It was announced earlier this year that Electronic Arts had obtained exclusive development and publishing rights for the Star Wars franchise. While many gamers scoffed at the idea of the company that was voted worst in America being in charge of something as big as Star Wars, I was thrilled. Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 2, Dragon Age: Origins, and last year’s reboot of the SSX franchise, are some of my favorite games of this generation, and all of them were published by EA. It’s entirely possible that future Star Wars games won’t be total garbage with EA at the wheel.
Then at this year’s E3 something amazing happened. EA revealed that it was rebooting the Star Wars: Battlefront series. What’s even more amazing is that DICE, the studio responsible for the Battlefield franchise, is developing the game. It’s going to be made using the Frostbite 3 engine, the same one used to make Battlefield. I haven’t seen any gameplay or screenshots yet, but already I know that I am picking up the game the second it hits the shelves.
When Battlefront was announced I started thinking about what other games EA could make with the Star Wars brand. I’d love to see a new Knights of the Old Republic and I’d be pretty stoked for a sequel to Jedi Outcast, but more than anything I want to see a new podracing game.
Back in the day, I played Star Wars Episode I: Racer until my fingers hurt and then when Star Wars Racer Revenge came out a few years later – I put enough time into it that I ought to be ashamed of myself. There’s just something about podracing that I absolutely adore. I still have a poster on my wall that shows all the stats of each pod from Racer Revenge. Did you know that Sebulba pilots a Collor Pondrant Plug-G Gargantua, Split X Configured? No? Well I do and I’m proud of it. I just love podracing.
I will acknowledge that The Phantom Menace is a horrible movie and the entire prequel trilogy can’t hold a candle to the original one. But it had two things going for it: Darth Maul and podracing. When I was a kid I used to put in the DVD and watch the race and the final fight with Darth Maul over and over. It was just magical. Truth be told, I actually started fencing after being inspired by the Sith Lord, and I had myself convinced for the longest time that someday I was going to build my own podracers and start a racing circuit. That dream obviously never materialized, but I’d settle for an HD game where I can race friends across Tatooine online.
So EA, if you are listening, please make a new podracing game. I promise you can have all of my money if you do.
