'Star Wars: Battlefront' Makes a Forceful Return

It's been a long time coming, but Star Wars: Battlefront is finally back. One decade after the last installment in the shooter series hit shelves, the franchise is preparing to blast onto next-gen consoles and PCs courtesy of EA DICE this November, promising 40-player online battles and a smattering of game modes that will take you through several key moments in the Star Wars saga.

If you're suitably recovered from Thursday's The Force Awakens teaser debut, prepare to geek out in that galaxy far, far away all over again with this trailer, which debuted Friday at Star Wars Celebration.

Star Wars: Battlefront hits Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows on Nov. 17.

Why the New 'Star Wars: Battlefront' is Essential

With the exception of the pretty-alright The Force Unleashed, released way back in 2008, we've pretty much gone an entire console generation without a decent Star Wars video game. As someone raised on the Super Star Wars series, Rogue Squadron and the X-Wing PC titles, it's mind-boggling to me that a universe tailor-made for interactive battles — whether they be with lightsabers, blasters or starships — could lay mostly dormant in the video game realm for so long. And with the burgeoning popularity of online console multiplayer gaming, it's equally maddening that the Star Wars: Battlefront series has been stagnant for nearly nine years now. I'm an increasingly casual gamer, and I'm constantly in search of pick-up-and play games that don't require a huge time commitment. As such, I've been craving Star Wars: Battlefront III ever since I got an Xbox 360. Unfortunately, that sequel never saw the light of day.

However, following some LucasArts shakeups and Disney's 2012 acquisition of George Lucas' vast multimedia empire, Electronic Arts is now preparing to unleash an all-new Battlefront on the geeky masses in 2015, and this thing already looks amazing based on the E3 trailer released this week. EA's in-house developer Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (DICE) actually visited the Lucas archives to study film props and models for the game, and even went so far as to visit the films' shooting locations to accurately recreate the frosty landscapes of Hoth and the verdant Forest Moon of Endor for the saga's most memorable battles. Take note: EA's official trailer for Star Wars: Battlefront, embedded below, is prequel free. Fancy that.

New 'Star Wars' Games Coming from EA

If you’re like me, you’ve been waiting several years for a decent Star Wars game that doesn’t have “Lego” at the front of the title. I’m sorry, but those Force Unleashed games just don’t count.

Fortunately, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney Interactive are entering into a multi-year, multi-title agreement with Electronic Arts to finally bring some quality gaming to that galaxy far, far away ... or at least that’s what I hope they intend to to.

“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,” said EA Labels President Frank Gibeau in a statement. “Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay.”

Those developers include DICE (Battlefield), Visceral (Dead Space) and BioWare (Mass Effect), the latter of which produced my all-time favorite Star Wars video game, Knights of the Old Republic.

I’m curious to see how EA handles the Star Wars franchise across multiple platforms, especially as we move into the “next generation” of game consoles. To learn more about this potential “new hope” for Star Wars gaming, head over to StarWars.com.

EA Has “Far-Reaching” Plans for Mass Effect in 2011

Gaming blog Kotaku reports that Mass Effect 2 publisher Electronic Arts is planning “something far-reaching” for the Mass Effect franchise in early 2011.

Is this “far-reaching” something a spinoff? Downloadable content? Or could we be getting Mass Effect 3 next year? After finishing the second game—which is one of the most satisfying titles I’ve ever played—I immediately wanted to dive into the final installment.

BioWare project manager Casey Hudson has reportedly said the developers “definitely want to make Mass Effect 3 a fairly short turnaround.”

However, unless BioWare began working on the third game immediately after finishing the second—which is possible—getting it shipped next year could prove challenging even for them. The last thing we want is a rushed wrap-up to the so-far stellar Mass Effect trilogy.