Star Wars Galaxies: E3 Day 3 - Oh, my aching feet ...

LOS ANGELES - After spending most of our first two days scoping out the Convention Center, Phoenix and I decided today was the day to take it a bit easier.

We started the day by meeting with Logitech and examining their new product line, which includes an impressive array of wireless keyboards, mice and controller pads.

At the top of the list are two new wireless controllers for the PlayStation2 and a pair for Microsoft's Xbox. Each controller is supposed to have range of about 75 feet (verified by Logitech's Brian Ritchie, who said he couldn't see the screen, but could still hear that it worked) and use an RF signal instead of infrared (so you can keep playing even if someone walks in front of you). All four are expected to be priced in the $25 range and will be available soon.

The Logitech folks also showed us a new corded gamepad for the PC that mimics the PS2 controller in design. It's expected to be available around late summer.

Aside from the Cordless MX Duo keyboard and mouse, and a series of new joysticks (all of which offer much comfort and some nice control options), the thing that impressed us the most was the new steering wheel Logitech has produced with GranTurismo 3 in mind (GT3 looks a lot like 1 and 2, but with more cars and tracks). The wheel features 900 degrees of rotation, which means ou can turn the wheel about two and a half times - much like a real steering wheel. It also features force feedback, which really lets you feel the road and how the car responds to it, especially at speed. It also features a set of pedals and a shifter, all of which get a definite thumbs up from both of us.

After meeting with Logitech, Phoenix and I headed over to LucasArts for our long-awaited appointment. We met with Ronda Scott, a LucasArts Internet community relations specialist, who took us inside the cloistered compound.

Once inside, we were introduced to Kevin Q-3P0 O'Hara, Haden Shug_Ninx Blackman and Raph Holocron Koster and treated to a private showing of Star Wars Galaxies. Kevin did most of the work, while Haden and Raph snuck off to some sort of beta player lunch. We didn't learn much new information, but we did find out that Q-3P0 likes to play a Wookiee and go dancing. We'll have screenshots and more information from our interview later, including some inside info about a much-discussed player class.

After whetting out appetite with SWG, we finished up our time at LucasArts by checking out Jedi Academy, Rogue Squadron III and Knights of the Old Republic. Jedi Academy looks really good, especially since you can dual-wield lightsabers or use a staff saber like Darth Maul, in addition to the more traditional single saber. More on that later, also, including a look at multiplayer settings.

KOTOR is an RPG in which your character can be corrupted by the dark side. Enough said, at least for now (It looks really good, but dont' lose your Wookiee).

As for Rogue Squadron III, players can now leave their vehicles and fight on foot, or jump on a taun-taun to chase after snow troopers. Basically, more vehicles, more aerial battles, foot battles and even mounts. Watch out for the trees when you're riding a speeder bike on Endor - even the demonstrator had trouble with that.

More later, they're chasing us out of the media center. Keep checking back over the next few days for more information.