Star Wars: Battlefront 2. Redemption for Battlefront 1?

It's no secret Battlefront 1 (EA/Dice) wasn't exactly the success we had all hoped it would be.  It was fun for a while but overall felt generic and empty. Then there was the business model with DLC and a season pass. Yikes... Let's be honest, it takes more than a setting to make a good Star Wars video game. I didn't totally dislike Battlefront 1. I enjoyed the ship battles more than anything. But even the Death Star battle felt odd with the way it was implemented. I know what EA and Dice were looking at. With all of the Call of Duty/Battlefield/FPS games being so multiplayer heavy, skipping any sort of single player story may have made since. This is if it were any other franchise. You simply can't skip a story with Star Wars. Having a cool backdrop for a game is fine. But the setting is only one part of the recipe for a great SW storytelling.

With the release of Battlefront 2 coming only a few months away (Nov 17) it seems EA/Dice listened to the fan base. First revealed at Star Wars Celebration; Battlefront 2 has a whole new single player story which will be canon. Jade Raymond, formally with Ubisoft and part of the creative team behind Assassin's Creed and Watchdogs, has partnered her Studio, Motive, with the Star Wars story group. Taking place between "Return of the Jedi" and "The Force Awakens", the story will focus on the Empires 'Inferno Squad', an elite group of group of Imperial soldiers whose sole purpose is to find, and neutralize, what remains of Saw Gererra's partisans. "Inferno Squad" the book, by Christie Golden, is directly connected to the game and is set for release on July 25th.  

Learning more about the single player side, it is going to have a deep player progression system with a large size campaign. It is also going to be non-linear. This lets the player go through the stages in different ways giving more playability. You primarily play as Iden Versio, a specialist Imperial trooper. She is voiced and modeled by Janina Gavankar from 'True Blood' and 'The L Word'. Versio is accompanied by her droid which has multiple roles like slicing, (or hacking) shooting and taking down enemies. All of its abilities are upgradable as well.  

Moving into the multiplayer modes, Dice has said it's taking more of a "Battlefield" game style approach. To me, that's a good thing as I love the Battlefield series. Word is multiplayer will cover all 3 current eras to the Star Wars story with revamped classes, customizable weapons, and character skins. Space battles will also be coming with customizable ships. I'm very excited about this aspect!

The best part of all this is there will be NO season pass on DLC. I'm sure micro-transactions will still take place. But we won't be forced to pay so much more for what we felt we already paid for.  

I honestly didn't care about this game before the announcements made. For so long, large game publishers have been bleeding the customer dry. No, we didn't HAVE to buy any of it, but why pressure gamers into spending so much more money for nothing but a few more maps? Thankfully, with all these changes made, I looking forward to playing Battlefront 2.

Star Wars Celebration 2017.

As I write this, it’s 4 AM on a Tuesday morning.  I should be asleep.  It was nearly a week ago today my great friend, Nat, and I began our drive from Springfield, Missouri to Orlando, Florida. Our final destination of course; Star Wars Celebration.  After 16 hours on the road we arrived in Orlando.  Nat and I picked up the rest of our group, Kyle, Salomon, and Gio from the airport and we made our way to the Orange County Convention Center.

How do I begin to describe such an incredibly special event?  The magnitude of this convention was something I could have never imagined.  The amount of people attending was eye opening.  Sure, we all know how popular Star Wars is, but it’s the fans dedication to it which makes it amazing.

The first big event was the 40th anniversary panel on Thursday morning.  If we wanted to have any chance to watch it live, we had to camp in the convention center the night before. Once we got through security, we were put in massive queue line that was partitioned off in a big left to right pattern.  People camped out with camping chairs and sleeping bags.  In all honesty, it looked more like a refugee camp than a Star Wars Convention.  As 1 AM approached, the party started.  Disney brought out a DJ who played dance music and got the crowd hyped up.  People danced and had a great time.  There was even a “King of the Hill” style light saber fight among those who wished to participate.  Which, by the way, the writer of this article was the winner. Bring it on, Ray Park!  I’m ready to kick some Darth Maul ass!  Did I mention Deadpool was there?

Sadly, the first day, wasn’t without issues.  Before I get too deep into this subject, I’m not going to turn this into a finger pointing rant.  I would not know where to begin when it comes trying to organize a massive convention like this.  As I said, we waited overnight to get into the 40th anniversary panel;, so we would be guaranteed a spot to the stage.  This did not happen for our group.  Although we did get into auditorium where the panel was live streamed.  It was better than nothing.  So, what happened?  I hate to say, but some fans waiting after us figured out a way to circumvent the line. Wrist-bands were handed out and some folks figured out a way to get ahead of those who waited overnight. How this happened, I have no idea. But, there it is.  All I can say is I hope lessons were learned and the organizers can improve things for the next Celebration.

The 40th anniversary panel had so many great surprises.  To see George Lucas, the man who seemed to have sworn off his own creation, happily attending felt so good. Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and nearly the entire old cast was perfect.  Of course, the one person we miss so dearly, Carrie Fisher was spoken about extensively.  Her daughter, Billie Lourd, gave an impactful and personal speech that didn’t leave a dry eye in the room.  The last part of the panel was something no one expected.   A huge curtain right of the stage moved away to reveal an full orchestra and a conductor.  The man slowly turned to wave at the audience… It was the iconic John Williams. Never in my life did I think I would see the man play live!  Once the crowd realized it was him, a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd erupted.  What was a crazy sight to see and watch how much control he had over us all the fans.  In the midst of us the cheering, he turned toward us the crowd again, smiling he put his finger to the front of his mouth asking for silence.  I’ve never heard a room so loud, get so quiet in such a short amount of time.  The orchestra played all of our favorite Star Wars music to close out the panel. It was perfection.

We moved on to exhibit floor. The booths, the Cosplay, the droids rolling around as if we were really in the Star Wars universe;  it was nothing short of breathtaking.  There is was so much to do and see, you really do need the 4 days to take it all in.  The area that attracted me most was the art section.  I’m already an art nerd, so I was very happy.  To meet the artists was a real treat for me. If I were a rich man, I would have bought every art piece there.  No joke.  My house would have looked like a Star Wars museum.  The cosplayers not only looked amazing, but were so gracious with people wanting to take pictures and ask questions.  I’ve been seriously considering making some for myself.  Meeting the Mandalorian Mercs has really inspired me to make some Mondo armor.  

The next big panel was The Last Jedi Panel. This was another overnight camp out.  So, yes, we lived in the convention center for 2 days.  I will tell you now; it was 100% worth it.  In the middle of the night, Rian Johnson, the director of The Last Jedi, came out and visited all of us staying overnight.  He made the rounds in the line and began to sign autographs.  Here is why this guy is amazing.  A line formed for his autograph and he stayed until every person who wanted one it got it one. Nearly 4 hours later, he made his way out.  That night alone showed the fans that Rian Johnson isn’t just a director, he’s one of us.

In the morning, we made our way into The Last Jedi panel!  I’ll get right to it, this room was alive. Kathleen Kennedy, Rian Johnson, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, and new to Star Wars Kelly Marie Tran, were all in attendance.  Josh Gad made for a smart and hilarious host.  You can watch it on YouTube, so I won’t get too deep into the interviews.  I want to move right to the poster reveal.  What an absolutely beautiful, dark, and meaningful poster.  It’s simple yet says so much. The saber going from blue into red is ominous.  Then, the trailer was shown.  WOW.  “It’s time for the Jedi to end”. What an absolute gut punch to hear from Luke. Go watch it. You will be amazed.  When the lights came up, Rian Johnson came out on stage.  People were cheering, screaming, clapping.  He asked us, “Do you want to see it again?”  Obviously!  So we all watched it again with the utmost attention.  Looking for details we missed the first time.  The trailer did a perfect job of not giving away too many plot details but getting everyone excited for what’s to come.

Other special experiences were meeting Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka.  She baked cupcakes and yes, they are as amazing as people say.  I also got to shake hands with Sam Witwer.  We watched the Collider Jedi Council Show live show.  Met and spoke to Perri Nimeroff and Mark Ellis from Collider. Speaking of Jedi council, we made it on the show! You can see us stand up and the Collider crew clapping for us when Sal told them about the Jedi Council Facebook Fan Page hitting over 14k members. Lastly, Sal and Nat getting a signed Timothy Zahn signed Thrawn Poster and Barns and Noble exclusive Thrawn book for me.

Finally, I want to talk about what was the best part for me on this trip.  It wasn’t the famous people I got to see or some piece of Star Wars merchandise, it was the amazing time I had with my friends.  Nat and I have already been friends for years, but now there was Saloman, Gio, Kyle, and Lance with us.  We’re all very different people, with different life experiences.  Yet we bonded and formed a friendship that is hard to come by.  There was one night where we laughed for over 2 hours as some of the stupidest jokes.  The only part missing, was the rest of the Admin Holocron crew.  But damn, what a fantastic time. We were also part of one of the most special parts in Star Wars history, the 40th Anniversary.

I cannot wait to do it again with all of them.

Until next time, thank you! And may the force be with you, always.

John McGrath