‘Star Wars Battlefront,’ originally released in 2004, and its sequel in 2005 were some of the most popular games in ‘Star Wars’ history. When a new ‘Battlefront’ game was announced in 2013 there was a lot of fanboying and fangirling going on. Because, let’s face it, what ‘Star Wars’ fan hasn’t wanted to join the battle on Hoth, keeping the Snowtroopers at bay, buying time for the civilian transports to escape? Who hasn’t pretended to be a part of the strike team on the forest moon of Endor, helping ewoks take out the Emperor’s finest? (And if you happen to shoot a few teddy bears “on accident” who’s to know?) Well, at E3 a couple of videos with gameplay footage for the new ‘Battlefront’ was released and it is awesome. This first one shows off some gameplay for a co-op horde-mode, where a few players have to hold of wave after wave of enemies (usually a set number) before being rescued. This looks like it’s actual gameplay highlights and so might be representative of what playing the game will feel like. Also, while watching, try playing “spot the Wilhelm Scream.”
The second video shows the battle of Hoth, and I must say this looks amazing. It claims to be actual gameplay footage, but I’m skeptical. It looks all rather like a scripted movie to me. It wouldn’t be the first time publishers have stretched the truth about their gameplay footage. But I’m also rather cynical, so it could be true. Maybe. Possibly.
It’s hard for a ‘Star Wars’ fan like me to not be excited by these videos. You get to be part of some large, epic battles, with dozens of players. Some of the battles come straight out of the movies. You get to take control of vehicles, and even be some of the iconic characters like Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, or Boba Fett. The original games were pretty darn good. Not perfect, but pretty good. If the developers of this new version can pull it off or (dare we hope?) improve on the formula then this game is going to be pretty awesome.
Okay, all fanboying aside, the game isn’t out yet so we should take all this excitement with a grain of salt. It’s always best to take a wait-and-see approach.
If all the Sony Playstation markings in those videos scared you, don’t panic, this game is also coming out on the PC and XBox One. ‘Star Wars: Battlefront is scheduled to release on November 17th of this year in North America, and on November 20th in the UK.
So, are you as excited as I am for this game? Let us know in the comments below.