The force is strong…on your mobile device.
Disney today announced a new piece of Star Wars canon fans can add to their list of “required reading” for the ever-expanding – and revised – Star Wars universe. STAR WARS: UPRISING is a mobile game developed by Kabam, a mobile developer whose list of credits include mobile games from properties as varied as “The Hobbit” to “Fast & Furious 6”.
The premise of UPRISING is that it takes place immediately after the events of Episode VI and follows the ramifications of a galactic empire without an Emperor. Taking place in the Anoat sector of the Galaxy (where locations such as Hoth and Cloud City are), the region is held together by an iron fist by Anoat’s Imperial Governor Adhelhard, who denies all rumors of the Emperor’s death and is snuffing out any resistance hinting at the collapse of the Empire.
With this as a backdrop, the game follows a “Bioware/Diablo” approach to design. Read what Daniel Erickson, Senior Design Director of UPRISING tells IGN: “It’s pretty in the BioWare world when you’re not in a dungeon, and pretty in the Diablo world when you are in a dungeon..It’s a whole lot of storytelling and a whole lot of deep systems and things to explore outside, and then a pretty smash-em RPG when you’re running around stomping things.”
Admittedly, Erickson’s statement is a bit vague of details (and Erickson later clarifies that there are no dialogue options ala Bioware), but one can surmise that the game will have the character building arcs of a Bioware title, with interesting locals and places to explore, and then the action/loot-grinding elements that Diablo games promise with their upgradable gear and weapons.
For mobile users and the Star Wars property, UPRISING could be a good a match – come for the fiction, stay for the grind. Fans will be able to team up for 4-player co-op, selecting from multiple classes such as Smugglers, Bounty Hunters, Rebel Guerillas, Diplomats, and Gamblers.
More info can be found at Starwars.com’s official announcement as well as IGN’s interview below. For people itching to jump into the universe, you can sign-up now for the beta that will be starting in the next few weeks.