An Empire State Of Mind

Welcome to the dark side. Ben Tyrer heads to Star Wars Celebration to discover Star Wars Battlefront II’s single-player campaign and enhanced multiplayer.

Blaster fire zings all around an Imperial grunt on the Forest Moon of Endor. As he frantically reloads his rifle, rebel soldiers swarm from every direction. These should be his final moments. But every time he tries to aim at one of his attackers, they’re struck by mysterious (and shockingly accurate) shots of plasma and crumple to the ground. The elite Inferno Squad step forward and make their presence known. Of course, their efforts are in vain, as they all witness the end of the war with the Death Star exploding above them. In Return Of The Jedi, this is an historic victory for the Rebellion. The start of Star Wars Battlefront II’s story is a sickening catalyst for a different type of hero’s journey.

Step forward Commander Iden Varsio. Leader of Inferno Squad, a troop of top stormtroopers created for this story, she’s the star of debut developer Motive’s bold single-player campaign that has us taking the fight to the Rebellion after the Death Star II’s destruction. She’s just one of many tweaks and changes that DICE, Motive, and Criterion are making to ensure the sequel to Battlefront improves on the first game in every way imaginable.

IMPERIAL PLEASURES