As the countdown to Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues, legions of fans are also looking forward to the highly-anticipated video game Star Wars Battlefront, which will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC formats on November 17. Yesterday, we showed you a new video game trailer that brought the game's explosive action to Earth, but today, Playstation Blog has revealed three new characters that fans can play as in the game, Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa and the nefarious Emperor Palpatine.
The blog post from Jamie Keen, Lead Hero Designer, revealed that the team tried to "capture the essence and spirit" of the hero characters from the original Star Wars movies, which is easier to achieve with characters that have iconic weapons like lightsabers. Since Leia doesn't have a go-to weapon, the designer revealed that her "essence" had to be portrayed in a different way in Star Wars Battlefront. Here's what he had to say about Leia's abilities in the game.
"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. A hard-hitting, boosted blaster shot, Trooper Bane is designed to be fired in single bursts. Now, this packs a real punch if you hit your target. A stormtrooper will get killed in one blast by Trooper Bane, and against Villains it will both deal a lot of damage and temporarily stun them."
As for Han Solo, this beloved character is still a gunslinger, as he was in the original trilogy, but there will be new ways that Han will be able to beat the odds. Jamie Keen explained these three special abilities, Rapid Fire, Lucky Shot, and Shoulder Charge power, which are taken from iconic scenes in the original trilogy. Take a look at what Jamie Keen had to say about Han Solo's gameplay abilities.
"Han Solo has three useful abilities to even out the odds fighting the Empire and the first one is called Rapid Fire. Active for a few seconds, this lets Han fire his Blaster as fast you can pull the trigger, without having to worry about overheating. Try this out when taking on compact groups and mow down those stormtroopers! Rapid Fire is also really good for when villains like Darth Vader approach. Use it at the right time and you'll lay down a ton of damage. Han Solo has an element of fortune around him and that's where Lucky Shot, Han's second power, originates from. This is a "build up and release" power that hits really hard and is effective against vehicles. Lucky Shot works for infantry as well and is mighty enough to break Darth Vader's block. Last but not least is the Shoulder Charge power. Remember the Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope scene where Han charges into a group of stormtroopers? Then you'll know what to expect. Shoulder Charge is both an offensive and defensive move and can be used to quickly get into battles - but also out of them."
Last but not least, fans can also play as Emperor Palpatine, whose deceptive nature in the original trilogy comes through in the game. While he appears to be a physically-weak old man, the Emperor is certainly a very powerful adversary, with his main weapon shown in the movies put on display in this game. Take a look at what players can do by utilizing Emperor Palpatine.
"Palatine's main attack is the iconic Force Lightning, which does a lot of damage to troops within reach. The lightning also comes in the more powerful Chain Lightning form, which is an area of effect ability dealing damage to enemies around you in all directions. Another power is called Force Dash and is (pun intended) shocking in another way. When Palpatine activates Force Dash he'll move extremely fast in his current direction, which can be a real nasty surprise for Rebel soldiers. We've seen some players get really startled when they have been aiming down the sights at Palpatine and suddenly see him right up close."
Star Wars Battlefront will deliver an incredibly authentic and immersive interactive entertainment experience featuring photorealistic visuals and epic action in iconic Star Wars locations. Star Wars Battlefront will allow fans to live out a wide range of heroic moments and intense battle fantasies of their own - firing blasters, riding speeder bikes and snow speeders, commanding AT-ATs and piloting TIE fighters and the Millennium Falcon. These battles will take place on some of the most iconic planets in the Star Wars universe, including Endor, Hoth, Tatooine and the previously unexplored planet, Sullust. Gamers will be able to play as some of the most memorable characters in the original trilogy such as Darth Vader and Boba Fett. Take a look at these new photos below, along with our full gallery from this game, and stay tuned for more on Star Wars Battlefront.
