LucasArts has announced a new piece of DLC for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed's PS3 and Xbox 360 versions in the form of a downloadable level. In addition, PC gamers will finally be able to play the game thanks to the new Ultimate Sith Edition, which is also coming to PS3, Xbox 360, and Mac. More after the jump.

Online retail store Play-Asia is currently running a deal for LucasArts' PC franchise Star Wars. The said deal involves a dubbed gold pack which contains the original game Empire at War as well as the expansion game Empire at War: Forces of Corruption. The pack only costs US$ 27.90.

This is a pretty decent deal if you ask me (but then again, being the Star Wars geek that I am...) considering the expansion was just released last month. Both games belong to the RTS genre where players can choose to join three different factions: the Rebellion, the Empire, and the Underworld. Other worth mentioning features for both games include:

• Conquer or liberate over 80 ground and space locations.
• Command iconic characters such as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, and more.
• Pit X-wings against TIE fighters or command a fleet of Star Destroyers in space.
• (FOC) Command over 28 underworld units and new Rebel or Imperial forces on 13 new planets.
• (FOC) Experience three-faction battles and play the same side against itself.
• (FOC) Take advantage of new game play tactics like piracy, kidnapping and bribery.
• Includes 5 bonus Maps, Wallpapers, Screensavers and Concept Art from the collector's Edition.

Interested parties may refer to our Read link below. It should take you to the said retail store's page for Star Wars Empire at War where you can purchase the Gold Pack.

Think about it: games controlled by mere thought may be possible as early as 2008. NeuroSky has developed such technology, demonstrating it last April with a Darth Vader game where users control his light saber by just thinking it.

But as fate would have it (and dozens of movies have told us the same) that tech that deals directly with the mind has consequences. Recent studies have shown that the new tech may be dangerous for the brain and some (though not all) scientists expressed concerns about the prospect.

NeuroSky's brain-computer interface (BCI) uses sensors attached to the scalp to detect brain wave patterns. As long as the user concentrates on a certain object in the game, they can control it. In the Darth Vader game, users were able to light up the saber just by concentrating in their minds that it's lit up.

Scientists discovered that users are sometimes forced to slow down their brain waves to play, and they consequently have trouble focusing afterwards. Niels Birbaumer, an independent BCI researcher explains:

Imagine that somebody uses a game with slow brain-wave activity and then drives a car while still in that state. You could have an accident. I think it's a rare possibility, but it should be tested before people do this.

Nam Do, the CEO of Emotiv, another company whose technology runs on the same principles, explains that it's "normal to have these concerns" but that it does not apply. He says, "There is no two-way interaction, and the technology does not require the user to train their brain to get into a predetermined state in any way." Greg Hyver, VP Marketing of NeuroSky, supplements this by saying that the concerns arise only from the lack of familiarity with the tech.

The technology is still in its early stages and some scientists doubt we'll be able to play complex games with it this soon. More like old school ones like Tetris. Maybe Arkanoid? Still, it's pretty cool and the companies say they may be able to release the tech by 2008.

In the 2007 Edinburgh Interactive Festival, Eidos Product Acquisitions director Ian Livingstone observed that gaming was still significantly behind movies and comics in terms of character "recognizability". This led him to say that the gaming industry "needs more Lara Crofts."

GameSpot narrates that in Livingstone's presentation at the aforementioned shindig, he presented the audience images of popular movie and comic characters first, then went on to flash pictures of iconic game personalities. The result: movie and comic book characters were easier to recognize for the crowd.

The Eidos bigwig then goes on to ask, "If we all work in the games industry, what does that say?" And then he went on to answer that same question by saying that developers need to establish more character in their games.

Livingstone discussed some key elements which can make a character linger in the psyche of gamers. One of the most important, he says, is the name. ""With a name like 'Darth Vader,' you know he's not going to be nice," he says. "Now 'Jar Jar Binks,' he's going to be much more fun."

Livingstone also pointed out that a distinctive look always helps. He cited their character Agent 47 from the popular Hitman series and revealed that the bald head with the bar code at the base often fascinated their audience, giving the character more life than others.

Finally, he says there are catch phrases. These are amazingly cool and original lines that will help people identify with a given character. Much like in a movie, people will find it hard to forget a particular line that hits close to home.