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.
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.
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