Fans of the original Star Wars: Battlefront series will remember the high hopes they carried into the launch of Electronic Arts' 2015 remake, which rolled into the gaming community on a mix of nostalgia and faith that, with luck, the title would deliver on enormous expectations. Unfortunately for all parties, Battlefront received only a lukewarm reception to its rather lackluster release. Critics condemned the game for its low amount of content, overly streamlined mechanics, and a general lack of depth. While Battlefront would eventually sell over 14 million copies, it is still widely considered an overall disappointment.
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It is thus with a feeling of skepticism that we responded to the recent Tweet from the @EAStarWars account, which announced the development of Star Wars: Battlefront II and followed up with a promise of a trailer on April 15.
#StarWarsBattlefrontII is coming this year. Get your first look on April 15 at 2:30PM ET/11:30AM PT. Learn more: https://t.co/orUCPwoO4l pic.twitter.com/fAKY4hhR1u
— EA Star Wars (@EAStarWars) March 29, 2017
As seems to be the trend however, the trailer has been leaked several days early. While the initial video was taken down, a mirror is available and can be viewed below.
From this video, we can make a few assumptions.
The appearance of a woman's face stands out from a collection of Imperial soldiers as they watch the destruction of the Death Star above the forest moon, Endor. The trailer is narrated by presumably this same character, who talks of a "real war" that begins shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi. The words "The Untold Soldier's Story" suggests that this woman will be the protagonist of the game's single-player campaign.
While some would consider it a waste of development resources, the lack of a single-player story was sorely missed in the first Battlefront by players who remembered fondly the campaign of the 501st Legion in the original series.
Another hopeful development appears later in the trailer, which proclaims the ability to "Fight Multiplayer Battles... Across All Eras," before displaying a shot of Darth Maul squaring off against Yoda.
One of the most hotly criticized decisions of the development studio EA DICE was their choice to restrict the first game to only the events of the Galactic Civil War, which takes place during the events of the original three films. The Clone Wars, while a product of the immensely polarizing prequel films, were beloved in the 2004 and 2005 Battlefront games, which utilized them effectively to deliver an exciting campaign. The appearances of Darth Maul and Yoda seems to suggest that DICE has learned from their mistakes and will allow players access to a wider range of content this time around.
No launch date has yet been announced, and whether or not Electronic Arts will push for an eSports scene for their latest shooter is up for debate. That said, EA has promised a release date sometime later this year. For further information, follow them on their Twitter, and stay tuned for future updates.
