Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. Yesterday I got an early (and heavily embargoed) peek at EA's upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront continuation. They've released the first trailer, which you can see below. Hold on to your butts!
That footage uses the in game engine, but even so it probably looks a tad better than what you'll experience when playing. I saw that trailer and some actual in-game sequences done on a PS4 blown up real big and while the difference was slight it was there.
Here's what you need to know:
-While playing you can switch between 3rd Person and 1st Person views at any point. So if you want an over the shoulder style instead of FPS you can do that. If you want to change it up and have some of both you can do that at will at any point.
-While the focus is on online multiplayer, there will be missions you can run against the AI at varying difficulties. Play solo (yuk-yuk-yuk) or with a buddy with online co-op.
-This marks the first of 10 Star Wars/Lucasfilm related video games in the EA deal and is being developed by DICE.
-The PC version will be one of (if not) the first video games to be coded and playable in Dolby Atmos.
-DICE scanned original props and miniatures to such a specific degree that when you use a weapon or see a vehicle (be it a ship or a Walker) it is the next best thing to having the originals in front of you. They called the process Photogrammetry... many HD photos that were stitched together and laid over the CG frame. So instead of an artist interpreting or trying to replicate the look of, say, a Stormtrooper blaster it's actually the image of the real prop.
-Same goes for locations. They recreated classic locations by actually visiting these places and making sure the world they create is 100% accurate (or as close as they can get to it) so that the player feels like they're there.
-Power-ups: Exploring the gameplay maps will reveal power-ups, which range from shields to vehicles to Leader/Hero Characters. Like in the previous games you find the right power-up and you get to play as a Leader, be it Vader or Luke or whomever.
-You can choose a buddy to be your partner and you'll be able to spawn on them whenever or wherever they're playing and you can also share unlocks, too. So good way to bring in newbies and help them power up fast.
-They didn't specify, but what I'm seeing online now is that this could be next-gen console only. EA lists it as available on PS4, Xbox One and on Origin for PC.
-The game releases on November 17th and as part of the purchase everybody gets the free Battle of Jakku DLC. However if you pre-order you get it December 1st while everybody else has to wait until December 8th.
That's right, The Battle of Jakku ties directly in to The Force Awakens. It's my understanding the story of this particular DLC takes place right after the fall of the Empire and shows you how that Star Destroyer crashed into the desert in that latest trailer.
I don't know what specific retailers will offer as extra DLC, but Gamestop has their pre-order system up already.
The in-game footage I saw looked really great. Hyper detailed Endor mission in which you're a rebel soldier attacking Stormtroopers. It was like next-gen Call of Duty except instead of shooting terrorists you're shooting Imperial Soldiers. Instead of tanks rolling in, it was an AT-AT. Instead of calling in an airstrike from some sweet-ass jets, it was Y-wings.
I'll definitely be pre-ordering the hell out of this thing.
-Eric Vespe
”Quint”
quint@aintitcool.com
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