E3 Star Wars video games come out swinging, Bespin never looked so good as in Bespin Battlefront DLC, and Rebels Season two will be in your house soon.
By Mike Audette // This week was a crazy one. All kinds of video game news from E3, Bespin Battlefront DLC, and Star Wars Rebels Season two coming to Blu-Ray and DVD. Let’s unravel it all.
If you are like me, every June is almost like another Christmas morning. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, most commonly known as E3, takes place in Los Angeles. E3 is when video game developers, game system manufacturers and pretty much anything else to do with video games come together to show off their wares and debut new games and systems for the years to come. With the reawakening of the Star Wars saga in film it is also a reawakening for Star Wars in video games. Up until the release of Star Wars Battlefront last fall, game releases have been extremely slow if not non-existent. This year during the EA (Electronic Arts) industry presentation, a special Star Wars portion was featured. It gave some glimpses into what the different development companies are working on for the future of Star Wars gaming.
The video above shows what all the studios are working on now. If I can be frank for a second–holy crap I can’t wait to play all these games. There’s Battlefront 2, based on The Force Awakens; the Death Star trench run coming with the Death Star DLC pack early this fall; Respawn Entertainment working on actual motion capture for Lightsaber combat for an unnamed title; and the brief glimpse of the action-adventure game coming from Visceral Games. That one-shot of a character walking out of a building on what appears to Tatooine (Mos Eisley), with TIEs careening overhead and a Star Destroyer in atmosphere, is just stunning.
The game’s release date is set for sometime in 2018, featuring design work from Lucasfilm veteran Doug Chiang and the legendary Amy Hennig. There is a powerhouse team working on this game and I just can’t wait to see more of it.
The Sony Playstation presentation announced on Monday that Star Wars Battlefront will be getting its own PSVR experience this fall. The exclusive content is called Battlefront X-wing VR Mission. The preview shows an Alderaanian Cruiser and a group of X-wings going into battle against a squadron of TIE fighters and Star Destroyer. It looks absolutely incredible. I need to start saving for the PSVR now. Luckily, EA has said that anyone who already owns Battlefront won’t have to pay for X-wing VR. Apologies to all Xbox One owners–it’s not too late to swap that in for shiny new PS4.
Other tidbits that came out from E3: LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens demo is available for download now. I played through the demo a few times and it is a lot of fun. It has a true Star Wars-feel while combining the usual Lego-style humor with actual dialogue from the film. The game comes out on the 28th of June and I’ll be getting it for sure.
You can check the full roundup on all the games news from E3 here.
EA released the gameplay trailer and full details of the Bespin Battlefront DLC. It will be releasing July 5 (June 21st for Season Pass.) Bespin Battlefront DLC will feature five new multiplayer maps, a new game mode called Sabotage, the introduction of Lando and Dengar as Heroes, two new blasters, three new Star Cards and the debut of the Cloud Car as a pilot-able vehicle. Confirmed through EA and Dice developers, Billy Dee Williams and Simon Pegg performed the dialogue for Lando and Dengar respectively. That is a really awesome touch. After all, it just would not be Lando if it wasn’t Billy Dee providing the voice. (It’s great to see Pegg reprise his Prequel-era role. Always remember that Prequel-hating Simon Pegg indeed voiced Dengar in the Prequel era. – Ed.)
The level cap for Bespin Battlefront DLC will also be rising to 70, falling in line with the increase to 60 from the Outer Rim DLC. Two new character customization skins will be available for in-game credit purchase at level 70. First, Cloud City Wing Commanders–those blue uniformed guys seen in ESB– will be released for the Rebels. Then, Shocktroopers will be available for the Empire. Yes, you are saying to yourself, “weren’t the Shocktroopers the Emperor’s bodyguards?” Yes, they were. Therefore, Shocktroopers are being replaced by the true bodyguards of the Emperor. Consequently, when Palpatine is in play you will now be able to spawn as red-caped Royal Guard. I’m a huge fan of the Royal Guards, so this is a pretty awesome inclusion. You can get the full details and watch the Bespin Battlefront DLC trailer here!
And finally wrapping up a jam-packed week was the news that the Blu-Ray and DVD of Star Wars Rebels season 2 will be coming out this August 30th! The package will be including all 22 episodes plus never-before-seen bonus material and even more extras on the Blu-Ray. The standard bonus features include:
- Connecting the Galaxy: Rebels Season Two – Uncover hidden references, easter eggs, and connections to the Star Wars universe found throughout the season.
- Rebels Recon – Blast off with 20 fun, fast-paced episode recons, featuring behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with cast and crew, and more!
While the Blu-Ray will have those in addition to a special retrospective on Ahsoka and Darth Vader by Executive producer Dave Filoni.
- From Apprentice to Adversary: Vader vs. Ahsoka (Exclusive to Blu-ray) – Executive producer Dave Filoni reflects on the climactic ending of the season, when Ahsoka Tano finally confronts Darth Vader in a long-awaited, fierce, and epic lightsaber battle.