How long have we been waiting for this game? Electronic Arts and Swedish developer DICE are ready to unleash this game upon us. We were invited to an early look at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim to get a look at what we can expect.
The presentation started with some actual gameplay off a PlayStation 4. It was pretty dang impressive. On Endor, you're part of a troop of Rebels, in first person mode, walking through the calm and serene forest moon. The lighting looks great shining through the trees. It all looks peaceful until the attack begins. Speeder bikes go wizzing by and there's a gunfight between you and Stormtroopers.
The action is intense. You really have to look around as some Stormtroopers are hiding up in the trees, in some Ewok structures. Being able to zoom in and shoot at different enemies looked great. Then an AT-ST comes tromping through. There's tons of explosives and then an AT-AT shows up.
As things really heat up, you have no choice but to run into a bunker. Going down deeper, you can't help but feel like someone's going to pop out at you. A trooper goes around you and is suddenly lifted into the air. Darth Vader appears. He ignites his lightsaber and deflects your blasts. The end.
Ada Duan, VP of Lucasfilm Digital Business spoke to us about this being the first game in a ten year deal with EA. They've given them complete access to the Lucasfilm archives. They wanted a game with new experiences and not just "movie games."
Next Niklas Fergraeus, Design Director for Star Wars: Battlefront, said they wanted to immerse players into the universe and you'll be able to create your own battles. They're using something called Photogrammetry where they've taken pictures from every angle and use a program to calculate what the look should be in the game. They wanted to make sure the characters, vehicles, and weapons are all authentic. They also went around the world to the different filming environments from the movies to take even more pictures.
The sound of the game is also important. This will be the first game using Dolby Atmos 3D sound. It was very loud and very impressive in the presentation.
There will be a lot of variety in the game. You can set up whatever scenario like having Boba Fett fighting on Hoth. Forty players can play in the multiplayer mode. You can even have dogfights in X-Wing or TIE Fighter squadrons. You can be a hero or a villain. You can even be Darth Vader.
The game is on online multiplayer game but there are missions you can play solo or with a friend, online or in split screen. There is also a Partner feature where you can create a tag team and share your stuff with a friend.
The game will be released on November 17, 2015. Since this is a month before Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there will be a free DLC that allows you to explore scenes from the movie, and what was seen in the trailer The Battle of Jakku is supposed to lead up to what was in the opening of the trailer, with the destroyed Star Destroyer. The free DLC will be available on December 8. If you can't wait that long, you can get it on December 1 if you pre-order the game.
The three things they said this game will do is deliver the most stunning and authentic visuals and experience, be the most authentic Star Wars game yet, and be ridiculously fun and allow players to immerse themselves into the universe.
Be sure to check out the trailer.