Play as Han, Leia, and the Emperor in Star Wars Battlefront

Han Solo
Unlike those zany force users, Han has a simple point-and-click interface. Two of his three abilities directly augment his iconic blast pistol: Rapid Fire, which lets him fire as fast as he can pull the trigger with no overheating; and Lucky Shot, which can be charged up to seriously damage vehicles, or even blast through Darth Vader's powerful block. And just like in A New Hope, Han can do a Shoulder Charge to blitz into (and out of) groups of stormtroopers.

Princess Leia
Leia has a bit more nuance than her smuggler boyfriend. Any Rebels who spawn near Leia will appear as Alderaan Honor Guards, and she can defend her allies with an Enhanced Squad Shield or aid them with a Supply Drop - Supply Drops also include health-ups for heroes, letting them extend their precious time on the battlefield. Leia's not a pure support character, though: her Trooper Bane ability lets her fell stormtroopers in one shot or hurt and stun villains, and she can even fire out of her otherwise impenetrable squad shield when Trooper Bane is active.

Emperor Palpatine
The sinister senator is the Empire's own support hero (er, villain), with his Imperial Resources ability mirroring Leia's Supply Drop. But his other abilities are all about frying Rebels: Force Lightning is his main attack, damaging enemies in front of him, and the Chain Lightning ability boosts it to kill foes in all directions. Lastly, his Force Dash ability lets him dart forward at ludicrous speed, surprising Rebels with his pruney visage before administering some electroconvulsive therapy.

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar.
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
It's official: Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Emperor Palpatine are headed to the front lines. Star Wars Battlefront lead hero designer Jamie Keen confirmed the new hero and villain characters - which were previously leaked in some Battlefront beta files - in a post to the PlayStation Blog. They bring the total hero/villain count up to six, alongside Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Boba Fett.
You can check out each character's abilities in the gallery above. I'm looking forward to seeing how their different styles affect the tide of battle; playing exclusively as Vader and Son during the Battlefront beta did get a little old. And this one isn't confirmed yet, but it looks like Yoda may be headed to Star Wars Battlefront, too.
Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!


