Thanks to two gameplay trailers debuted at E3 yesterday, it seems as though Star Wars Battlefront – the third game in the series, despite the lack of numeration in the title, developed by EA-owned DICE – may well live up to the excellence of its predecessors, nay, dare I say it, exceed them.
The first video shows us the defence of the Rebel base on the ice planet Hoth from attacking Imperial troops, taken straight out of The Empire Strikes Back. The POV character is seen storming down brilliant white corridors and into a hanger, replete with X-Wings and Snowspeeders, finally taking up a defensive position next to what looks like Nien Nunb, Lando Calrissian’s co-pilot in the Millennium Falcon during the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi. The ensuing battle takes us outside, where TIE Fighters growl overhead and AT-ATs stomp menacingly forward.
The trailer also shows the battle from the Empire’s perspective, putting you in the body of a Snowtrooper, mowing down Rebel Alliance fighters with your E11 blaster, and even gives the player the opportunity to power a beastly AT-AT themselves. What’s that? You’d rather take down one of those four-legged assault vehicles in a Snowspeeder? Well, you can do that, too:
The second trailer takes us to a rocky desert-like planet, which may or may not be Tatooine – though, it could just as easily be Jakku, a setting which will feature heavily in the forthcoming Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens – where Rebel squadrons traverse a rocky sandscape, guided by a holographic Admiral Ackbar. Star Destroyers loom overhead, scaping the planet’s atmosphere, while jet-packed soldiers pick off waves of enemy troops. The video ends with the glorious sight of a Return of the Jedi-era Luke Skywalker, donned in black, come lightsaber-to-lightsaber with Darth Vader himself.
Star Wars Battlefront is due for release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on 17th November.
