Electronic Arts has enlisted the help of charming actor John Boyega to help explain to every Star Wars fan that Battlefront 2 is a much bigger game than the original. Boyega plays Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, and now he is running down marketing bullet points for EA in the latest video promotion for the adventure shooter that is due out November 17 on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.
EA is trying to get the attention of fans with Boyega because even for people who liked Battlefront 1 (like myself), it was obvious that the biggest issue was a lack of content. That multiplayer-only shooter struggled to hold the attention of even massive fans of the sci-fi universe. This time around, EA and developer DICE have put a lot of emphasis on just how much stuff they are cramming in. From a multiplayer standpoint, the game has nearly triple the amount of locations, heroes, and vehicles than the first Battlefront.
Getting this point about the quantity of content in Battlefront 2 across to fans is so important to EA that the publisher even included an infographic in its new trailer to illustrate how much larger this game is than its predecessor.
Above: Are you not entertained?
EA is also promising upfront that it will run this release as a live service, which means it should get regular content updates. One of those first patches will include new playable heroes, including Boyega’s Finn as well as Captain Phasma.
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As for the locations, which was one of the most repetitive parts of Battlefront 1, you can expect to visit and disintegrate your enemies on a whole lot of familiar planets. Those locations include Death Star II, Kashyyk, Yavin 4, and Starkiller Base. You can see the full list of planets in the image below, which includes the 14 multiplayer stages as well as the four that will only show up in the single-player campaign.
Above: The first game only had 4 locations, but Battlefront 2 will have significantly more than that.
But the most crucial change that EA and DICE are making to ensure Battlefront 2 is stickier than the original is something more subtle than a dozen new planets and 39 vehicles. Battlefront 2 features class-based characters, so you and your teammates don’t all have the same capabilities. That will keep things fresh, but it will also give players multiple pathways to unlock new weapons and perks.
The first Battlefront’s progression system was lame. You unlocked new guns and perks over time, but it never felt like you were making a choice about what you were working toward. It looks like Battlefront 2 will change that, and I’m hopeful that will keep me playing even longer than the original.
