LucasArts has announced its lineup for next week's Electronic Entertainment Expo E3. Topping the list is the sequel to last year's RPG of the Year, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lord for Xbox and PC. Unlike the first game however, Bioware will not serve as the new game's developer. BioWare will license the Knights of the Old Republic engine to Obsidian Entertainment. The latter is a company made up of staffers who previously worked on Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. The game will be darker than the prequel and begin five years after the ending of the original Knights of the Old Republic. Sith Lords will put you in control of the galaxy's last Jedi, as you travel through seven different worlds in your quest to defend the Old Republic against the Sith Lords.

While no specifics were announced, it was revealed that several characters from the prequel will make return appearances. The light and dark sides of the Force will continue to influence the player. The development team will also add 30 new Force powers, including Force Sight, which lets you examine another character's alignment through solid objects.

Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords will be released simultaneously for PC and Xbox in February 2005.

LucasArts will also exhibit the first expansion pack to Stars Wars Galaxies for PC, titled Stars Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed. The expansion to the popular MMORPG will be released this fall.

• GameSpot