LucasArts has announced the next addition to the Star Wars franchise, this time the story will not be so "Jedi-Centric" as the rest of the series has been. The Game is going to be called, Star Wars 1313, and is being named after Coruscant's level 1313, the criminal underbelly of the city. The only other information that has been provided is that the character will play a yet unnamed Bounty Hunter. The strangest bit of information about this upcoming Star Wars game, is that LucasArts is reaching for a mature rating this time around, as opposed to the family stories that we have seen from the franchise in the past.
There has been no set era for this game yet, although some speculation and image that came with the announcement are leading some to believe that it will take place after Episode III, and possibly during or after the time of the original trilogy. There is one reason that I am really fond of this idea, lack of force users. After the execution of "Order 66", there were believed to be very few Jedi left alive, and Vader hunted them down between 3 and 4. The only Sith from the era are Palpatine, Vader, and Starkiller. While, they could show that some Jedi had survived, or that there are a lot of Sith in the underworld, I don't know if that is the case.
I've also read that some people are hoping the unnamed Bounty Hunter is Boba Fett, which would further cement the fact that the game was set during the original trilogy. This idea, I am not a fan of, I would rather have a customizable Bounty Hunter, in the style of Halo or Brink. This idea could allow us to choose from the vast selection of races in the Star Wars universe. Everyone from Chiss, Rattataki, Zabrak, Twi'lek, Humans, and many more could be choose able. In addition, you could be able to customize your gear so that you look unique.
It is currently being said that 1313 will be a third person shooter, like Space Marine, and Gears of War. I am hoping that they include an online Multiplayer mode that is similar to Space Marine and Gears of War. It would be fun to see the different Bounty Hunter load-outs that LucasArts could come out with for a multi player game as this. This idea would work well, as it is a shooter game, and shooter games make good online games.
I'm interested to see if they include a morale system in the game to show whether or not your Bounty Hunter has a conscience or if he is just a cold blooded killer. I learned while playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, that not all Bounty Hunters are completely terrible, and that some of them do have a heart.
LucasArts has said that they are going to announce more about Star Wars 1313 during E3 2012, which is next week. I will comment more after I see the E3 footage for the game.
