Star Wars: Battlefront Will Ignore the Prequels, Free Ep. VII DLC Planned

[StewShearerOld]

Star Wars: Battlefront Will Ignore the Prequels, Free Ep. VII DLC Planned

Star Wars: Battlefront will feature battlegrounds based on Tatooine, Hoth, Endor, Sullust and, in planned DLC, the new desert world Jakku.

Ever since its reveal at E3 2014, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/star%20wars%20battlefront?os=star+wars+battlefront>Star Wars: Battlefront has been an object of supreme anticipation for gamers and Star Wars fans alike. That said, up until now, its creators at DICE have provided little in the way of info detailing exactly what the franchise reboot will contain. All of that has changed today when the developer, as a part of the ongoing festivities of 2015's <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/140165-Star-Wars-Battlefront-To-Be-Shown-Off-at-Star-Wars-Celebration-Next-Month>Star Wars Celebration, unveiled a slew of new details about Battlefront's gameplay, environments and plans for DLC.

According to DICE, the new game will give fans the chance "to live out a wide range of heroic moments and intense battle fantasies," including fighting on the ground as a foot soldier, riding on speeder bikes, commanding AT-ATs and flying in ships like the Imperial TIE Fighter and the Millenium Falcon. Players will likewise get to drop into the shoes of fan favorite characters including Darth Vader, Boba Fett and more in a variety of play modes ranging from large scale 40-player battles down to split screen cooperative missions and even levels designed for solo play.

Unlike previous Battlefront titles, the new game will center its focus entirely on the original film trilogy, ignoring the prequels outright. That in mind, it will provide players with the chance to participate in battles taking place on iconic worlds like Endor, Tatooine, Hoth and "the previously unexplored planet Sullust." DICE also plans to release free DLC adding in the world Jakku, from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Gamers who pre-order Battlefront will gain access to the Jakku DLC on December 1st, 2015. Everyone else will get it on December 8th.

DICE has also confirmed that, as <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/140498-Star-Wars-Battlefront-Reportedly-Launching-November-17>suggested by reports, the game will be available at retailers in North America beginning on November 17th. Its European release will follow two days later on November 19th. Players interested in catching a glimpse of the game's engine in action can also take a look at a new cinematic trailer released today by DICE. Much like <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/140491-Star-Wars-The-Force-Awakens-Receive-Second-Teaser>another Star Wars trailer that came out of the Celebration yesterday, it's pretty danged cool.




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[laggyteabag]

Damn, I always did like the clone trooper armour, but I guess that is the price to pay to not have to deal with the goddamn Battle Droids. Besides, I guess having two super fleshed out factions is better than having 4 mediocre ones.

Also: Free DLC? From EA? What is this?

 

[Hutzpah Chicken]

The game looks like a great time, but I have a sneaking suspicion the EA factor will bring it down. Origin will definitely sour it's taste.

 

[Lightknight]

Yes... it's quickly shaping up to be as though the prequels aren't cannon... that'd be nice

 

[Sarge034]

I love how it says it's in game engine footage but shows no in game gameplay footage. They showed us cut scenes guys, and we all know how accurately in game cut scenes depict Battlefield gameplay. Why would Battlefront be any different?

 

[shintakie10]

Yes... it's quickly shaping up to be as though the prequels aren't cannon... that'd be nice

While the prequel movies weren't fantastic by any means, the setting was pretty glorious.

The battles that could be waged in the prequels far eclipse those of the original 3 movies. Between the prequel movies, the Clone Wars show setting, and any miscellaneous games that came out (think that random MMO they made added a bunch of stuff too) there was a wealth of places they could have dropped us off at.

Plus it would have added in a ton of variety. Empire vs Rebels is cool and all, but it severely limits the type of hardware that can be brought. Republic vs Seperatists? That gives you access to everythin from droids, to geonoshians, to good ol 6 arms himself and all the fun toys the Republic.

It hasn't completely destroyed my desire to play, but between that and the lack of space battles (the campaign was nice, but I'm not too worried about not havin it) I'm definitely on the wait and see list.

On the plus side, the trailer did get my sufficiently hyped. No way in hell that's anythin like gameplay footage will look like graphics wise (it did amuse me they tagged it with "game engine footage"), but as long as I don't go in with too many expectations I can probably enjoy it a great deal.

I love how it says it's in game engine footage but shows no in game gameplay footage. They showed us cut scenes guys, and we all know how accurately in game cut scenes depict Battlefield gameplay. Why would Battlefront be any different?

Well, yeah. I doubt anyone would get confused by the trailer as being in game footage. It did give us a pretty solid release date though. Not gonna take it as set in stone since we're still over half a year away, but its still a pretty solid ballpark.

My only worry is that they push too hard to hit that christmas deadline. We've had many a game fail miserably tryin to hit that christmas deadline when they needed more time and I'd hate to see another game fall to that.

 

[UFriday]

Aw, hell.

The clone troopers were always my favourite army to play as, and I have a lot of fond memories of the maps based on the prequels.
Oh well, not much I can do. And as long as they follow through with land to space combat and give us those good old massive battles, I'm a happy man.

 

[Xan Krieger]

Looks like a completed game to me, graphics are a bit dated but I'd still play it.

 

[shintakie10]

Will wait a year and then buy it

So as to get the "complete" edition and the "stable" version.

BF 3 and 4 burnt me BADLY.

The one thing I'm cautiously optimistic about is the talk of free dlc in the way of the Jakku map. The preorder bonus is only being able to access it a week earlier than everyone else, which...all things considered...isn't exactly the best bonus ever (which is good imo). The actual map is stated, outright, to be free. It might just be that 1 map, but maybe Dice/EA finally realized that seperatin player bases helps absolutely no one.

In fact, hopefully this means the only DLC we'll get is cosmetic. I'll even take extra heroes as dlc as long as they don't lock prominent characters behind it. Vader DLC? Fuck your couch. Tarkin as DLC? I can live with that.

 

[Buizel91]

wouldn't be surprised if the clones wars came as a DLC pack or something down the line.

Still nice to see we are getting a free dlc pack for Ep 7, that's nice of them, kind of a middle finger to the ones thinking the DLC and micro transactions are going to be everywhere xD

 

[Fdzzaigl]

If they do this right I will buy that game and all possible DLC they put out.

If they don't I will carry a grudge...

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Very shiny trailer. Nice to see one where the Rebels don't get stomped, which seems to be the case a lot of the times. Anyway, I'm excited, but I'd be happier if this was a movie, because man did it look good. Never been a big fan of the Star Wars Battlefront games because the single player got boring quick, but it sounds like they're going to tweak it a bit. Regardless, I'll buy this for sure. What's up for debate is how long I keep playing it.

 

[Buizel91]

It hasn't completely destroyed my desire to play, but between that and the lack of space battles (the campaign was nice, but I'm not too worried about not havin it) I'm definitely on the wait and see list.

Considering we can pilot tie fighters,, X-wings, and judging by the trailer, either call in or fly over in Y-wings for a strafing run, i think its a safe bet we will have the option of flying in space or being on the ground, kinda like how Battlefront 3 was meant to be before it got canned the first time.

I Know this is just a cinematic trailer but i think it provided us a sneak look of what we can do, that shield and rocket trooper with a jet pack? hello support and anti-vehicle class! As i stated with the Y-Wings, either a killstreak or players will eb flying over head in ships, either from planet or coming from a space battle.

 

[Littaly]

Yes... it's quickly shaping up to be as though the prequels aren't cannon... that'd be nice

While the prequel movies weren't fantastic by any means, the setting was pretty glorious.

The battles that could be waged in the prequels far eclipse those of the original 3 movies. Between the prequel movies, the Clone Wars show setting, and any miscellaneous games that came out (think that random MMO they made added a bunch of stuff too) there was a wealth of places they could have dropped us off at.

Plus it would have added in a ton of variety. Empire vs Rebels is cool and all, but it severely limits the type of hardware that can be brought. Republic vs Seperatists? That gives you access to everythin from droids, to geonoshians, to good ol 6 arms himself and all the fun toys the Republic.

Yeah I kind of agree. I can see why a lot of people really dislike the prequels, but sometimes the baby gets thrown out with the bathwater. Was the battle on Kashyyyk shoehorned into the story? Yeah, but it's till a pretty cool setting for a battle. The same goes for Kamino, Geonosis and Naboo, not saying any of those places were without flaws, both stylistically and in terms of their place in the story, but they were not without their merits either. Especially in the context of a battle-themed videogame.

Not sure if the limiting is to pander to prequel haters though, seems more like something they'd do to focus the effort and provide depth over breadth. Which I'm not going to outright dismiss, it's a move in a different direction, time will tell if it's a good one. My biggest fear is still this becoming Battlefield: Star Wars instead of the fun, relaxed Battlefront I love. But there is no use in calling doom there either, not before the game is actually out ^^

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Looks nice but the gameplay they showcased felt too tiny.

Hoth in Battlefront II was a huge map that necessitated the AT-ATs beyond simply as a homage to the movies: the battleground was huge, so having heavy armour made sense as getting them into range meant absolute carnage.

I'd personally like to see more aerial combat than the ground stuff. Unless it involves Hero units.

I still want the space combat though. BF II's space battles in Frostbite 3...HNNG

 

[Arnoxthe1]

So... If DICE was really worth their salt, they'd put in fully destructible environments. And when I say fully destructible, I'm talking Red Faction: Guerilla destructible.

 

[josemlopes]

Yes... it's quickly shaping up to be as though the prequels aren't cannon... that'd be nice

But to take off the battles of a game that is mostly just battles?

For all the crap it had I wouldnt throw it away because of Geonosis, Utapau, Coruscant and Naboo. Also the first clone troopers design and droids.

OT: I just hope there is a Galactic Conquest mode (or similar), it really doesnt need traditional singleplayer but it sure as hell needs to be playable solo, and not just specific situations like what seems to be hinted, it needs to be full blown bots that can be playable in all maps.

 

[killerbee256]

Who else gets the feeling the prequel factions/battles will be DLC...