‘Star Wars Battlefront II’ patch introduces explosive new game mode

By Steven Petite February 19, 2018

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Star Wars Battlefront II has had a rough go of it since launching last holiday season. From the loot box controversy saga to its disappointing sales, Battlefront II wasn’t the holiday juggernaut Star Wars fans hoped for. But if you have stuck with the game or are looking for a reason to jump back in, the game’s latest patch adds a slew of new features including a fresh game mode.

Jetpack Cargo turns Battlefront II‘s multiplayer into a particularly explosive endeavor. In the eight-versus mode, all players wield rocket launchers. To dodge the onslaught of rockets criss-crossing about the map, each player has the lift afforded by a jetpack. If you’re interested in checking out Jetpack Cargo, do so soon, as the new game mode will only be available for a limited time.

Also entering the game for a limited time are Hoth-skin versions of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa. Though these heroes can be previewed in the character customization menu, they will have to be unlocked from in-game challenges that EA will introduce.

On the permanent addition side of things, Custom Arcade has received an assortment of new locations. You can now play on Kashyyyk, Endor, Crait, Jakku, Death Star II, and Hoth.

Additionally, you no longer have to unlock the first couple Trooper emotes. Two default emotes will automatically be given to each Trooper.

Along with the new content, the patch brings an array of tweaks and balances for many of the game’s heroes, bug fixes, and milestone adjustments.

The new patch comes ahead of the return of microtransactions in Battlefront II. While EA has acknowledged that the conversation surrounding the game’s loot boxes contributed to its lackluster sales, the publisher will move ahead with its original plan of reinstating them in the next few months. At this time, it’s unclear what form those transactions will take. Before microtransactions were removed from the game, EA faced massive criticism for what many deemed a pay-to-win model. EA is expected to reveal more about the nature of its second attempt at microtransactions in March.

Star Wars Battlefront II is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

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Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor: release date, trailers, preorders, and more

Jedi Cal Kestis.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is among the most critically acclaimed games set in a galaxy far, far away. Players followed Cal Kestis, played by Cameron Monaghan, in his journey to kick-start the Jedi Order after Emperor Palpatine famously ordered them all slaughtered. His journey of self-discovery was one many gamers could relate to and are excited to continue in the sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Developers at EA, Respawn, and Lucasfilm Games have only given fans a taste of what Survivor has in store for them with two trailers, but they are promising an epic new Star Wars story. The dark, mysterious, and menacing tones were what director Stig Asmussen hoped to convey, foreshadowing the Fallen Order sequel. Here's everything we know about Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Release date

Gaming

Bringing VR’s best Star Wars game to PlayStation VR2 was a no-brainer, devs say

star wars tales from the galaxys edge psvr2 interview ilmxlab starwarstalesee screenshot c 3po and r2 d2

When ILMxLAB learned about the PlayStation VR2, Director Jose Perez III thought it was a "no-brainer" for the studio to bring the Oculus Quest game Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge to the new headset.
"We're always looking at how we can push the fidelity of the work that we're doing," Perez III tells Digital Trends in an interview. "PlayStation VR2 is ridiculously powerful; we got really excited about what we could bring to that. We started talking with our friends at Sony because we had a great relationship with them for Vader Immortal, and it was really a no-brainer. Then, you put the headset on, you start feeling the haptics, and you start seeing what you can do with the visual fidelity and lighting, and it's like, 'Oh, this is awesome!'"
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge - Enhanced Edition | Official Trailer | PS VR2
PlayStation VR2's launch and its first wave of games are nearly upon us, and Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge Enhanced Edition is one of those titles. This is a make-or-break time for VR, which is still struggling to move into the mainstream but could become more popular if Sony's headset can offer a compelling and accessible virtual reality experience. Ahead of its release, Digital Trends spoke to Director Jose Perez III and Producer Harvey Whitney from ILMxLAB to learn about the process of crafting one of these critical "no-brainer" launch games and PlayStation VR2 will ultimately stand when it comes to the future of VR gaming.
The power of PlayStation VR2
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge was originally released for Meta Quest VR headsets in November 2020. It's set on the planet of Batuu, which people also explore at Dinsey parks, and follows a Droid Technician who gets caught in the middle of a grander fight against the First Order after crash-landing on the planet. At the time, it was meant with decent reviews and only got better as its story was completed and expanded with the Last Call DLC.
After getting the "Enhanced Edition" of the game for PlayStation VR2 greenlit, ILMxLAB actually had to go and make it. As the team was dealing with new hardware for the first time, producer Harvey Whitney thought it was good that the team's first project on PlayStation VR2 was an enhanced version of an existing game.
"Early on, knowing that we already had the content that was created for the original, that changes things quite a bit," Whitney tells Digital Trends. "We're not redeveloping the story and coming up with all of that. We just had that opportunity to work as a team and ask, 'What do we really push here, and where are the changes that we want to make, and what we can do to really take advantage of this hardware?'"

The VR space is full of different headsets with unique specs, with the much higher specs of the PS VR2 standing out. The PlayStation VR2 sports some impressive specs compared to its VR peers, displaying content in a 4000x2030 HDR format at a 90Hz or 120Hz frame rate. Plus, games have the PS5's power, spatial, and brand new Sense controllers to take advantage of, rather than the 2013 console and 2010 motion controls that limited the original PlayStation VR.
PlayStation VR2 supports Roomscale, Sitting, and Standing play styles, which added more complexity as Tales from the Galaxy's Edge supports all three. Thankfully, Perez III that bringing Tales from the Galaxy's Edge to PlayStation VR2 was relatively manageable because of how impressive the system's specs were.
"A lot of the development processes are similar [to other VR platforms]," Perez III says. "We're still working inside of Unreal, and we're doing a lot of those same processes. But we don't have to look at performance quite as much as we do on some of the other devices, so we're able to open up a lot of things or not be as concerned about certain things. That comes with better hardware."
Better hardware, better games
Looking at the biggest games of the PlayStation VR2 launch window lineup, the visuals of titles like Horizon Call of the Mountain and the VR modes of Resident Evil Village and Gran Turismo 7 are impressive. In our discussion, Whitney also made it quite clear that one of the real advantages of working on this remaster was not having to worry about strict limitations on the visuals or even the audio. "We got lucky in the sense that there's a lot more to PlayStation VR2 that we hadn't had previously," Whitney says. "We could really push the graphics and make it shine. But then there were also some other things that came into play. We totally redid the audio, it sounds amazing."

Gaming

First Star Wars Jedi: Survivor trailer features dual-lightsaber combat, open-world teases

Cal Kestis with BD-1 droid on his shoulder.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is launching on March 17, 2023, for Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and PC. The action-adventure game received an impressive trailer during The Game Awards that showed off several new features and teased some potential open-world aspects.
Survivor takes place five years after 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, continuing the adventures of Cal Kestis and his droid pal BD-1. Cal is no longer a young Padawan and is now a full-blown Jedi. The much larger scope of the game seems to reflect that change.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Official Reveal Trailer
Combat is notably evolved in the trailer, as Cal can now freely use a dual-lightsaber stance in battle. Later, we see him enter “cross guard” stance as he takes down droids with heavy, two-handed slashes. EA tells Digital Trends that the goal of the sequel is to give players more agency when it comes to their playstyle.
Traversal plays a large role in the clip too. In addition to swinging around via grappling points, Cal is seen mounted on animals. He’s shown riding the back of a four-legged creature and using a winged one like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s glider. The clip seems to imply that the game’s planets might be more open-ended than Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s, as one shot shows Cal peering out over a gigantic vista. EA notes that the sequel is still largely a Metroidvania-inspired title where Cal gets new abilities over time.
Cal has a new human companion this time named Bode Akuna. In one clip, we see Bode flipping over Cal’s back to attack an enemy with a combo move.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was built with current-generation consoles in mind, with ray tracing being a major focus. It appears to be a graphically impressive showcase that features more dynamic lighting and flashy lightsaber effects. The adventure won’t launch on PS4 or Xbox One, but it’ll be available for PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on March 17, 2023.