To date, DICE and publisher EA have showcased some of the nominal game modes that will be available in Star Wars Battlefront – namely Walker Assault, Blast and the sky-scrapping Fighter Squadron mode. But as teased late last month, one of the new additions that will feature in October’s beta test is that of Drop Zone, with EA touting the game mode as a “King of the Hill-style” experience.
Swapping the bombastic 40-player action of Walker Assault, Drop Zone is said to be a more confined gameplay experience, with two teams of 8 battling it out to control the lion’s share of the drop pods that litter the alien environment. Much like other modes in the galactic shooter, the roster of players will be divided into the Rebel Alliance and the Empire at random.
[zerggaming]EA detailed the set-up of Drop Zone via its official blog, where it revealed that each match will take place over 10-minute encounters, and the first team to gain control of 5 of the fallen pods wins outright.
“The objective in Drop Zone centers on drop pods falling through the atmosphere on the planet surfaces,” EA explains. “In tight 8-versus-8 matches, Rebel and Empire teams fight to capture and control these pods. Drop Zone is all about action and quick thinking, forcing Rebels and Imperial troops to always be on their feet. Though captured pods need to be defended, static players standing in a cluster too close to their pod always run the risk of being hit by explosives or a well-placed Orbital Strike.”
It won’t be easy, though. With players having the ability to call in aerial support – or indeed an Orbital Strike – DICE is taking strides to ensure that Star Wars Battlefront‘s latest mode is a white-knuckle ride in every sense of the word. In essence, it’s a novel spin on a traditional capture the flag mode, and given the game’s sheer scale, we’re excited to see the action play out in a couple of months’ time.
Star Wars Battlefront will launch for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 17.