The Never Ending Disappointment of Star Wars Battlefront

Eight months ago we finally received a new Star Wars Battlefront game. The anticipation was just about as intense as I have seen when it comes to new video games.

I can remember other big video game releases in which it seemed like everyone was beyond excited for its eventual arrival.

Unfortunately, when the game dropped the enthusiasm would inevitably follow as over time more of us began to realize how disappointing the gameplay was.

As it has been mentioned a million times Battlefront is a carbon copy of Battlefield.

The lives of the characters are expendable, there’s no real strategy to playing and luck seems to be more valuable than skill.

What’s even more maddening is I believe Battlefield games are 10x better than Battlefront!

The fact that the environment is in play as in some buildings and other materials are capable of being leveled is fantastic.

In the world of Star Wars Battlefront, you shoot a powerful rocket launcher at small crates and nothing happens besides a small little black mark.

In Battlefield you get the fantastic option of customizing your weapon’s add-ons to increase its power. In Battlefront whatcha got is what ya got…

Not to mention the fact that Battlefront was released with four maps!

To be fair, the expansion packs have been very entertaining and interesting to say the least but you know what? You had to dish out some serious dough for that! Not cool!

Just look at this graphic as this version of Battlefront is compared with the old one…

How ridiculous and offensive is that? The obnoxiousness is endless!

Maybe one of my biggest gripes with Battlefront is the fact that there are so many useless game modes.

The way I see it, if it’s not supremacy, sabotage, occasional walker assault and once in a blue moon fighter squadron, it’s not worth playing.

It’s also pretty clear that the original blueprints for Battlefront as in games one and two that were released in ’05 and ’06 were consulted for about 10 minutes…

What irks me too is the changing of the way bases are captured.

In the old days of Battlefront, the game would start and you could immediately go after your opponent’s main base. Not only was it more difficult and took longer to convert to one of your own but if you did complete the task of taking the base, you would have a serious advantage.

This game gives you one option: one base at a time…

Awful. God awful.

The creativity, the strategy and the free-flowing play all went out the window.

This version of Star Wars Battlefront has about only one advantage on the old ones and that’s graphics and sounds.

There’s no denying the stunning aesthetics of this game. The colors are vibrant, the explosions are epic and the sounds throughout the game are very impressive.

But besides that, I honestly can’t think of much more they got right.

Okay maybe the additions of new hero and villain characters such as Dengar, Nien Nunb, Greedo and Lando are awesome, I won’t deny that.

But man, DICE really dropped the ball on this one.

As the DLC continues to be released, I find myself constantly thinking “will they just change the game to the old one already?”

I know I’m slightly ranting here but I also find it mind-numbing that the old school classic look of the scoring bar was taken out completely.

It was so simple yet so effective and perfect. The system now with just bases and time is played out.

I also think some of the Hutt contracts are useless and too difficult to get.

The quest you must endure to unlock some of these items are painstakingly annoying!

I just want to unlock new guns and use them in the heat of battle, not randomly throw smoke grenades or kill an enemy as I’m standing in this specific area or something.

It takes away from the overall idea of you’re playing the video game for fun and not a contest to win.

What separated the new and the old Battlefront games in my eyes however is the fact that one had a form of a story mode or a player vs computer ability as the newer one had an extremely repetitive and boring survival mode.

The recently added game mode of skirmish is severely lacking. It seems that even when DICE goes to fix its problems they still can’t get things right.

For example, I played skirmish walker assault last night and you know what happened? I got the hero icon right away and played as Nien Nunb…I ended up surviving the entire game and going 189 and 0…

You might say that sounds fun and maybe it was at first but you know what? It was pathetically boring.

I guess what I’m trying to say is Battlefront I and II were 10/10 games for me and so many others. This new Battlefront, even with the updates is so weak and seems to stay on the same level of disappointing.

It’s way too one dimensional as it’s lacking so much material that was there over 10 years ago!

They could have simply taken the old game, upgraded the graphics and added some characters and boom! All would be good.

Another crazy mishap that Battlefront boasts is the restrictions of having original trilogy-based characters only…

Now I understand that supposedly DICE was not granted permission to use Episode VII characters but what happened to the prequel heroes and villains!?

It’s well documented that many Star Wars fans took exception to Episodes I-III (which is crazy in itself) but the characters in those movies are epic and deserve to be everywhere.

From Darth Maul and General Grievous to Plo Koon and Mace Windu, it’s painful to not see them in this game.

Just spoof up the graphics and let the awesomeness commence!

As for now, I guess we’ll just have to settle for what we’ve got: a mediocre moneymaker that has the title of “Star Wars” on it.

I’ve always been an eternal optimist but in this case it’s pretty difficult.

Here’s to better games in the future! Please!

-Sith Pacify out

 

 

 

 

 

 

Star Wars Battlefront Announces New Material

Today the folks at EA announced new content for Star Wars Battlefront.

Surprising? No.

About time? You got that right.

The new material will be released in different time increments with the earliest portion being dropped tomorrow.

A detailed list of what’s to come was posted on the game’s Facebook account.

Tomorrow

• The Tatooine Survival map will now support the Blast, Droid Run, Drop Zone, Hero Hunt, and Heroes vs Villains multiplayer modes, and is called Raider Camp.
• New Hoth-themed outfits for Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, both of which will be available to all fans when they play as these two iconic characters on Hoth – these were unlocked by our players for completing our Heroes’ Holiday community mission last month.
• We are giving players the ability to create Private Matches, which makes playing with friends even easier.
• The introduction of Daily Challenges and Community Events. These are designed to rally the Community around certain goals and objectives, giving players the chance to earn credits and unlocks even faster. We’ll have more news regarding Community Events and Daily Challenges in the days ahead.
• And of course, we are also including some overall balancing tweaks to both weapons and multiplayer modes.

February 

• A new Survival mission on Hoth, and a brand-new Hoth multiplayer map that will support our larger game modes including Walker Assault, Supremacy, Fighter Squadron and Turning Point.
•  Turning Point will be available on all maps that currently support Walker Assault and Supremacy in the February update.

March

• A new multiplayer map on Endor that will support Walker Assault, Supremacy, and Turning Point, and an additional Tatooine Survival map.

 

Now that you’ve seen all of that, it’s time to talk about it.

For starters, all of this will be free.

That’s awesome and very cool of EA.

However, we gamers are not stupid and for those who payed for EA’s “epic” Season Pass, we should be quite disappointed.

Before today, no one had any clue what was going on with the Season Pass.

It was as if EA took everyone’s money and just said “Oh well, we’re just going to keep this and not give you anything extra because well, we think we deserve it…”

But alas, our disappointment has come to an end as a bit of clarity was finally introduced.

The Season Pass too was announced which gives us all quite a bit of excitement.

Here’s what we can expect.

 

• Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Outer Rim (March 2016) – Fight among the factories of Sullust and battle within Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine
• Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Bespin (Summer 2016) – It’s hunt or be hunted in this action-packed experience set in the Cloud City of Bespin
• Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Death Star (Fall 2016) – That’s no moon! One of the most iconic locations in the Star Wars universe makes its debut in Star Wars Battlefront.
• Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Expansion Pack 4 – Title TBA (Early 2017) – We will have more details to share about this exciting new expansion pack in the coming months.

 

All four of these maps seem like they’re going to be so much fun.

Although the game thus far has been mildly okay and predictably repetitive with only five maps, this is a direct injection of jubilation.

The guys over at EA are not stupid.

They’re very wise to release two maps rather than just one in the first expansion pack for the Season Pass in March.

Now besides the new maps, what I’m most looking forward to is the new costumes to Han and Luke.

As you can see in the cover photo, it looks pretty clean.

I think from an aesthetics standpoint, to see a blue lightsaber upon the crystal-white landscape on Hoth will look incredibly awesome.

For Han, his costume just looks like the same old Han. Badass.

Another important update that EA is adding (tomorrow) is the “overall balancing tweaks to both weapons and multiplayer modes.”

To put it lightly…this is very much needed.

Some weapons are just way too powerful and others are just extremely weak.

It’s a great piece of the game to improve on so, well done EA.

Just to put things in perspective, it was very important that we at long last recieved an update about the Season Pass and about the future of this game.

Believe me, it needed it in the most severest of ways.

As a Star Wars fan and a gamer, it’s very hard to play a game for hours upon hours when it only features five maps with very limited characters.

Basically, the game was getting ridiculously boring…

On top of that, so many people including myself purchased the Season Pass and since the game came out in November, no one had any idea what was the deal with it.

January is almost over and to STILL not have any idea what’s going on with that was a major problem so I’m glad EA fixed that.

All in all, EA seems to have done a nice job with these fixes and additions.

I’m really looking forward to playing them and seeing everything in action!

-Sith Pacify out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about a Rated “R” Star Wars Movie?

I know what you’re thinking…crazy right?

It would never happen?

Well, I get the marketing dynamics of an R rating for a Star Wars film but for this post, think of strictly entertainment value and what that rating could bring with it.

Throughout all six Star Wars films, only one was NOT rated PG.

That one film was Episode III Revenge of the Sith. 

But regardless, what would be the point of an R rated Star Wars film you might ask?

Well, think about this.

Lightsaber Duels

The iconic image of Star Wars is two interlocking lightsabers.

Normally one is a crimson red and the other a vibrant blue or an enchanting green.

But besides the color, the idea each combatant has within each saber bout is to maul their enemy.

Well, in the films, besides maybe a loss of limb or maybe the very rare decapitation, normally the battle results in a impaled-type of a result.

So if one of the films were rated R, I believe you’d see a different type of ending.

First off, these weapons are laser swords. Their abilities to hack and mutilate would truly be explored.

I think there would be a lot more gruesome deaths. Something that you’d see in reality with such a weapon.

Remember that scene where Anakin cut off both of Dooku’s hands and then eventually lopped off his head as well?

Well with an R rating, Star Wars deaths would be more and more similar as this one.

I mean, let’s face it. A lighsaber is a powerful yet grisly weapon.

It takes little effort for the energy blade to slice through human flesh.

Now in an actual bout, well, there’s a lot more effort than just a little…

Thank god for the cauterizing abilities a lightsaber induces.

Without it, you might see a bunch of entrails piling up under the massive incisions…

Yea…not a pretty sight.

Love Scenes

Now there’s not many love scenes in Star Wars but the one glaring and fairly obvious one is between Anakin and Padme.

I’m not saying that this is something I would necessarily be advocating for, but I think it would add a certain culture of identity for their relationship.

Before I continue, I do also want to add that I thought George Lucas’ portrayal of their kindling of their relationship in the early days (while Anakin and Padme were hiding out on Naboo) was shown perfectly.

Lucas basically showed the enticement between the two while staying within the parameters of a PG rated movie.

Nonetheless, if the film was rated R well, I think things would get awfully steamy.

Sexual encounters and the prevalence of passion between characters would be numerous.

Scenes of love would be fully exposed to their fullest meaning.

But alas, the films remained PG and PG-13 which in Luke and Leia’s case….might be a great thing.

Yikes!

True Intentions of Torture and Treatment

When I first thought of this subject, this is what I was thinking about.

The Sith are ruthless and relentless.

Just imagine what would have been shown if they had no restrictions.

You see, Darth Sidious comes immediately to the forefront when I begin thinking of this.

His treatment of those who wronged him would not be so subtle.

Such as Luke at the end of ROTJ when he tortures the young Jedi with his force lightning.

Now I could be wrong on this.

Sidious is a man of elegance and efficiency.

He might be okay with injuring Luke with his force abilities so I think I’ll brush him aside and bring in the next subject, Vader.

Remember this scene?

If the movie was rated R, you think he’d just choke his enemies and just leave it at that? Definitely not.

Vader would have all of his adversaries feel his pure hatred and endure his wrath.

You ever see Game of Thrones?

If you have, you might be familiar with the scene where Oberyn Martell is horrifyingly killed by The Mountain…

If a Star Wars film was rated R, I definitely think you’d see a lot more of deaths like this.

After all, Vader is bigger than The Mountain…

Endgame

Unfortunately for all us Star Wars fans that would like to see the fights and stories played out with no restrictions, there’s just no way a film like this would ever be rate R.

From the lack of movie-goers to the loss in sales, everything leads back to money and Star Wars would be losing out.

But hey, we can always imagine right?

Until next time Star Wars fans.

-Sith Pacify out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who is that Voice Speaking to Kylo Ren!?

“There has been an awakening…have you felt it?”

By now we are all familiar with the first infamous line of the trailers that has shown us the little bit we know of Episode VII.

But the major question still remains.

Who does this voice belong to?

One of the most recent trailers had the unnamed speaker continue this speech..

After Ren answers whoever is speaking to him with a simple yet ghoulish “yes”, the conversation continues with..

“Even you have never faced such a test…and it’s time”

That very short, extremely vague conversation holds a lot of weight.

At this time, we are left in the dark on who that speaker could be.

Some basic logic tells us that it would be Ren’s master or at least something along those lines.

He is clearly talking to Ren from the perch of a superior…and that’s what is most fascinating…

Let’s just guess and say Kylo Ren is in his upper 20’s.

That would mean this unknown figure would most likely be at the very least in his 50’s.

So if you think about where The Force Awakens is in the chronological order of Star Wars (about 30 years after ROTJ), then this figure would be very much alive and well during the Empire’s defeat at the Battle of Endor.

But that still doesn’t reveal anything of major substance.

Now, the next part of this little guessing name would lead us to Darth Vader and why Kylo Ren appears to be so obsessed with the Dark Lord.

It’s clear that Vader was trying to seduce Luke to the Dark Side and failed.

Which practically explains what Ren means when he says “I will finish what you started”.

Now that’s all fine and dandy but I have to jump once again to the estranged voice we hear in the trailers talking to Kylo Ren.

If that figure was a powerful force user during the time of the Empire when Palpatine was present, wouldn’t he be aligned with Sidious?

Thus more, in knowing what the dark and twisted mind of the Emperor’s was really like, would he not try to spin this in his favor?

Of course he would!

However, I think we can say with a clear conscience that Emperor Palpatine, Darth Sidious, what ever you want to call him….is dead.

Now none of this makes any sense.

Well, I’m officially confused.

We can contemplate and philosophize only so much!

I guess we’ll have to wait till opening night.

19 days away people…

-Sith Pacify out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Take on Star Wars Battlefront

Exactly at midnight on Monday night or early Tuesday morning, (however you want to look at it) I finally had my copy of Star Wars Battlefront.

By the time I got into it, I had an early idea on how the experience playing this game was going to go…

Honestly, it was breathtaking.

For starters, I have never seen a game with better graphics and better sound effects.

When you’re staring behind the scope of your E-11, firing into the chest of a stormtrooper, you can feel the energy shooting out of your weapon.

The bright, quick-hitting colors throughout the entire game is what sets this one apart.

The gameplay is very user-friendly and it’s easy to get the hang of it.

It’s fun to play, very entertaining and engaging and best of all, extremely addicting.

The game’s “team deathmatch” mode which is called Blast, is a basic team against team, first to 100 kills.

But the difference between this game and say Battlefield, the game is timed for a simple and short 10 minutes.

After playing two or three games of “Blast” in a row, I had other engagements that needed tending to and thus was preparing to turn off my system.

To my surprise, I found myself continuously going back and playing another one while I said to myself, “Just one more…”.

That’s exactly what you want in a game.

An addicting game, is a great game.

As for the ship-to-ship combat, I have a couple points to make.

If you’ve ever played Battlefield 4, you’ll most likely agree that the air combat is slim and far in between.

Basically, it’s close to impossible to fight and dominate the skies with a helicopter.

Now, in Battlefront, I’m not going to say it’s easy but it’s a lot more straightforward to fight in the sky.

It’s a real breath of fresh air in the fact that dogfights are not as hard to control as past DICE games and are a whole lot of fun.

As for the heroes and lightsaber combat, well you’re going wish you could always use a blade of energy to clash with your enemies.

The first impression I had when I saw the Emperor striding along on the battle field was shock and excitement.

I was walking through a landing platform that had massive cargo boxes all over the place when a shrouded figure dressed in black and my character practically ran into each other…

It was a short rendezvous as I quickly succumbed to the debilitating lightning surging through Ol’ Palpy’s fingers.

Look, the heroes are awesome.

It is so much fun to go around the fighting as Vader and just completely dominate your Rebel enemies.

Another game mode that is very fun too is “Heroes vs Villains”.

You’re either the Rebels or the Imperials and depending on the side, you get Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia or the Emperor, Boba Fett and Darth Vader.

Three out of however many other players are on your side get to be the heroes and the rest are foot soldiers.

It’s just an awesome time as you cut down Rebel soldiers and engage Luke in a saber match.

All in all, Star Wars Battlefront is a must-buy for any Star Wars fan and for gamers who like shooters, you’re going to really enjoy it as well.

I hope this is one of many Star Wars games as we’ve had a major drought in the past 10 years besides a few.

If you’re on the fence on whether or not you should purchase this game, I say you go for it.

Well done DICE and EA, job well done.

-Sith Pacify out

 

 

 

 

Three Pivotal Moments that Secured the Battle of Endor

When the Rebellion set off to engage the Empire above the forest planet of Endor, they knew what that entailed…

The Empire had the supreme advantage going into the battle.

From superior manpower to their technological edge, they were stronger and more fit for such a crucial fight.

Perhaps the Empire’s most dominating factor for the clash was their element of surprise.

Going into the battle, the Rebel Alliance truly thought they had caught the Empire off-guard.

But it was the Alliance who was fooled and bewildered.

As Admiral Ackbar and General Calrissian raced to meet the Death Star above Endor, they were ambushed by the gargantuan death machine’s activated shields.

As the Rebel offensive was quickly forced to regroup, they were again blindsided by the Empire’s relentlessness.

To Admiral Ackbar’s horror, not only was the Death Star’s shields online but the super-weapon’s death ray was also active.

Now, we all know how this ends but what happens along the way is so vital and important, it’s worth mentioning.

The single most important moment that won the Battle of Endor for the Alliance belongs to Lando.

As the Empire began to absolutely crush the Rebel cruisers through the mechanical monstrosity’s death ray, Admiral Ackbar issued the order to retreat.

Upon hearing the Admiral’s order, Lando furiously protests the Mon Calamari’s decree.

Both knew the consequences of leaving the battle at this moment.

For the future, their ability to launch an offensive would be near impossible as their resources would now be disastrously depleted.

What’s more, the Alliance would have no choice but to abandon all the forces which they had deployed planetside on Endor.

Of course, those forces were invaluable since they included the likes of Rebel leaders Leia Organa and Han Solo.

Not to mention Luke who’d be left in the clutches of the evil Emperor….

But no, we never had to see such a dire situation thanks to Lando’s quick thinking.

Lando demands Ackbar to move the fleet as close as possible and engage the star destroyers in point blank range.

Besides the obvious of allowing the battle to continue, this allowed the Rebel cruisers to combat the Empire’s star destroyers.

This ingenious military call by Calrissian also took down the personal flagship of Darth Vaders’, the Executor.

What this move ultimately did for the Alliance though was it effectively provided some distance between the cruisers and the Death Star plus it provided them with some cover in the form of star destroyers.

The second most important moment that won the Battle of Endor for the Alliance was the aid of the Ewoks.

It sounds funny doesn’t it? A bunch of little fur balls running around and wreaking havoc on the Galactic Empire.

Well, it happened.

It almost sounds too crazy to believe.

So how were the Ewoks able to turn the tide in the fight between the Alliance and the Empire?

Well, for one, they were an unknown entity.

What I mean by this is Palpatine and the Empire were aware of the Ewoks presence on Endor but they were believed to be unintelligent and incapable of any harm to the Empire and its forces.

As Palpatine himself would say, this “lack of vision” would inevitably prove fatal for the Empire as they were unable to quell Endor’s native species.

The little creatures ingenuity and ability to persevere as well as adapt is what helped the Rebels crush the mechanical monsters the Empire unleashed on Endor.

The third and final most important moment that won the Battle of Endor for the Alliance was the Emperor’s arrogance.

Whether you’re the Intergalactic ruler of the Galaxy and everything in it or a small child in the back woods of Tatooine, no one is omnipotent.

The Emperor would have disagreed.

The Dark Lord was so confident in his forces and in his own ability to foresee any imminent danger that he forgot to look directly in front of him.

And you know something, Luke was right.

When Luke says to the Emperor in ROTJ “Your overconfidence is your weakness”, he was right!

The Emperor personally allowed the alliance to land (unharmed) on Endor, which in turn acted as a small strike team in an attempt to destroy the shield generator.

He should have made the correlation to all of the Empire’s defeats and realized that the most common similarity with all of them was simple: Luke and/or his friends were involved in each of them…

Now, if Palpatine was able to swallow his pride and realize the potential harm in allowing this “band of misfits” near a device so crucial to the Empire’s victory as the shield generator was, maybe he’d of thought twice.

Maybe…

In the end, these three choices made all the difference in this clash of humanity vs oppression.

If just one of these three moments had gone wry in even the most minuscule of ways, all hope would have been lost.

Pride can be a dangerous thing.

But for the Empire (and the Emperor)?

It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

-Sith Pacify out.

The Inquisitors, Ezra and the Direction of Star Wars Rebels

Last night, the third episode of season 2 aired for the exciting show of Star Wars Rebels.

There were some twists, nothing major that we didn’t see coming, but the major takeaway was the revealing of the “other” Inquisitor.

This new Inquisitor is known as the Seventh Sister and last night we got a little taste of what she can bring to the table.

Both Inquisitors, for the first time this season, met main characters Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren and Zeb Orrelios when they were scouting an abandoned Republic medical station.

What occurred from that point on surprised me.

Ezra put his life on the line to protect Sabine as the Seventh Sister was rapidly approaching the duo.

By destroying a door panel, he effectively cut himself off from Sabine or more importantly Sabine from their new enemy.

What I find most fascinating by Ezra is his growth and maturity. Now i’m not saying he’s grown and mature but his actions do remind me of another young Jedi…

That’s right, it’s Anakin Skywalker!

Can’t you see it? Don’t you see a resemblance in their origins and their behavior?

I thought about this comparison in the first season of the show but dismissed the notion since Anakin was one of the strongest ever and Ezra seemed minuscule in power compared to Skywalker.

But besides strength and ability, both characters have eerily similar personalities.

I think Ezra is still a bit more level headed than the dangerous and erratic young Anakin but still there are some similarities!

Basically sacrificing himself for Sabine’s safety is a very Anakin-like trait. I think this is the beginning of Mr. Bridger growing up and becoming more of a leader.

With that being said, the episode continues with the two Inquisitors taking Ezra and eventually Sabine captive in hopes of luring Kanan and more importantly Ahsoka to the station.

Now this is where I thought the episode took a weird turn in direction…

Basically, Zeb is able to free both Ezra and Sabine by tricking the Inquisitors into thinking Ahsoka and Kanan are en route.

What I find hard to believe and a bit discouraging is the fact that the Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother were able to let two kids out of their grasp with very little effort.

Ezra is approximately 15 years old and Sabine is supposed to be only 16…with the Empire being so concerned with the Rebel movement and sending out not one but TWO Inquisitors, you’d think they’d be at least a bit more qualified.

To be fair, they did almost stop the mini ship that belonged to the Ghost.

The Inquisitors both used the power of the Dark Side to latch on to the Phantom and nearly brought the ship down.

Now if that did happen, honestly I would have a completely different tone right now.

Alas, it did not and two Inquisitors who were trained and briefed for hunting down Rebels by Darth Vader himself failed.

I mean, both Inquisitors looked awesome but seriously lacked in ability.

I guess we’ll find out!

As for the overall direction, I find it fascinating that the two of them are after Ahsoka.

Under the direction of Vader, it seems that we are going to inevitably see the apprentice face the master eventually.

Now THAT episode will be absolutely epic.

-Sith Pacify out

Short Story Saturday: Loyalty to the Shadows

Whether it was the middle of the day or in the thick of night, it was impossible to tell.

Inside the gargantuan structure known as the Death Star II, the weather and the time of day were both clumped together and thrown to the wayside.

Captain Rantin Duurs was preparing for his shift.

It had been two weeks since his graduation from the Imperial Royal Guard Academy on Yinchorr.

Since his time here on the Death Star, he had not seen the Emperor.

Though no one knew for sure, rumors circling the base said that the man in charge of the Empire was on a distant planet on the Outer Rim collecting artifacts.

But now he had returned to the Death Star and it was Duurs time to protect the Dark Lord.

Because he was a part of the illustrious Royal Guard, the Empire provided him with a more spacious quarters than the other personnel.

Duurs picked up his headdress and examined the blood red color. The metallic helmet and jet-black visor was polished so extensively that he could clearly see every wrinkle and crease throughout his face.

Captain Duurs had been a seasoned veteran in the Imperial Military before he was hand picked for the Imperial Royal Guard Academy. He was respected and he was prepared for what ever came his way.

But for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Duurs felt a strange feeling in his core, nervousness.

The Captain stared at his battle-hardened hands. Multiple scars lined his knuckles and former gashes that had healed into dark miniature craters.

He recalled battles that he endured, enemies that he mutilated, Rebel bases he led raiding charges against.

He was Captain Duurs, a force to be reckoned with. No old evil man was going to intimidate him!

Duurs threw on his crimson robe, lifted his force pike and donned the headdress. As he slowly lowered the helmet over his head, he observed the change the visor had on his surroundings.

He noticed an eerie darkness came over the comforts of his room almost as if the sun’s rays were shielded from a planet’s surface, preventing warmth and leaving frigid cold.

The Royal Guard was ready. It was time to meet the Emperor.

Upon entering the Royal Guardsmen lift that directly went from the guard’s quarters to the Emperor’s personal office, Duurs felt his hands trembling, his nerves were getting to him again.

The first thing Duurs noticed as he stepped through the elevator doors was the lavished decor. Black and gray marbled plates intricately lined the floor with labyrinth-like designs on the walls.

The hall was deathly quiet, as if no one had been in the corridor for years.

As the Captain walked towards the Emperor’s office, he felt a certain crispness in the air, almost as if something unnatural dwelled in these parts.

Finally, Captain Duurs stood before the massive twin doors that held the Royal Guard he was replacing as well as the Emperor.

Duurs applied the sophisticated 28 digit key code in the security pad as the doors slowly swung open.

An elongated room came into view behind the mammoth doors, the ceiling must have stood 30 maybe 40 feet high.

Towering bookcases took up the walls and stretched from the bottom of the floor all the way to the never ending ceiling.

Then, he saw him. Sitting behind a desk made from kriin-wood, the most expensive of its kind in the universe, a hooded figure that emanated an icy cold. Underneath his cowl, the figure had pale skin as white as a stormtrooper’s armor.

The skin was loose and hung off the bone, looking like death itself.

What drew Duurs attention the most was the figure’s face or lack there of. The darkness under the hood was so black that it looked like it was feeding off of the surrounding light.

Consuming the light, adding to its own darkness while leaving gray nothingness behind.

Upon the desk sat ancient artifacts and busts of what looked like ancient warriors.

Duurs walked forward to stand at attention across from one of the two Royal Guards on duty so he could begin the process for the ceremonial release.

Duurs stood before the opposing guard as the man began to snap to attention. The guard took one step forward, pivoted, then stared straight towards the Emperor. The guard took a deep bow and held the Emperor’s gaze.

Then in one sudden swift motion, The guard did a 180 degree pivot and exited the room.

As Duurs stood guard, facing the Emperor, the man in the black hood continued his silent motionless manner, staring back at the Captain.

As hours passed, nothing changed. Until the Captain heard footsteps…

Suddenly, the mammoth doors began opening. What Duurs saw next had him in awe.

In strode a figure dressed in all black standing over seven feet tall with a flowing cape behind him.

What was in the figure’s arm was even more shocking.

Desperately trying to free his way from the creature was a much smaller Imperial Officer. You could practically see the fear radiating off of the man’s body as he clawed and ripped at the man in the black’s grip.

Duurs identified the massive black figure as none other than the infamous Darth Vader.

Within Captain Duurs time serving the Empire, he never saw Vader in person but heard stories that portrayed the cyborg-like man to be a creature from hell.

Story upon story depicted Vader as a butcherer of men, a ravaging mangler and a destroyer of life.

Yes, Duurs was well aware that the Imperial Officer in his grasp was likely never to see the light of day again.

As Vader continued to walk towards the Emperor, he picked up the officer by the neck and effortlessly tossed the officer with one hand forward.

“The trader, you have requested,” Darth Vader said to the Emperor in a mechanical voice.

Then, Duurs saw him. For the first time, the Emperor lifted himself from his chair and rose to his full height. He must have been no taller than 5’6.

The Emperor slowly lifted his head, allowing the light to permeate the darkness within his hood.

“Ah yes, the scum of the galaxy,” exclaimed the Emperor in a calm but stern tone.

Hearing the voice of the Emperor made Duurs’ skin crawl, there was something strangely disturbingly creepy about his voice.

As the Emperor finished speaking, silence returned except for the cold machine like breathing of Vader’s.

Finally, it was time for the terrified officer to speak.

“My Lord! I am innocent! I have been framed my Lord! I would never betray the Empire I…,” suddenly the man’s voice came to a screeching halt.

Vader towered over the fallen officer with a pinching sign.

“Release him, my friend,” said the Emperor. “I have different plans for this traitor.”

Gasping for breath, the Officer turned his head to look directly at the Emperor, “Thank you my Lord!.”

The Emperor then slowly leaned back grabbed something that must have been leaning against his desk. He then stared down at the Officer and gave a devious sneer as he lowered his head, allowing the darkness to reclaim the darkness surrounding him.

It was at this moment, Captain Duurs of the Royal Guard would learn how evil his leaders truly were.

“Guards, our traitor needs disciplining. Would you be so kind to, show him the Imperial way?” said the Emperor while giving a heinous grin showing yellow stained teeth.

Captain Duurs felt the beads of sweat drip down his back as he and his fellow Royal Guardsman made the walk towards the Imperial Officer.

Duurs knew what he was about to do, he wouldn’t be proud of himself, but what other choice did he have?

At that moment, the Officer futilely pleaded for his life as Captain Duurs and the other guard gradually and painfully roasted the flesh of the Officer through their force pike’s electrocution.

As he continued to prod the man, Duurs could see the charred and blistered skin slowly become more and more decrepit.

This was his duty, this was his life.

For glory, for the Empire.

Why the Emperor is the Ultimate Star Wars character

Chancellor Palpatine, Darth Sidious or the Emperor it matters not what you call him, he is the greatest character throughout Star Wars.

A master in so many facets of life, Darth Sidious is also as good as it gets when it comes to the mastery of the Dark Side.

Follow me as I detail the life of Palpatine and his path to the overlord of the galaxy.

Early Life

Born as Sheev Palpatine to an aristocratic family on Naboo, he was always an oddball who stayed away from other kids.

He continued to live a life of luxury and nobility as a young teenager but was never concerned with material things except rare artifacts.

Rare Sith artifacts to be exact…

The best way to describe the adolescent Palpatine is indifferent. He was very often on his own and consumed by thought as if his mind was always wandering, planning for something.

It wasn’t until he met Hego Damask who of course would later reveal himself to Palpatine as the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis.

Palpatine’s relationship with his family, especially his father, was already strained to begin with but now that he had a mentor in Plagueis, things began to deteriorate further.

The breaking point finally took place when Palpatine’s father sent him away to Chandrila in hopes to break his forming bond with Damask.

However, Palpatine severely fought this and inevitably ended up murdering his mother, father and siblings as he, for the first time, called upon the Dark Side

This would begin his twisted path of evil.

Living the Double Life

Shortly after murdering his family, Palpatine began his apprenticeship under Darth Plagueis and was thus given the title, Darth Sidious.

Living a double life, Palpatine entered politics and started his ascension to what would be a lengthy and fruitful political career.

Hego Damask was one of if not the most wealthy and influential individuals in the galaxy.

Through Damask’s status and reputation, it was Palpatine who reaped the benefits as the two planned and pooled their resources in order to attain the right path in which the duo desired.

Palpatine and Plagueis devised a strategy in which they planned on ruling the entire galaxy as Palpatine being the Chancellor and the face of their partnership as Plagueis would be the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Separate Ways

What makes Palpatine so great is he does what he wants, no matter what the circumstances.

Subsequently after Chancellor Valorum’s uncanny timing of being ousted from the Chancellorship, Palpatine is nominated and eventually chosen as Valorum’s successor.

Later that same night, as Plagueis and Palpatine get together to celebrate their plans coming to fruition, Palpatine decided this was the perfect time to end his partnership with his master.

Palpatine allowed Plagueis, who was celebrating their victory through drinking wine, to get inebriated.

As Plagueis was drifting into a deeper incapacitated state, Sidious began to mercilessly attack him with his force lightning.

But he didn’t stop there. No in fact Darth Sidious began toying with Plagueis, allowing him to regain his ground and then ‘zap him again.

On his Own

As Palpatine slowly began to realize that he could carry out the Grand Plan by himself, it was only a matter of time till Palpatine forever silenced his master.

After that point, Chancellor Palpatine slowly pressed the Republic into a state of fear and paranoia allowing him to gradually strip the freedoms of the people and further cement himself as a force and eventual Emperor.

Why is he the Greatest?

Sidious is the master of all manipulation…ever! The mix of his intelligence, his perseverance and vision are nothing short of prophetic.

His plans for himself played out almost exactly to his intentions.

We’re not talking about some small thing coming true here. No, we’re talking about a man who had aspirations to reach the pinnacle of leadership and twist and contort that seat of power into something much more dark and twisted…and achieve it!

I just love his attitude through it all.

He doesn’t fear anyone or anything. He knows he is going to succeed because it’s going to happen, what he wants to occur, will.

It’s as simple as that.

He was a leech in the side of justice that continued to fatten itself off of the trust and benevolence of others until his power was so great, that everyone, one way or another, paid in blood.

That was the Emperor, a man fashioned from pure evil itself, thrust into everyday society, with hell to pay.

But his power doesn’t just stand on ceremony and titles, no not at all.

I think it’s safe to say that Darth Sidious is the most powerful Sith Lord of all time as well.

His adeptness in the force was so insanely powerful, he didn’t even need physical advantages at all and yet, he still had the advantage!

In fact, it’s nothing short of mind-numbingly incredible the way he fights Darth Maul and Savage Opress in the Clone Wars show as well as Yoda in Revenge of the Sith. 

His abilities to use the force to augment his body, gave him superhuman strength.

The likes of which were fed through his Dark Side power supply thus making him an opposing force physically.

In the end, the Emperor had it all going for him.

The one thing he could not crack was a father-son bond that unavoidably sentenced the Emperor to his doom.

-Sith Pacify out

How about a TV show for the Sith?

I’m going to start this off in a really simple way.

Star Wars has two sides. There is the good. The Jedi, the Rebellion and the living force. T

here is also bad. The evils of the Sith, the Empire and of course the Dark Side.

Now let’s take a step back and look at Star Wars from a commercialized standpoint.

There are plenty of Star Wars shows out there. Excellent shows that really tell the story of Star Wars from different angles.

There’s just one problem, every single one of these shows have one thing in common.

They all represent the light side of the force or the ethical point of the view.

Of course there are certain episodes within shows that have dark intentions but the vast majority are all about the Jedi, the clones or the good-hearted perspective.

Now, from a marketing standpoint it just wouldn’t make sense for the Star Wars minds and decision makers to create a show centered around an evil force.

But this isn’t about marketing. No, what I’m referring to is the background and stories behind the central aspects that are a part of Star Wars.

The Sith…

I know everyone won’t agree with me on this, but I absolutely loved the prequels. I thought they were awesome and they told the story of what happened, exactly how it happened.

With that being said, there is one thing they got wrong.

The fans of Star Wars who won’t be reading the books or won’t be following individual storylines will never know how deep the roots of evil run.

By that I mean the stories of the Sith.

For instance, the ultimate manipulator within the Star Wars saga, the Emperor, truly doesn’t get his full story told.

Like, how did he come to power, how did he become so relevant in the galaxy as well as a super powerful force within the Dark Side?

Another untold story from the movies is the whole deal with Count Dooku becoming Darth Sidious’s new apprentice.

How did that happen? Why would Sidious want a former Jedi in his 80’s as his understudy?

The way the movies portray what happened, it just doesn’t make sense.

Now that I’ve established that there are some legitimate questions, let’s think about how they could be answered.

Just like the TV show The Clone Wars, why not create a show that is relatively around the same period but on the opposite side of the spectrum?

Well if I had my way, I’d create a show called The Sith Chronicles.

The show would take place immediately after Darth Maul was defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Why it would start then is because Sidious’s master plan begins to take shape.

Shortly after Maul is killed, Senator Palpatine is named as Chancellor Valorum’s successor.

Later that day, as Darth Plagueis is celebrating with his apprentice Darth Sidious, the newly appointed Chancellor would truly earn his Sith Lord title as he maliciously tortured his mentor and master.

As a Star Wars fan, can you honestly tell me that you wouldn’t want to see a show that captivates this scene?

After seeing Sidious fight Yoda, all I wanted to see was more of him!

A character as devious and evil as Darth Sidious deserves the attention of a television show. I mean, the movies really don’t do him justice!

The Sith Chronicles could also elaborate on how Count Dooku and Darth Sidous became a Sith tandem.

I know how they came about but do you?

Star Wars needs more exposure. I’ve said it in my other posts, we are approaching a golden age!

Give us all the Star Wars material from all the angles!

After the Chronicles sheds some light on the Dooku/Sidious tandem, it could then expose the unknown origins of General Grievous.

For someone to understand the Star Wars timeline, they should really know both sides of the story.

Afterall, it was the Dark Lord himself who said “If one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects”

So, I say to you, Star Wars decision makers, PLEASE GIVE US DEVOTED FANS THE SITH CHRONICLES!!

-Sith Pacify out