Electronic Arts has announced details on three new game modes for Star Wars Battlefront ahead of its release on PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One in November.
First up is Cargo Mode, which is basically Battlefront’s take on the classic Capture the Flag and accomodates a 6v6 scenario. The objective is to capture another team’s cargo drop and take it back to their base, although there’s a twist; you don’t need to have your own cargo back at your base in order for your stolen package to count. Both teams start off with a 5-5 score, which changes depending on the amount of cargo each team is holding. The match will be given to the team with the highest score after 15 minutes.
“For Cargo, we want players to focus on both bases and establishing two very defined gameplay roles – the attacker and the defender,” said Dennis Brännvall, the game’s Lead Level Designer. “If you like Smoke Grenades and Jump Packs you’ll be a great attacker in Cargo, and if you want to play defence you can equip things like the Proximity Bomb and Barrage. Defenders can also man the stationary E-Web Turrets within or close to the bases for some extra defensive firepower.”
Elsewhere, Battlefront will feature another new mode known as Hero Hunt, which was leaked last week alongside a series of new playable characters, including the Emperor. This is a 1v7 match, with one player starting out a Hero unit (i.e., Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker etc, depending on the planet) while the other players spawn as troopers. The objective is to take down the Hero unit, with the player who lands the killing blow then becoming the Hero unit, restarting the process. As the Hero, you must survive as long as possible and attempt to take out those pursuing you across the map.
“Hero Hunt is one of our fantasy-fulfilling game modes catering for those who want to divulge in epic, almost boss fight-like encounters with Star Wars™ characters,” commented Brännvall. “With a player count of eight it’s a smaller and more direct game mode, and perhaps not as tactical as for instance Supremacy – but still not without depth.”
Finally, we have Droid Run. This takes the form of a 6v6 game mode which sees Rebel and Empire forces clashing for control of three droids as the dash across the map. All three must be in your possession before you start earning points towards their capture. In addition, this mode has no vehicle or Hero drops to make things even more difficult for each team.
”The strategies used are somewhat different than for instance Cargo, where your positions are more strict,” Brännvall explains. “You can choose a slower, explosive play style by equipping Thermal Detonators and Cycler Rifles. But your team can also embrace the dynamic, chaotic nature of the game mode and equip Jump Packs to get around the map and chase the Droids as fast as possible.”
Published by Electronic Arts, Star Wars Battlefront is scheduled for a November 17 release in the U.S. and November 20 in Europe for PS4, PC and Xbox One. Unsurprisingly, the game’s launch is in close proximity to the release of the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, which opens in cinemas in December 2015. Battlefront is powered by the Frostbite 3.0 engine, and is positioned as a reboot of the celebrated franchise following an unsuccessful attempt to develop Star Wars Battlefront 3 during the previous console generation. The current build of the title is reported to run at 900p on PS4 and 720p on Xbox One.
Star Wars Battlefront is a multiplayer-focused title and as such will not implement a single-player campaign, with players able to compete in massive online battles for up to 40 participants. Battlefront will allow gamers to switch between a first and third-person perspective as they see fit, as you wage war as either a Rebel or Imperial Stormtrooper across several iconic Star Wars locations including Hoth, Endor, Tatooine and Jakku. In addition, DICE is also giving players the chance to step into the legendary boots of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker as one of the game’s ‘hero’ units, with appearances from R2-D2 and C-3PO also confirmed as NPCs.