GAMETECH: Not quite feeling the force of Star Wars Battlefront

HOW does George Lucas get through the forest? Ewoks. That’s a bad joke and we apologise. But at least it’s intended as a joke, unlike recent Star Wars games.

For a universe so ripe with potential, it’s been a shame to see Star Wars on PC and consoles play it safe over the last decade. The problem, of course, has been an overwhelming focus on multiplayer systems. Both the Old Republic and, more recently, Battlefront, have been largely online experiences. More notably, they have largely ‘re-skinned’ other games in a Star Wars get-up. Battlefront was especially guilty of this, and leaked news of its forthcoming expansion won’t inspire too much celebration in its players. The Outer Rim supposedly becomes available on April 5, a few weeks later than originally intended. It brings four new maps, new guns, two new hero characters and a new mode. All of this will cost around €15.

Star Wars Battlefront is tons of fun, but it also lacks ambition. We’ve played this kind of game a hundred times over, and it’s been done better, too. Seeing downloadable content released for €15 — content that doesn’t constitute a major addition to the game — is a little disappointing.

Before The Force Awakens arrived and rekindled that old magic, the ‘Star Wars’ universe was being kept alive and well in games like Dark Forces, Tie Fighter, Rebel Assault and Knights of the Old Republic. Meanwhile, after George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney, the promising 1616 (set in the black-market lower levels of Coruscant ) was cancelled in order to protect ‘canon’ storylines.

Electronic Arts (EA) have been given full control over all Star Wars games going forward. This ownership could go a number of ways, but they do have huge resources. If those resources could be turned to a fresh Star Wars experience, one designed to make the most of an incredible universe, then perhaps that galaxy far, far away could be brought just a few parsecs closer.

ROB IN DA HOOD

Fifteen euro isn’t exactly a steal, but if you do need something stolen, then Garret is your man. Garret is, of course, the lead character in the Thief franchise, a series that dates back to the 1990s and was rebooted in 2014. Reports have surfaced that LA company Straight Up Films have pilfered the rights to make a movie based on Garret’s shadowy exploits, which will raise more eyebrows than alarms. After all, Thief is a series more famous for its gameplay than its lore or characters.

Still, the writers don’t seem too deterred. They have teased a movie set in a “dark fantasy world where a master thief tries to restore freedom, which has been denied by a magic-wielding tyrant”.

Garret has never exactly been the Robin Hood type, though he does rob in da hood. It will be interesting to see if the Thief movie can nab any attention, or if it will go the route of Hitman and Prince of Persia before it.

WORTHY OF THE HUNT

The Witcher, on the other hand, is one of the few games that might suit a film adaptation very well. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was one of last year’s best-written games, itself based upon Andrzej Sapkowski’s long-running series of novels. Unlike many other blockbusters, Wild Hunt treated its characters like real people and many of the storylines dealt in ‘grey’ moral areas, where seemingly benevolent decisions on the player’s behalf often led to unexpected outcomes. Much like Game of Thrones, the Witcher’s universe is harsh, but lacking in tropes.

Players obviously appreciated this thoughtful approach, because CD Projek’s opus has sold more than 10 million copies to date, according to a statement released by the developer. That’s a staggering amount for an independent studio.

With a new expansion, Blood and Wine, coming soon, sales are likely to get another boost.

CD Project’s next big role-playing game, Cyberpunk 2077, is said to be “many times larger than Wild Hunt”, but we’re not likely to see that until 2017 at the earliest. In the meantime, if you haven’t played Wild Hunt yet, well, hunt a copy down.