -600).
• These are daily repeatable. These 2 AREA quests give 'Rakghoul DNA Sample' (non-bound) that can be traded in at a vendor located at (-889, -1920), for a Rakling pet, crystals with a black-green color and a 'Infected Companion Lockbox'.

There is a last quest which requires you to be infected, and you have to let the infection run its full duration (20–30 mins). When it's completely done you'll explode! If your explosion hits other players, it will start a quest to infect 10 more players with the explosion. Infecting other players will also give you a 'Rakghoul DNA Sample'.

More on spreading the infection can be found here.

There is also a title for this event, and killing the 3 bosses should grant you the title. I've heard that the title is quite buggy, and if it ever bugs when you complete it only 1 player in the group will receive the title.

I also noticed that the mechanics of the outbreak strongly resemble World of Warcraft's infamous Corrupted Blood incident, except in this case it's not a bug. I will continue to inform you all about the world event as it develops.

More information about the world event can be found here. 

To keep up with all the latest news and updates about Star Wars: The Old Republic, be sure to 'Like' us on Facebook. And for everything that the rest of the Star Wars universe has to offer, please 'Like' The Star Wars Underworld, also on Facebook. Comment, share, and 'like'!

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The SWU Podcast Episode 24 - 2/21/2012

The SWU Podcast Episode 24 | 2/21/2012

In this episode of the SWU Podcast, special guest Martin joins hosts Chris, Jordan, and Kyle in a discussion about The Old Republic MMO. They read your comments and talk extensively about the game as well as comment on recent Star Wars news and play and discuss some listener feedback.



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» The Old Republic Cantina

» The Star Wars Talk Show

» Secrets of the Force

» EmpireFails on Youtube

» Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

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