While it wasn’t some big secret that Leia, Han, and Emperor Palpatine would be making it into Star Wars Battlefront as Heroes/Villains, today we get our first good look at them from EA and DICE. The announcement features some high resolution art, showing off the new characters in all their glory. You’ll be able to use them in-game as your team’s main hero or villain, depending on the mission and your respective team.
Leia Organa looks to be featured in her Hoth attire, featuring a while jumpsuit and a blaster. Unfortunately we won’t get the fan-dream of a Jedi Leia or anything like that this time around. “Leia is a character that succeeds through her fearless, strategic mind,” explained the announcement. “We can all remember moments when her quick-thinking blaster fire helped the Rebels out of trouble. Our goal for all the Hero characters has been to capture their essence and spirit from the original Star Wars film trilogy, and then convey that through gameplay.
“It’s clear that Leia is a leader, so in Star Wars Battlefront she’s very much about support play, buffing team members, and holding positions. Furthermore, players spawning close to her will spawn as Alderaan Honor Guards. That said, she’s got a lot of offensive output as well. Just look at the original Star Wars trilogy: you’ll notice that when Leia shoots at stormtroopers, she kills them quickly. We’ve based one of Leia’s abilities on this: Trooper Bane.” Trooper Bane is joined by an Enhanced Squad Shield and a Supply Drop as Leia’s other abilities.
Han Solo will likely be a fan-favorite, as he is in the films. “It’s been incredibly fun to work on Han Solo for Star Wars Battlefront. He’s such a likeable character, and turning his unique persona into gameplay features is a thrill when you’re a Star Wars fan. We’ve also witnessed the love for this character in our playtests. Han’s sardonic lines and emotes seem to put a smile on everyone’s face.
“Gameplay-wise, Han Solo is a gunslinger mainly designed for lone wolves and, echoing the beginning of the original Star Wars trilogy, he’s not very dependent on others. Similar to a Rebel trooper, but with a greatly boosted arsenal, Han Solo might be the easiest Hero character to get into. Offensive output, damage, and mobility — that’s what this guy’s about.”
Emperor Palpatine rounds out the Sith duo, with the already seen Darth Vader. “We wanted many different things with the Emperor. We wanted him to be very mobile, but also about deception and fooling people that he’s fragile and weak. As you’ve seen in the original Star Wars trilogy, Palpatine pretends to be a weak old man, when he in fact is extremely powerful. That two-faced side was something we wanted to convey in gameplay and the Emperor’s abilities.”
Those abilities are the iconic Force Lightning, as well as a Force Dash that let’s him move extremely quickly. Finally Palpatine can support his team with various power-ups and health boosts.
Look forward to checking out all of the heroes and villains in Star Wars Battlefront when it launches on November 17th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Published: Oct 20, 2015 11:31 am