DISCUSSION: Jedi Fallen Order trailer and gameplay
After being formally introduced to the game at Star Wars Celebration, we finally got our first look at gameplay of Jedi Fallen Order at E3. What do I think? Even though the game is published by EA, and I should go into the game with some worry, I feel cautiously optimistic about the game after seeing the gameplay trailer and extended play session. Also, the new droid in the game, BD-1, is already going to be a highlight of the game, I can feel it.
During the gameplay session, we see the main character, Cal, travel to Kashyyyk about three hours into the game, where he meets into Saw Gerrera from Rebels and Rogue One, voiced once again by Forest Whitaker. His reveal caught me by surprise, but in a good way, as I was surprised we would get to interact with a relatively prominent franchise character, though it makes perfect sense for Cal to meet up with him in the timeline of the game. It makes me wonder how many other familiar locations and characters we will see along the way.
At this point, I just want a good, straight-forward, single-player story, and as long as it delivers a satisfying story, I will be happy.
As far as technology goes, the game looks good, though the footage that was shown was in Alpha, so hopefully Respawn can fix and polish the game before it launches on November 15.
As for gameplay, you can certainly see its inspirations on its sleeve. The gameplay reminds me a lot of Jedi Academy and the Force Unleashed, especially the latter. Now granted, is that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The game also has some platforming elements from games like Uncharted, so I hope the game is able to pull its own identity in some way, rather than borrow heavily from those games.
However, despite that, I think the gameplay looks fun. The lightsaber combat seems fun, especially during the one-on-one fights with the purge troopers, and it seems like you will get the chance to use the force in creative ways, such as slowing down time and objects, such as blaster bolts. I'll reserve final judgement on the gameplay until I play it, but for now, it seems like it will be fun, if very familiar.
Overall, I was happy to finally see some gameplay during E3, and I'm very interested in how deep the lightsaber and force combat will go in the game, and see just how expansive the story and characters go, and how it will tie into the larger Star Wars story.
Also, there was a joke to the "High Ground" during the gameplay session, so hopefully that means the game will be well-written for fans.