‘Star Wars: Battlefront’ Gameplay And Details Reveal, Play As Darth Vader

The long-awaited Star Wars: Battlefront reveal for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC finally happened Friday as part of the Star Wars Celebration convention. The first details for the multiplayer shooter landed along with a gameplay trailer that gives the battle between the Empire and Rebels a next-gen look.

As leaks suggested yesterday, Star Wars: Battlefront will hit the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on Nov. 17, per an Associated Press report and a preview from PC Gamer. It also confirmed that the game will be set during the timeline of the original trilogy. However, there’s also a tie-in to Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The “Battle of Jakku” will be released to Battlefront as free DLC two weeks prior to The Force Awakens arriving in theaters on Dec. 18. Jakku is the desert planet seen in the movie trailer released yesterday with the crashed Star Destroyer. That was the result of a battle that takes place after Return of the Jedi.

“You never get to see it in the new movie, so it was this brilliant opportunity to recreate the Battle of Jakku, which you only see the remnants of in the movie,” said Bach. “In the game, you actually get to play the Battle of Jakku. It’s the same place from the new movie but 30 years earlier.”

Star Wars: Battlefront doesn’t quite reach the same 64-player player count that developer DICE made famous with its Battlefield series. Instead, the shooter will feature matches between the Empire and Rebels in two teams of 20, but could be smaller depending on the gametype.

However, the gameplay will feature vehicles from AT-AT Walkers and speeder bikes to Tie Fighters and X-Wings. Even the Millennium Falcon will be in the mix. Players will also have the option to switch between first and third-person points of view.

Iconic rides like the Millennium Falcon aren’t the only thing to be included in Star Wars: Battlefront though. Players will also be able to take on the role of Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and other major characters from both sides of the conflict. This is similar to prior games in the series, but details on how they are unlocked and how they play will have to wait. There is the potential to play as the over-powered boss of a match for a time, though.

“You can storm in as the Dark Lord himself,” Battlefront design director Niklas Fegraeus said. “You can wield a lightsaber. You can Force choke the rebel scum, which is fun. Basically, you are the boss of the battle. This means that you, as Vader, can lead your team to victory — if you play well.”

Meanwhile, the planets that will be featured include givens from the movie such as Hoth, Endor, and Tatooine. However, there will be rarely used locations like Sullust, which was referenced in Return of the Jedi and elsewhere, but has not been seen. There’s no word yet on other locations that Battlefront games have explored in the past such as Kashykk or Coruscant.

[Images via Star Wars: Battlefront]