Earlier this week a leaked trailer for Star Wars: Battlefront II hinted at a number of encouraging developments for the series' next title. Predictably, Electronic Arts soon released their official trailer a few days later, and we would highly recommend you check that out before reading further because, honestly, it is really quite cool.
RELATED: Leaked Star Wars: Battlefront 2 trailer hints at encouraging developments
As briefly covered in our earlier article, this Battlefront will feature the sorely missed single player campaign that veterans of the original series clamored so much for. According to EA's official website, players will have the opportunity to play as Iden Versio, commando of an elite team of imperial soldiers who early in the trailer demonstrate their skill by saving a squad of Stormtroopers. This team, called "Inferno Squad," will embark on a "story of revenge, betrayal, and redemption," that will take place over 30 years and encounter a variety of characters from the movies.
In addition to the already-known presences of Darth Maul and Yoda, old and new characters make appearances in the forms of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, and Rey.
The website also portrays a droid, which seems to confirm a total of three eras for Battlefront II; the Clone Wars, Galactic Civil War, and the events of the new films will all be available for players to experience.
A wealth of news has been released following the arrival of this latest trailer, all of which seems to suggest that this Battlefront game is headed in the right direction.
According to a Twitter post from Walt Williams, he and IGN Editor Mitch Dyer wrote the story for Star Wars: Battlefront II. Williams is most popular for his work on Spec Ops: The Line, a shooter from 2012 that is famous for its hauntingly memorable campaign. Also worth noting is the fact that this story will be canon, meaning that these characters tie into Disney's approved Star Wars universe.
Additional good news comes from the publisher, EA, who have announced that Star Wars: Battlefront II will be ditching their "Season Pass," that has become so prevalent in the FPS industry. For those new to this tactic, a Season Pass is an optional purchase that releases alongside a game that allows buyers access to all future DLC. This model usually requires a good bit of trust between the developers and gamers and has, in the past, not always been particularly rewarding. This development, when combined with the fact that Battlefront II's pre-order DLC will be entirely cosmetic, seems to suggest a more consumer-friendly plan in the future.
Positive gameplay changes have returned Battlefront II to the seemingly preferred class-based system present in the original two games. Players will be able to fill the roles of either an Officer, Assault, Heavy, or Specialist unit, and will be able to customize their characters in a progression-based system similar to the first game.
Overall, these changes seem indicative of a studio that has listened well to the many criticisms and complaints of their fanbase over the last couple of years, and, hopefully, have based their development plans largely around that.
Still, although Battlefront II is already available for pre-order despite a lack of a release date, it's probably best to adopt a "sit-back-and-wait" attitude for this title. Those seeking further news should check out the game's Twitter page and website.
