Table of contents for #184 in Mania

Open your minds and search your feelings. The Force is telling you that you want to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens! You also want to enjoy all the amazing Star Wars content in this issue, like the Star Wars jokes, science, memes, mysteries and trivia. Have fun and be sure to avoid the dark side of the Force young Padawans! EMAIL Dom: dbayley@nextmedia.com.au The cast... You’re about to experience a brand new episode of Star Wars starring these awesome peeps! TWEET US! @MANIAZINE US! FACEBOOK.COM/MANIAMAG…

INTERPLANETARY PLOT! Not too many details have been released about Episode VII but rumours say it is about the hunt for Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, which has fallen into the hands of an ex-Stormtrooper named Finn! WHERE’S LUKE? The latest trailer brought back all the classic characters like Han, Chewy, Leia and R2. Luke appears in the trailer with his face covered and he’s not on any posters! Why are the filmmakers being so secretive about Luke? Some rumours say Luke has gone to the dark side, but MANIA’s Star Wars experts say this is just Sith rumour mongering! GALAXIES MOST WANTED! The First Order have their sights set on these rebellious heroes! SITH DISCIPLE Kylo Ren is a follower of the dark side of the force and a member of…

MANIA: Are there really laser blasters like the ones in Star Wars? DR ROB: “Yes and no. We can fire pulses or bolts of laser light, but a short burst will do little, and you probably won’t even see it. But laser cutters are used in factories to slice through metal (or other materials) with ease and speed.” MANIA: Is it true that two Harvard University physicists have produced lightsabers in an experiment? DR ROB: “They caused tiny bits of light (photons) to have substance. What they did was weird and interesting (in a science way) but nothing like building a lightsaber.” MANIA: There are lots of cool noises in space during X-wing and Tie Fighter battles. Could you really hear them in space? DR ROB: “In space there is…

Courtney, QLD WE SPOTTED MOLLIE PLAYING HIDE N’ SEEK! Cameron, WA CAM’S FISH HAVE GOT HIS BACK! INTERPLANETARY PETS! THE BIG GUY Dogs might be a man’s best friend but a Wookiee is a man’s best co-pilot. He’s not Han’s pet, but he’s as hairy as a giant wolfhound and tougher than a pack of dobermen – so we think he makes the cut! RAWSM RANCOR! Beware the Rancor! This big bad monster would be an AWSM guard dog! Jabba the Hutt agreed, that’s why the evil gangster kept one under his palace to have intruders for lunch! WIN!  We love your AWSM animal pics, MANIACs! So if you’ve got a shot of you hangin’ with your dog, cat, sloth, or whatever, send it in for your chance to win!…

Q: When did Anakin’s Jedi masters know he was leaning towards the dark side? A: In the Sith grade! Q: How is duct tape like the Force? A: It has a dark side, a light side and it binds the galaxy together! Q: What do you call a pirate droid? A: Arrrrr2-D2! Q: Which program do Jedi use to open PDF files? A: Adobe Wan Kenobi! Q: Why is a droid mechanic never lonely? A: Because he’s always making new friends! Q: What do you call it when only one Star Wars character gives you a round of applause? A: A Hand Solo! Q: Why shouldn’t you ask Yoda for money? A: Because he’s always a little short! Q: Why does Princess Leia keep her hair tied up in buns?…

Ratchet & Clank Platform: PS4 Style: Action-Platformer Publisher: Sony Out: Early 2016 Ratchet & Clank are getting their own movie soon, and this game will be based on their big-screen adventure! This new game will actually be a lot like the first game in the series, way back on the PlayStation 2, but with some cool new features and weapons to try out, and incredibly AWSM graphics! As before you have to jump and bash your way through the levels, but you’ll also have to fight enemies from a distance with a variety of weapons. Cuphead Platform: Xbox One Style: Shooter Publisher: Studio MDHR Out: 2016 Cuphead is just about the best looking 2D shooter we’ve ever seen or played! You play as Cuphead, who can shoot lasers out of…

Send in your letter with your best drawing, poem or painting, plus a photo dudes! Yo, MANIA! I think there should be a new character event for the game Yugi-oh ZEXAL: World Duel Carnival. I’ve seen every season of Yu-gi-oh ZEXAL and there are interesting new characters that should be put into the game! I buy your magazine when I go on holidays at my nanna’s house. I love reading the jokes. I would love to get my picture in your magazine. Sparky eats all the electricity out of people’s houses. He glows in the dark. That’s a great drawing of Sparky! We hope you will see your picture in our mag when you’re at your nanna’s house in the summer holidays! It’s super cool that Sparky glows in the…

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE NEW GUARDIANS ‘TOON? TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE WITH THESE COSMIC QUESTIONS! 1. Peter Quill’s super code name is: A: Star Lord B: Space Lord C: Lord Starington D: The Sandwich King 2. What’s Gamora’s go-to battle weapon? A: Battle Axe B: Sword C: Lightsaber D: Laser Blaster 3. The Guardian’s arch nemesis is Ronan the… A: Questionable B: Ticklish C: Hungry D: Accuser 4. Rocket is what kind of animal? A: Snake B: Raccoon C: Vampire Bat D: Squirrel Girl 5. Who is Groot? A: “He is Groot.” B: “They are Groot.” C: “I am Groot.” D: “She is Groot.” 6. Which evil space tyrant is the father of Nebula and Gamora? A: Thanos B: Thermos C: Thigh D: Termite 7. The Guardians are…

TRICK 1 MIND READING Secret Prep: With the blue felt tip paint the tip of the red one a bit. You’ll need: • Two felt tips in different colours, for example blue and red • A piece of paper Step 1 Ask your mate to think of any word. T ell them to write this word on a piece of paper but don’t show it to anyone. Give them the red felt tip to do that. Step 2 Next, ask some other friends to write other random words on the paper with the same pen! Step 3 Ask your first mate to concentrate on the word they wrote while you read their mind! Look for the word with the blue mark - that will be the word you’re after! TRICK…

MANIA SOCCER FACE-OFF FIFA 16 vs Pro Evolution Soccer 16 Platform: PS3/4, Xbox One/360 Style: Soccer Publisher: EA Games/Konami Price: $99.95 Best Modes: FIFA’s Ultimate Team mode, which lets you buy players and build up cool teams, is fun as ever – just be careful when it asks you to spend money! FIFA also lets you play as female teams, which is an AWSM addition we want to see in all sports games! Other than that the two are pretty evenly matched, with heaps of modes for tournaments and management! Coolest Graphics: Both series look better than ever, but we reckon Pro Evo might actually be the best looking soccer game this year! While FIFA has all the right players and stadiums, Pro Evo has some of the most impressive…

Skylanders Supercharged Racing Platform: 3DS, Wii Style: Racing Publisher: Activision Price: $89.95 The Skylanders are hosting an epic series of racing events on the Wii and 3DS! In Supercharged racing you can take to the road, sea and skies, although if you don’t have any extra vehicle toys you’ll only get very basic rides! This is a decent little racing game – it’s nowhere near as good as Mario Kart, but we still had fun taking out our enemies with all sorts of crazy weapons. We especially like the plane races, which are pretty unique and interesting! HOT! Solid racing fun! NOT! You need to buy vehicles to unlock them! MANIA SCORE 6/10 Disney Infinity: Rise of the Empire Play Set Platform: PS3/4, Xbox One/360, Wii Style: Action Publisher: Disney…

COULD WE BE GETTING A RANGERS ANIME? Power Rangers has always been a live action TV show but fans have been asking for an anime series for years! Some Rangers fans have taken it on themselves to start making their own Rangers anime series! Awesome! AUSSIE DINOS WE WANNA SEE AS ZORDS! MUTTABURRA ZORD: This zord would harness the size and strength of a Muttaburrasaurus. This Aussie icon could use its huge tail as a cannon when fused as a Megazord! RAPATOR ZORD: This Lightning Ridge local would be a super charged attacking zord like the Aussie predator it’s based on! No monster would stand up to this zord’s raging power! MINMI ZORD: This dino has a squat and stout torso that would make it an expert defender zord! Ideal…

NAME: Joel Lok CHARACTER: Andy Lau FROM: Melbourne FILMOGRAPHY: Sea Patrol, Tangle, Nowhere Boys HOBBIES: Architecture, collecting sneakers FAVE FOOTY TEAM: Bombers MANIA: How different was filming a movie compared to the show? The JL: action “The acting is great was . W approached e have an awesome more realistically stunt team . We and had they much guide bigger us through crew and our drones own stunts fi lming !” . MANIA: Coolest stunt you have performed? JL: “I had a scene last season where I was fl oating in the air, when my character was the restoring demon! That was really fun to shoot up in a harness!” MANIA: How much are you like Andy? JL: “My personality is pretty different. I wish I was as intelligent as…

LUKE’S GHOST When Luke Skywalker’s aunt and uncle come out to look for him on Tatooine Luke’s out searching for R2D2. But is he really? A closer look at a scene inside his homestead reveals a ghostly apparition of Luke standing in one of the doorways. Is Luke Skywalker really a Force Ghost? Maybe! OBI-WAN’S WIRED LIGHSTABER Old school tech in A New Hope meant the lightsabers the cast used on set were three-sided and covered in reflective tape to make them look as if they were shimmering. The effect looked cool on camera, but if you look closely in one of the scenes where Darth Vader and Obi-Wan are duelling, you can clearly see a white power cord running from Obi-Wan’s lightsaber up his sleeve! Sprung! VADER WALKS THROUGH…

Club Nintendo is out, My Nintendo is in! Nintendo has revealed My Nintendo, a new system that will reward you for buying and playing games! Your My Nintendo account will be linked to your 3DS or Wii U account and will give you points based on achievements you pull off in-game, as well as for purchases! There’ll be heaps of cool stuff to earn! Candy Crush Is The Most Expensive Game Ever! Candy Crush might be free to play on phones, but the developer, King, is worth a whole lot of money! Activision just bought King for $5.9 billion dollars – that’s more than what Disney paid for Star Wars! In fact, it’s the most expensive developer purchase ever, by an enormous margin! Man Beats Zelda: Ocarina of Time…Blindfolded! Wow…

LEGO Dimensions Platform: PS3/4, Xbox One/360, Wii U Style: Action Publisher: Warner Bros Price: $169.95 Gameplay: The latest LEGO game mashes up heaps of different character and series, and even comes with a portal and Batmobile that you need to build! Batman, Wyldstyle and Gandalf go on a big adventure through levels based on Portal 2, Doctor Who, and even old Midway arcade games! It’s a very cool system, although we wish you didn’t have to buy figurines to unlock more stuff – the pieces that come in the Starter Pack are cool enough! Still, you don’t need to buy anything other than the Starter Pack to finish the game, and as far as LEGO games go this one is a blast! The puzzles are exciting, and the portal that…

FIFI A stylish, graceful and sleek French poodle! FRANKLIN Calm and reasonable he’s Charlie Brown’s good pal and confidant! PIGPEN Loves being dusty and dirty but is a really confident guy! LINUS The friendliest dude you’ll ever meet, he always has a good word to say about everyone! SCHROEDER A mini musical genius with a toy piano! His idol is Beethoven! SALLY She’s the drama queen who can change her mood at the drop of a hat! MARCIE She’s smart, loyal and horrible at sports but a great friend to Peppermint Patty and Charlie PEPPERMINT PATTY She’s a born leader and natural athlete but hates school! FRIEDA Incredibly proud of her blond curly locks and very kind! WOODSTOCK Snoopy’s faithful and fluttering side kick! VIOLET Loves to gossip with her…

The Millennium Falcon has been owned and piloted by many intergalactic personalities over the years but the most famous owner of all is Han Solo. Solo won the spaceship in the final round of a Cloud City Sabacc Tournament! Betchya didn’t know it wasn’t always called the Millennium Falcon? Yep, Han’s ‘ol hunk of junk has gone by names like Correll’s Pride, Fickle Flyer, Meetyl’s Misery, Wayward Son, Stellar Envoy, Second Chance and The Gone to Pieces in its colourful history! TECH SPECS PRODUCTION: 60 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) PLANET: Halyard 2 MAKER: Corellian Engineering Corporation PRODUCT LINE: YT series CLASS: Light Freighter LENGTH: 34.37 metres WIDTH: 25.61 metres NAVIGATION SYSTEMS: Microaxial HyD modular navigation computer TOP SPEED: 1050 KM/hr ENGINE: 2 Girodyne SRB42 sublight engines…