Sunday, January 25, 2015

Lasers

Lasers are something that many people know, and are familiar with, or are they. Pew, Pew may not ACTUALLY be the sound a laser makes, nor does it create a giant red, luminous beam. Think of a Star Wars blaster. If that is what you think of when you think laser, I am sorry, but you are wrong. Not only are Star Wars blasters not lasers, a real world laser would function nothing like that. A laser would travel at the speed of light basically, because it is light. Unless it was heated an incredible amount, it would burn through things either. A perfect example of what a laser is, is just a laser pointer. The beam is nearly invisible, but you can see where it hits. Like light itself, so next time you think about lasers going pew pew, blowing stuff up, leaving burns, think of plasma instead, because that's probably what is really behind it all.

Sounds

Sounds are something that we dance to, laugh to, and maybe cry to. Sadly, someone who lives out in the vacuum  of space would never get to hear or experience any of that. Music is plentiful here on Earth, but would be non-existent in space. The fact that nothing is heard in space is not only sad, it's kind of creepy. Like being deaf, it is a sense that would be greatly missed. Imagine watching Star Wars and all of the space battles had zero sound. Do it, it is eerie and just feels/sounds wrong, even though it would be scientifically correct. Isn't it odd that something that is true, would look or sound wrong. Curious.

Battlefront III

I know I don't do many video game related blogs, but there is nothing really science fiction about some video games and I do want to try and stay on topic. But I do blog about Star Wars quite frequently, and about a year ago, they announced that developer DICE would be working on my favorite video game franchise, Star Wars Battlefront. Now in case you don't know what Battlefront is I will give you some info. In Battlefront you are an infantryman (Clones, Droids, Stromtroopers, Rebels) battling on major planets in the Star Wars universe like Naboo or Tatooine. The game doesn't have much beyond that. The battles can be online or offline against AI bots. What I love most about this game is the scope of it. There aren't huge numbers of players on each team but it feels like you are fighting a battle with hundreds of people. The game still holds up and you could pick it up real cheap online or on Steam.

But back to Battlefront III. There hasn't been much information about the game since the announcement. A few trailers have come out but all we really know is that Hoth and Endor will be in it along with AT-ST's and speeder bikes. Not much. Since not much is known about the game, and it does have a 2015 release date, I think some speculation wouldn't hurt anyone.

One reason this game is so huge is it has been made before. We were promised a sequel after Battlefront II and Battlefront III was in development, but that was nearly 8 or so years ago. A third game in the franchise was nearly complete, and there are leaked trailers showing off the game and it looks incredible. Some fallout happened within the company and the game sadly had to be canned. So when EA announced they would be making it, that was a huge deal. From the trailers of the dead Battlefront game we can see some pretty cool things that hopefully will be featured in the new game.

First is ground-to-space combat. In the movies, along with a battle going on planet side, on was also occurring in space, so it would make sense (and be really cool) if you could get in a ship and fly down to help your allies on the ground and vice versa. It's every Star Wars fan's dream really. Another thing that would almost be necessary with ground-to-space battles is large amounts of people to fight. I am not talking Battlefield's 64 man teams, but 100 to 150 man teams. We have the technology and playstation exclusive MAG had 300+ people in games so it isn't impossible. Also, I really hope they add destruction. It is something that Battlefield creators, DICE, are famous for so you would think it is a given but we will see. Imagine for a second, a spaceship blowing up in the atmosphere, the plummeting and crashing into the ground, destroying everything in it's path, the thought is almost hyping this game too much but still. Lastly, a cool mode could be a jedi hunter-type mode. A small team of jedi have to survive a large team of stormtroopers or bounty hunters or something similar, kinda like Hunt from BF II. Really what would be nice is just a different mode. Battlefront II had the conquest, CTF, and the normal multiplayer game types, but I would like something different, in case I got bored with normal matchmaking. A mode like Hunt or Assault, but those modes could only be played on a handful of maps. Anything off this list is just a hope, the game could still be fantastic without these things.

Now just in case, I also want to talk about features that were in the old one that are important to me and need to make in to the next installment. These are things that deserve be in the next game. Obviously, 3rd person needs to be in the game. Battlefront is a game that could really only be played in the 3rd person. I know there was a 1st person, but nobody used it, and I don't care if they add in a 1st person, but just don't leave out the cornerstone to the game that is a 3rd person perspective. Along with that is another thing that you'd think is a given, but I am worried about. Please do not release the game with nothing at all from the prequels... The reason I say this is I have seen nothing in the slightest about the prequels from the trailers they have shown. The 2nd Battlefront focused on the prequels and thats not really necessary, just don't leave them out. I know and I have talked about peoples feeling toward the prequels, but they ARE Star Wars, even if some of you won't believe it, and that being said they must be in the STAR WARS GAME. Yes, they have only shown 2 trailers, but all of this focus on the original trilogy really has me worried that it will be skipped over entirely, or worse, thrown in as DLC! YIKES! Continuing from that little tangent, split-screen multiplayer should be showcased in the full game, hopefully 4 player. Not many games lately have had 4 player splits-screen and its a shame really. I mean you've got Halo, COD, a handful of party games, and that's really it. With less and less games having this feature, I think it would help the game stand out and stay at its roots. I spent so much of my childhood playing the split-screen with friends or family, so make it happen. Along with that being said, I would like it to continue to have an offline Instant Action against bots, whilst still boasting a better multiplayer. Since I played so much split-screen offline, I didn't spend much time in multiplayer. It wasn't bad, it was fine for it's time, but it doesn't have dedicated servers at all anymore and it's just a shame, and quite hard to find good matches these days. But I'm not worried about the multiplayer because matchmaking is a staple for games nowadays.

If you are someone who like me, has been dreaming of this game for almost a decade, don't worry, more official news is coming Spring 2015. Just the fact that this game is happening is enough for me, it's a miracle that it is coming out this year. The game still is shrouded in mystery, which could lead to delays (fingers crossed though). Think of Dying Light, that game is supposed to come out in a few days but it was shown off at E3 2013, so hopefully us Battlefront fans won't be waiting until late 2016 to get our fix. Until then, I'll just have to wait for what seems like forever for the greatest Star Wars game of all time.