EA Play is now underway, and with it, the great floodgate of E3 reveals has been opened. First on today’s billing, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Initially revealed as a third-person action game developed by Respawn Entertainment back in May 2018, fans were treated to their first look at some of the gameplay yesterday. Today’s continuation of that reveal, along with further details of what the game will be like to play, will only stoke further fan furore.
Vince Zampella, the Head of Respawn Entertainment was the chosen envoy for this one alongside Stig Asmussen, the game’s Director. Set following Order 66, when *almost* all of the Jedi were hunted down, this single-player (shock horror) game tasks the protagonist with rebuilding the Jedi Order. To accompany this news we were given 15 minutes of gameplay footage, to add to the tiny portion that came out yesterday.
It features smooth looking 3D platforming, ringing the same bells that Nathan Drake did so many times over the years. Forrest Whitaker’s voice acting sounds absolutely brilliant, as is to be expected, and Cameron Monaghan does a stellar job as Cal. He also gets to carry a tiny helpful droid on his back as the player is tasked with combining stealth and combat skills to eliminate Imperial enemies. The AI in the video does seem to behave a little oddly, sometimes offering a suicidal jog towards the player’s lightsaber, but the tougher enemies with extended health bars seem to provide a far stiffer challenge.
I know I keep saying this but the climbing and traversal portions of the gameplay reveal are hugely similar to the Uncharted series, and if this is anything like as good as they are (with lightsaber combat from The Force Unleashed to match) then this should be an absolute treat.
Speaking of combat there are a number of force powers available to the player, including grabs and the ability to slow time (which at one point is used to move an enemy into the path of his own slowed bullet.) Very cool. Most importantly this game absolutely, on the face of it at least, seems to capture the very essence of what makes the Star Wars universe so enthralling, just as the movies of old did.
However this game materialises, the anticipation is huge after the disappointment of the second Battlefront game. This looks like a whole different prospect, taking the video game arm of the mega franchise back to a grittier, more intense experience. Couple that with a tight sounding story and EA may very well be on to a winner with this one. Make sure to stay locked in to GameRVW.com for coverage across the entirety of E3.