It’s been a decade since the last Star Wars Battlefront game, and likewise, a decade since the last Star Wars movie. So it’s fitting that both series will be revived this year, with the multiplayer shooter series showing its hand last week.
Electronic Arts and developer DICE have released a first proper trailer for the game, which shows some incredibly impressive footage set in the forests of Endor. Speeder bikes zip by (and explode brightly upon impact), groups of soldiers wage on-foot battle, and AT-ST and AT-AT walkers smash their way into the frame.
Oh, and Darth Vader shows up. And Boba Fett. And X-Wings and Tie Fighters. Essentially, it’s most of the awesome stuff we love from Star Wars rolled into a big game trailer that purports to be “game engine footage” – although we doubt it’ll look this smooth and stylised while actually playing the game in the swappable first-person/third-person perspective.
Still, early press impressions are rather positive, with Polygon saying that live gameplay running on a PlayStation 4 “looked and sounded spectacular.” And kudos to EA for releasing a clip strong enough to not have to simply coast on goodwill from the fantastic Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer.
We’ve also learned a few new things about the game. Battlefield series maker DICE says that Battlefront will have 40-player online battles, and that there will be single-player and local/online co-op challenge missions, but no proper single-player campaign in the mix. The game also won’t have space battles, but it will have aerial combat on the planets themselves.
IGN says to expect four planets in the game, presumably with multiple maps, although a free add-on called Battle of Jakku – which takes place after Return of the Jedi and helps set the stage for The Force Awakens – will be available on 8 December. Anyone who pre-orders Battlefront will get it a week early, on 1 December instead.
Star Wars Battlefront is due out on 17 November for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and we’re hoping to get a look at something other than glossed-up engine footage soon. Keep an eye out for this one.
Source: YouTube