It's a great time to be a Star Wars fan. With a fresh batch of spin-off movies in the works, Star Wars Episode VII releasing this December and the long-awaited next installment in the Star Wars Battlefront game franchise returning to a game console near you later this year, it's enough to make you forget all about those darn midichlorians.
But we are just getting warmed up. EA bought the exclusive rights to make Star Wars console games for the next decade from Disney. You can bet EA is going to make every effort to capitalize on its investment, and that means a whole lot of Star Wars games will be coming in the near future.
While there is plenty of potential for new franchises and characters set in a galaxy far, far away, EA already has plenty of great older franchises to choose from. Like Battlefront before it, we would love to see EA bring some of these classic Star Wars titles back to the light.
Bounty Hunter
Boba Fett, and to a lesser extent his father, Jango, have long been fan-favorites among Star Wars fans. They are the quintessential bounty hunters of the Star Wars universe: mysterious, dangerous, and willing to shoot anything or anyone as long as it nets them a quick payday. In other words, perfect video game material. It's no surprise then that the premise has already been tackled in Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, a third person shooter released on the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube in 2002 where players became Jango Fett. Over the course of the title players would blast their way through environments using Jango's wide array of tools and weapons, all while trying to capture various bounties. A new entry in the franchise revolving around Jango's more notorious son Boba could have potential.
Jedi Knight
No other series in the history of Star Wars let you truly feel like a Jedi the way the Jedi Knight series did. It may have started as a shooter starring a Han Solo-esque rogue who just so happens to get a lightsaber, but by the end of the series it had became the closest you could get to a Jedi simulator. These games combined first-person gunplay with third person swordplay, also adding on a layer of RPG elements that allowed for players to experiment with various force powers, both light and dark.
It may be difficult to find a place for this series in the current Star Wars continuity, as the original games primarily took place after Return of the Jedi. Unless EA takes the game to the days of the prequels or even the Old Republic, back to a time when masters and padawans were still plentiful, it may be difficult to find a way to bring this franchise back. Nonetheless, the promise of next-gen lightsaber combat is just too tantalizing to pass up.
Republic Commando
In today's video game landscape, where futuristic shooters like Call of Duty (yes, we've reached that point), Destiny and Halo are among the biggest games of the year, it's almost shocking that a sequel to Star Wars: Republic Commando hasn't already been done. It gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at the boots on the ground of the Clone Wars, in this case putting players in the shoes of an elite squad of clone troopers. Far removed from the sleek, bloodless war depicted in the films, Republic Commando is gritty and dirty in a way we haven't ever seen from Star Wars. It's a no-brainer for EA to bring back.
Knights of the Old Republic
Look, I know what you are going to say. "But there already is a new Knights of the Old Republic!" you cry. I don't believe you. EA's The Old Republic MMO is not a sequel to the groundbreaking RPG series we all fell in love with. Yes, it is set in the same (non-canon) Old Republic setting. Yes, it features some of the same characters. But without the deep storytelling, fascinating character relationships or tactical gameplay that made the two previous entries in the series so remarkable, The Old Republic simply can't live up to the name. A new KOTOR doesn't even have to be set in the Old Republic: just let Bioware make an honest to goodness single-player Star Wars RPG again, set in the new official continuity. Is that so much to ask?
Rogue Squadron
When moviegoers think Star Wars, they think two things: Jedi and space battles. The former is well represented on this list, but not so much the latter. It wasn't always that way. Once upon a time space-flight sims like Tie Fighter and X-Wing were hailed as not only great Star Wars games, but great video games, period. More action-oriented arcade like titles like Rogue Squadron would soon come after, letting players relive famous space battles from throughout the original trilogy.
Hoth. The Death Star trench run. The Battle of Endor. It's all there, and it is an absolute blast to feel like one of the ace pilots of the Star Wars universe, as you wrap an AT-AT with your tow cable and bring the steel behemoth crashing down. A new Rogue Squadron title set during the events of the new films seems like a perfect opportunity, especially considering one of the main characters of The Force Awakens is an ace X-Wing pilot.
What do you think? What kind of Star Wars game would you like to see from EA? Let us know in the comments below.
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