This Week’s Best Star Wars Writing

Every week, Dork Side of the Force highlights the best writing from around the Star Wars fan galaxy, to show you that we love reading about our favorite franchise as much as we love writing about it. Articles range in topic from the upcoming movies, to the forgotten Expanded Universe stories, to the latest toys and collectibles hitting the shelves. 

• David Gilson over at TechRadar hits us with a blast from the past by walking us through the greatest Star Wars games of all time.
• Chris Thursten of PC Gamer, via TechRadar, details the ascent and downfall of one of the most fascinating entries in the Star Wars universe: the MMOG Star Wars: Galaxies.

"“Instead of classes, Star Wars Galaxies gave each character a budget of skill points to spend on professions that could be freely mixed and matched in whole or in part. Interdependency between players was encouraged. Light injuries would heal over time, but more serious wounds would not. These would require the attention of a player medic, often found in medical centres where they received a bonus for their work. Similarly, you might choose to buff your stat pools with food created by a chef or go to a cantina, where player musicians and dancers could offer buffs to experience gain.”"

• At Den of Geek, John Saavedra doubles back and reviews Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, with an interesting glimpse at the inner workings of LucasArts just before it was shuttered.
• Amy Ratcliffe, writing for Comic Book Resources, gives us a brief history of the Star Wars canon and breaks down its current state today.
• Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Tatiana Siegel and Borys Kit offer some insight into a troubling truth about Star Wars: It casts a curse on an actor’s or actress’s career more often than not.

"“Natalie Portman, who already had a hot career before Episodes I-III, admitted she struggled after the exposure. ‘Everyone thought I was a horrible actress,’ she said in December. ‘I was in the biggest-grossing movie of the decade, and no director wanted to work with me.'”"

Next: LGBT Character to Debut in New Star Wars Canon