EA Games and DICE, the companies behind the popular Star Wars: Battlefront game, have not given gamers many details about their upcoming season pass DLC. With the first of four DLC packs set to drop in March, EA has still not told the gaming community which iconic characters they can expect to receive for their money. Just in case the developers need some inspiration, here is a list of the characters that would be the most fun to play with.
Here is the only ground rule: EA has already gone on record saying that this game will only include characters who appeared in the original trilogy of Star Wars movies (Episodes 4-6). That means no Mace Windu or young Anakin Skywalker from the prequels, and no Finn or Rey from the Force Awakens.
Heroes
Chewbacca
The fact that Chewie wasn’t included in the original game is a travesty, and there is no doubt in my mind that Han Solo’s co-pilot and best friend will make it into the game at some point. Chewbacca could be a bit of a hybrid character; one who could attack from longer range with his one-bolt bowcaster and take down Stormtroopers with powerful melee strikes. One of his special abilities could be the charged-up bowcaster that shoots five bolts, which is a weapon that is already available in the game. The Wookie warrior stands at about seven-feet five-inches and would truly be a tank running around on the battlefield.
Lando Calrissian
Lando’s skill-set would have to be fairly similar to Han Solo’s, but it’s time for the smoothest operator in the galaxy to make it into a video game. To keep Lando’s character fresh, the developers could even include his right-hand-man, Lobot, as a playable support character. It would be something similar to Emperor Palpatine and his Shock Troopers or Princess Leia’s Honor Guard and open up the opportunity for some witty Lando dialogue with his partner.
Old Ben
The man who mentored both Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker definitely deserves a place in this game. Unfortunately, we won’t get the force jumping and lightsaber spinning Obi-Wan from the prequel movies, but he could still be a fun character to play with. Old Ben knows how to use the force to his advantage and his skills would have to reflect that. Come on, he basically has mind control powers over weak-minded enemies. Developers might not be able to translate that into a video game very well, but it would be amazing if they could.
Yoda
There is no explanation necessary when it comes to Yoda. He’s Yoda! The galaxy’s favorite little green man and his tiny lightsaber should be in every Star Wars game from now until forever. No, Yoda didn’t actually fight anyone in the original trilogy, so you could say that he shouldn’t be in the game, but let’s just pretend that Yoda was still just as spry in the original trilogy as he was when he fighting Count Dooku and Emperor Palpatine in the prequel movies. He dies at 900 years old in Episode 6, but I’d like to think it was just because he knew Luke could handle himself so he decided 900 years was long enough. Yoda could be the most fun character in the whole game if they make him the agile and powerful Jedi Grandmaster that he was in the prequel movies. I hope DICE and EA decide that Yoda has enough in the tank to fight alongside Luke and Leia. Added to this game, Yoda must be.
Villains
Things get a little hazy when it comes to the villains of the original trilogy. There really just aren’t very many, so I’ll be taking some liberties on this part of the list.
Grand Moff Tarkin
The commander of the Death Star and the man who Darth Vader (kind of ) had to listen to could be an interesting choice to put in the game. Tarkin’s strengths would not lie in his physical abilities so the developers would have to get creative with him. He blew up an entire planet aboard the Death Star, so maybe he would be able to call in orbital strikes or something along those lines. Without some seriously effective power-up abilities, Tarkin would be a pretty boring and weak character. Hopefully, there is some way he can be made into the intimidating force that he was in Episode 4.
IG-88
An assassin droid? Sign me up.
IG-88 was one of the bounty hunters Darth Vader hired to track down Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back, and although he hardly gets any screen time in the movie, he’s a feared character in the expanded Star Wars universe. His list of weaponry is a virtual cornucopia for the game developers to choose from: gas dispenser, neural flame grenades, flamethrower, sonic stunner, neural inhibitor launcher, ion blaster, concussion grenade launcher, and pulse cannon. I don’t even know what all of those mean, but they sound deadly. If the developers can’t figure out a way to bring this character to life with all the options he has at his disposal, I don’t know if they can figure anything out.
Greedo
The Rodian bounty hunter who had an unfortunate run-in with Han Solo at the Mos Eisley Cantina in Episode 4 could be resurrected for the game. There are already Rodian character skins in the game so it wouldn’t be very hard to slap some different clothes on it, give it some special abilities, and call it a new character. If Greedo finds his way into the new Battlefront, maybe this time he will have the opportunity to “shoot first”.
The Wampa
Wampas obviously did not fight for the Imperials, however, a wampa nearly killed Luke Skywalker, and that’s good enough for me to consider him a villain. There is no way the wampa will end up being a playable villain in this game, but just imagine stomping around Hoth mauling rebels and tell me that wouldn’t be fun. As a matter of fact, one of the wampa’s special abilities should be the chance to pick up a rebel soldier and throw him into another soldier for a double-kill. This idea will never see the light of day, but we can hope.
