Star Wars Battlefront has finally received its first trailer, and a batch of new details regarding the upcoming game have been revealed by publisher EA and developer DICE.
Also See: The Internet Reacted to the New Star Wars Trailer and It Wasn’t Very Funny
EA/DICE kept details regarding the game under wraps until the unveiling of its debut trailer, though we now have a much clearer understanding of what the game will be like when it launches on November 17th on the PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Scroll through the gallery below to discover everything we know so far about the hugely anticipated game.
Star Wars Battlefront: Everything We Know So Far
-
It will run at 60FPS on consoles and should look gorgeous.
Forget the fun stuff - what people really wanted to know when the Star Wars Battlefront trailer was first unveiled was its frame rate.
Yes, to the majority it's a particularly dull conversation, but frame rate and resolution is the hottest topic of this current console generation and it was inevitable that the question would be posed to DICE at some point. When DICE's design director Niklas Fegraeus was inevitably fielded the question, he responded by confirming that the game will indeed run at 60FPS on consoles. Phew.
Aside from the frame rate debate, DICE has also stated that the footage shown in the trailer was "pre-alpha." Considering that it looked gorgeous (it's still difficult to comprehend that it was actually game engine footage that was used), we should expect the finished game to be even better looking, with it on track to be the most visually stunning game of this console generation.
-
No story campaign.
For those hoping that Star Wars Battlefront would feature a single-player story campaign that guides players through the events of all six Star Wars films up until Force Awakens, this news will likely come as a disappointment.
Star Wars Battlefront will feature no story mode, with it instead offering "crafted missions" that can be experienced either in solo play, or with a friend via online co-op or offline split-screen. In truth, this could be a blessing in disguise. DICE isn't exactly well-known for offering worthwhile single-player campaigns in its multiplayer titles, with the Battlefield series' tiresome story modes being evidence of this. We all know what happens in the Star Wars films by now, so experiencing them in video game format once again is hardly necessary. We just hope that these crafted missions are a worthwhile experience for solo and split-screen players alike.
-
Some gameplay will be on-rails.
Unlike the previous two games, DICE's Star Wars Battlefront will feature on-rails vehicular sections. It's not yet known how these will work exactly, but according to a member of DICE's development team the AT-AT will not be fully controllable, with it instead being used as an objective in a particular game type.
According to the dev, "they're the objective and they need to be going in certain directions," which seems to suggest that there will be a mode in which the Imperial vehicles must reach a particular destination before the Rebel forces destroy them.
While the AT-AT's were previously fully controllable, if they are used as part of an objective in a game type then it's somewhat understandable. This seems to be the revelation that most people are upset by, but we can only wait to see the game type for ourselves before we pass judgement.
-
There will be DLC tying into The Force Awakens.
Two weeks prior to the release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, a downloadable content pack titled Battle of Jakku will be released for Star Wars Battlefront. Rather than featuring battles from the upcoming film, Battle of Jakku will instead see players duking it out after the events of Return of the Jedi, with the DLC set to take place on the desert planet that has been shown in The Force Awakens' trailers.
The DLC will follow the New Republic as they confront Imperial holdouts on the previously unseen Outer Rim enclave, which ultimately leads to the planet of Jakku being turned on its head, which is evident from the trailers. Oh, and it will also be free, which is nice.
-
Space battles are gone.
After being introduced in Star Wars: Battlefront II, space battles were expected to make their way into Star Wars Battlefront. With footage of the scrapped Star Wars: Battlefront 3 depicting combat that transitioned seamlessly from the ground, to the air, to space, it was believed that DICE would take this idea and make it their own. Unfortunately, that isn't happening.
After being asked by a fan whether or not space battles would make their way into the upcoming game, the official EA Star Wars Twitter account replied: "We’re focusing on air battles and dogfights that take place on the vistas of our planets rather than space." So basically, "No."
The concept of being able to duke it out on land, in the air and in space simultaneously was an exciting one, so it's a shame that this feature won't be making its way into Battlefront. While space battles were hardly the highlight of Battlefront II, they were a good foundation for what could have undoubtedly been a great feature for future Battlefront games. Hopefully this isn't the last we've seen of them.
-
There will be more than 8 maps at launch.
Star Wars Battlefront will take place across four planets, with over two maps per planet. Thus far the only confirmed maps have been Endor and Hoth, with Jakku set to make its way into the game in the form of DLC.
Of course, this number of maps will continue to grow in size in the future as DICE will undoubtedly throw their full support behind it post-release.
-
You can play as Darth Vader and Boba Fett.
With Star Wars: Battlefront II having introduced heroes and villains into the mix, allowing players to control Jedi, Sith and every major Star Wars character in between, DICE's Star Wars Battlefront is set to take this feature and build upon it.
Thus far only Darth Vader and Boba Fett have been announced as playable characters, though plenty more are expected to be revealed. As was the case in Battlefront II, the heroes/villains can be controlled by the player who is performing the best on each team, though DICE has previously stated that it wants each player to be able to control them at least once per match. How they plan to do this has not yet been revealed.
-
There's a 40 player cap.
Unlike DICE's Battlefield series, which hosts up to 64 players, Star Wars Battlefront's maps can only hold up to a maximum of 40 players. That's still a relatively large amount of players, and it should still fill each match with an appropriate level of chaos, but it's certainly a smaller amount than we were expecting from DICE.
DICE has also confirmed that while 40 players is the maximum number of players that the game supports, there will be a variety of game modes that will require smaller teams, though these modes haven't yet been elaborated upon.
-
You can customize your characters.
Star Wars Battlefront will fall in line with other online shooters in that your character's appearance, weaponry and gear will be customizable. There will also be various power-ups you can employ on the field, including the bubble shield that was seen in the trailer, though it hasn't been revealed whether these are class-specific perks.
Fortunately the heroes and villains cannot be customized, so you won't see Darth Vader wandering around the field wearing a pink helmet.
