Star Wars Battlefront II Gives The Prequels Their Due In A New Trailer

Star Wars Battlefront II is sure to be one of the biggest games of 2017 when it launches later this year, and Electronic Arts is certainly giving the game the red-carpet treatment at this year’s E3. The publisher kicked off their EA Play press conference with a new Battlefront II gameplay trailer (which you can check out above), and will unleash a big 40-player livestream within the next hour.

Surprisingly, Star Wars Battlefront II is focusing heavily on the prequel era at this year’s E3, particularly Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Disney have largely treated the prequels like a dirty little secret since buying the Star Wars franchise, but EA and DICE aren’t shying away from celebrating the still-divisive films.

Yesterday EA teased their new Star Wars Battlefront II trailer would features scenes from the Battle of Naboo, and the full trailer delivers all the Phantom Menace you can handle. We see Darth Maul, battle droids, but, thankfully, no Jar Jar Binks. That said, some things have changed – we also catch a glimpse of Rey from Star Wars: The Force Awakens slicing and dicing, new vehicles, and is that a wookie? It seems Star Wars Battlefront II will be doing some interesting mixing and matching.

In addition to plenty of Battlefront II multiplayer mayhem, the new trailer teases us with new maps, including a return to Hoth and Chewie’s home planet of Kashyyyk, showdowns between Yoda and Darth Maul and Rey and Kylo Ren, and a tidbit from the single-player mode. We see Iden Versio receive some “unusual assignments” from a sentinel bearing Emperor Palpatine’s face, followed by an action snippet in which she almost gets sucked out an airlock. There should be no shortage of white-knuckle moments during Battlefront II‘s campaign.

For those who haven’t been keeping up, Star Wars Battlefront II expands the series’ scope to cover the prequels, original trilogy, and the new Disney movies. DICE will again be handling the game’s multiplayer, which will focus more heavily on character customization, and vehicle and ship-based battles. Battlefront II will also have a full single-player campaign created by newly-formed Motive Studios, which is headed up former Assassin’s Creed producer Jade Raymond and staffed by former Ubisoft and Valve employees. The story will largely bridge the gap between Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens and show a new side of the conflict, putting you in the black boots of the Empire’s elite Inferno Squad.

Star Wars Battlefront II brings the fight to PC, Xbox One, and PS4 on November 17. You can check out WWG’s latest Battlefront II coverage here, and our back catalog of stories, right here.