DICE's continued efforts to make Battlefront II the ultimate Star Wars experience is commendable, even though it has taken them three years to achieve the level of content that Pandemic Studio's included in their 2005 game of the same name. It has been a tumultuous journey thus far, but Battlefront II is finally coming into its own as a full-fledged Star Wars game rather than a digital dumping ground for gimmicky movie tie-in content.
As part of DICE's plan to make Battlefront II a viable contender going into what is absolutely going to be a cutthroat holiday season for big releases, the developer is preparing some new maps, game modes, and of course - teasing the arrival of some new content based on the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
September will see the release of a new Clone Wars-era map Felucia, which you may or may not remember as being a planet featured briefly (about 5 seconds) in Revenge of the Sith. This location also introduces a new scenario that plays out similarly to that of Hoth - with the Republic troops defending an important structure so that everyone else can high-tail it off the planet, while the separatists army tries to stop them.
As the resident co-op enthusiast with an insatiable desire to play all video games alongside friends rather than against them, I'm particularly pleased to see that Battlefront II will be including a new PvE mode that allows up to 4 players to take on AI-controlled foes while completing objectives. Yay friendship!
Lastly, the game type known as "Instant Action" is making its triumphant return by popular demand. This is perhaps one of Battlefront's foremost "legacy" modes that allows players to immediately dive into a large-scale battle alongside and against AI-controlled combatants. The main draw is being able to jump right into the action without all the external drama that comes with playing online.
There are of course no details about what sort of tie-in content will be coming with The Rise of the Skywalker when it releases in theaters this December.
