EA kicks off the Star Wars Battlefront "Planets Experience"

As promotional pages go, I have to say that the Star Wars Battlefront "Planets Experience" that EA rolled out today is a pretty good one. A lot of it is simple sound and fury, but there's a good bit of actual information spread throughout as well, including a proper look at the volcanic planet Sullust.

Endor, Hoth, and Tattoine are also on display, each one showcasing its unique environment and gameplay modes. Links embedded in each scene, which are interspersed throughout blasty-blammo animated bits, contain information about characters, vehicles, weapons, cards, and other elements of the game, as well as still shots and brief gameplay clips. Some of the stuff on the site we've seen before, but there's quite a bit of new info as well.

Did you know, for instance, that the Rebellion fields "Magma Rebel" troops? They're "rebels stationed on Sullust [who] are trained specifically for operation on the dangerous volcanic terrain," according to the site. I didn't realize the Rebellion was so well-staffed that it could afford that kind of laser-focused specialization. The Empire has its own version of lava goons called Magma Troopers, who have the advantage of wearing specially-insulated armor that protects them from the extreme heat; the Rebels, as far as I can tell, are wearing the same padded cloth crap they always do.

This obviously isn't the most efficient way to distribute information, but I like it anyway. Star Wars Battlefront comes out on November 17.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.