Added: 17.04.2015 18:06 | 0 views | 0 comments

In the cavernous halls of Star Wars Celebration, amidst the countless cosplayers and merch peddlers and chipper attendees, there is a circular room. Inside this room is a small amphitheatre modeled after the white briefing room on Home One, the rebel command ship from Return of the Jedi. You might recognize it as the place Admiral Ackbar hosts all his pals when they come over to plot, or you might tell me that the ship is a Mon Calamari Star Cruiser (and until some recent Googling, I would've thought you were making that up). Or you might not know it all.

Even if you count yourself among that latter group of people, you'd have no trouble following what I saw in that small room: the first gameplay demo for Star Wars Battlefront. Though Battlefront is a series with some history set in a universe positively bursting with history, the first scenes of Battlefront in action didn't rely much on referencing the past. Even if you haven't seen a battle on the forest moon of Endor before, it was easy to follow the progression from skirmishes on the fringe of a battlefield, to firefights fought between elevated terrain and pitched positions, to lopsided clashes as lumbering vehicles crashed through the undergrowth and sent soldiers scrambling. This wasn't the debut of a bold new direction or innovative new features; this was Battlefront reintroducing itself to the world.

The return of Battlefront is slated for November 17th of this year, with PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC the target platforms. That's about a month before the movie is set to launch, and indeed, the tie-in announcements have already begun. A free map for the Battle of Jakku, a pivotal battle that follows the events of Return of the Jedi and features heavily in The Force Awakens, will be made available for all Battlefront players on December 8th, while those who pre-order the game will get access on December 1st.

It's easy to see why they'd want to strengthen the connection between the new game and the new film, but the Battlefront I saw is one terested in connecting with Battlefronts' past. It focused heavily on the original trilogy, so I saw a lot of the familiar building blocks that have defined the Battlefront series since its inception. What I saw looked good, albeit scripted to put its best foot forward and light on detail about how this Battlefront is branching out. What remains to be seen is how this Battlefront will fare when it comes to doing what Battlefront games have done best: making the player feel like a heroic soldier, an ace pilot, or a powerful Jedi during the chaos of a battle waged a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Added: 17.04.2015 18:06 | 1 views | 0 comments

In the cavernous halls of Star Wars Celebration, amidst the countless cosplayers and merch peddlers and chipper attendees, there is a circular room. Inside this room is a small amphitheatre modeled after the white briefing room on Home One, the rebel command ship from Return of the Jedi. You might recognize it as the place Admiral Ackbar hosts all his pals when they come over to plot, or you might tell me that the ship is a Mon Calamari Star Cruiser (and until some recent Googling, I would've thought you were making that up). Or you might not know it all.

Even if you count yourself among that latter group of people, you'd have no trouble following what I saw in that small room: the first gameplay demo for Star Wars Battlefront. Though Battlefront is a series with some history set in a universe positively bursting with history, the first scenes of Battlefront in action didn't rely much on referencing the past. Even if you haven't seen a battle on the forest moon of Endor before, it was easy to follow the progression from skirmishes on the fringe of a battlefield, to firefights fought between elevated terrain and pitched positions, to lopsided clashes as lumbering vehicles crashed through the undergrowth and sent soldiers scrambling. This wasn't the debut of a bold new direction or innovative new features; this was Battlefront reintroducing itself to the world.

The return of Battlefront is slated for November 17th of this year, with PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC the target platforms. That's about a month before the movie is set to launch, and indeed, the tie-in announcements have already begun. A free map for the Battle of Jakku, a pivotal battle that follows the events of Return of the Jedi and features heavily in The Force Awakens, will be made available for all Battlefront players on December 8th, while those who pre-order the game will get access on December 1st.

It's easy to see why they'd want to strengthen the connection between the new game and the new film, but the Battlefront I saw is one terested in connecting with Battlefronts' past. It focused heavily on the original trilogy, so I saw a lot of the familiar building blocks that have defined the Battlefront series since its inception. What I saw looked good, albeit scripted to put its best foot forward and light on detail about how this Battlefront is branching out. What remains to be seen is how this Battlefront will fare when it comes to doing what Battlefront games have done best: making the player feel like a heroic soldier, an ace pilot, or a powerful Jedi during the chaos of a battle waged a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.