The training wheels have come off in Star Wars™ Battlefront™ II's Starfighter Assault. This time around you're in absolute control over your speed, pitch, roll, and weapons as you pilot an assortment of lovingly-recreated Star Wars™ fighters. It's an entirely different experience than what you've played in the original Star Wars Battlefront's starfighter duels, whether you're rolling away from blaster fire in Darth Maul's Scimitar fighter or blasting an enemy ARC-170 out of the sky.
The acrobatic maneuvers are entirely of your own invention. Every shift of the sticks results in a delightfully smooth response from your craft. It's a pure skill environment where the true ace pilots will rise above the rest on the merits of their wits and reflexes.
Star Wars™ Battlefront™ II's vehicles (and the entire Starfighter Assault mode) were built by Criterion, the Guildford-based studio known for the fast, tight controls found in the Burnout™ and Need for Speed™ franchises. They brought their penchant for fast, frantic, and – most importantly – fun vehicular gameplay to Star Wars in a big way.
Their work started on the controls, which allow you to embrace the broadest range of possible configurations. You'll have the ability to toggle your auto-roll controls on or off, allowing you to opt for an automatically-correcting horizon. To take down enemies with your blasters, you'll need to carefully lead fighters with your guns, paying attention not just to where they are, but where you think they'll be in a moment. This allows bold pilots to attempt some absolutely incredible skill shots. Likewise, your ability to evade enemy fire is limited only by your imagination and accumulated experience.
Your control over every moment of the battle is heightened by the cleverly-designed levels, each of which provides plenty of room for high-speed maneuvers but is likewise intersected by lanes of cover, convenient hiding places, and large structures perfect for pivoting around to shake a foe or escape a missile lock. The stages are beautiful, and every map and objective-based, multi-stage mission requires a different approach, from the near-claustrophobic dogfights among the clouds and stormy seas of Kamino to the cold, dark, space of the Unknown Regions.
Every craft feels completely unique, with ship-specific quirks and handling characteristics ready to be discovered, mastered, and exploited. Each era's fighters, interceptors, and bombers have their own distinctive suite of capabilities. Even more impressive are the powerful Hero Ships – these extremely durable, agile, and unique craft bring an arsenal of distinctive abilities and potent weapons to bear.
Just like everything else in Starfighter Assault, your ability to unlock Hero Ships is determined by your skill. The more enemy ships and objectives you overcome, the quicker you gain Battle Points. Use them in mid-combat to leap into the cockpit of these extraordinary spacecraft and dominate the battlefield.
You'll have plenty of targets to choose from, with your rival players gunning for you plus hordes of AI starfighters, capital ships, and objectives to take on across three eras of battle. And by teaming up with members of your spawn wave, you'll gain damage bonuses against common objectives to promote cooperation. We heard your requests for thrilling space combat loud and clear, and we think you'll agree that Star Wars Battlefront II delivers.
You'll get your next hands-on taste of Starfighter Assault during the Star Wars Battlefront II Beta. Pre-order now for early access to the Beta and start playing October 4th*.
*PRODUCT BETA OFFER EXPIRES 3 DAYS PRIOR TO BEGINNING OF EARLY ACCESS PERIOD. Other conditions and restrictions apply. See www.ea.com/en-gb/games/starwars/battlefront/battlefront-2/disclaimers for details.