Star Wars Battlefront E3 Preview

“And of course…” says EA CEO Andrew Wilson, before he’s stopped in his tracks by a smattering of applause.

“And OF COURSE…Star Wars!” Hands that were inactive just moments earlier are now contributing towards a rapturous applause. Audible woo’s and cheers recreate scenes seen only at the insertion of a goal or touchdown. Just one hour left till Star Wars.

EA were unashamedly boastful at the reveal of Star Wars Battlefront, and let’s be honest, who could blame them? They knew what we wanted and they were more than happy to deliver. The promise of Luke and Vader was the carrot at the end of a very, very long stick, and at times during that conference, it felt as though we were being beaten with it. You could almost hear the collective sigh as Pelé took to the stage, where, rather remarkably, he sat down for an idle chat with a fella from EA; don’t mind us guys, it’s cool.

Games came and went, but not without the constant appearance of fancy graphics that reminded us that Star Wars was coming. Alas, the timer reached its conclusion. My enthusiasm had been unceremoniously wiped out by legends Pelé and Hoop Gawd; Battlefront needed to be something special to peak my interest.

Luckily, it was.

A camera pans across an unoccupied X-Wing, waiting to be awoken from its icy slumber. “Look how good this looks,” I say to a friend, furiously nudging him with my elbow. The unmistakable sounds of John Williams’ score sets the scene, but the London Symphony Orchestra fails to mask the cries of the rebel soldiers.

“We’ve got incoming Imperials. Look alive!” one shouts, as the occupants of this frozen bunker rush out with urgency.

And so they should, as the security of the bunker is demolished by the arrival of an imperial detonator. The safe haven is now the host of an immeasurably large battle, and the once quiet chambers are now ablaze with the authentic blasts of the famous Star Wars weaponry.

Over the next five minutes, we’re treated to an attack on our senses, as a glorious mix of old and new combine. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, but so is evolution, and it’s the combination of the two that has left so many gushing over our first look at Star Wars Battlefront.

So, what exactly did we see?

Well, first and foremost, the aim of this particular match seemed to be akin to domination modes seen in other shooters. As a rebel, your task is to take control of the satellite uplinks, opening up the opportunity for Y-Wings to launch an onslaught on the unsuspecting Stormtroopers. Naturally, the role of the Empire is to prevent such a scenario.

What’s most exciting however is not what you’re doing, but how you can do it. We see troops both Rebel and Empire shoot their blasters and manoeuvre with their jetpacks around the ice planet Hoth, with the aim of thinning the herd. But what if the life of a footsoldier doesn’t interest you?

Well, how about an AT-AT? Or a TIE Fighter perhaps? There are seemingly several cogs to this machine, and the gameplay trailer did a good job of showing us that the machine can only function when the cogs rotate in unison. The efforts of the Rebel soldiers will be left futile if the AT-ATs are left to roam unchallenged. Conversely, the AT-ATs alone are perilous to stop the oncoming onslaught of Snowspeeders.

So, your allies take to the trenches, as you hop into the Snowspeeder and replicate Empire Strikes Back, just as you did with plastic toys as a gleeful 10 year old. In the interim, orbital strikes are obliterating the Rebels, and the harbingers of death, the AT-STs, seek to eliminate what’s left.

Soldiers, vehicle warfare, dogfights; it begs the question, is it just Battlefield painted over with a Star Wars brush? The influences are clearly there, but that’s not a bad thing. From what we’ve seen, Star Wars Battlefront looks to engender that same feeling of cataclysmic warfare that the Battlefield series has captured so well.

Five minutes in, and my relentless nudging has left a visible bruise on my unsuspecting friend, but his brain is too focussed on what’s on screen to fully acknowledge the pain I’ve been inflicting. Star Destroyers are being shot out of the sky, the remnants of the previously destroyed AT-AT lay in the snow, and, just as the Rebels look to make the final assault, that infamous heavy breathing makes an entrance.

I’m not sure why Vader is in the middle of the battlefield, and Luke isn’t wearing the appropriate apparel given the freezing cold temperatures, but I’ll let that slide. Luke exudes the level of power you’d expect from a Jedi, and dispatches Snowtroopers with impudent ease. Father and son race toward each other, dropping the curtain on the trailer.

And that’s Star Wars Battlefront. Even as someone who typically prefers the company of one in a first-person shooter, I couldn’t help but be in awe of what I saw. Will it have enough content? I don’t know, but as of now, I’m more than happy to bask in the glow of my child-like optimism.

I love Star Wars, and it’s never looked so good.