Let's not mince words here: Bounty Hunters are cool. Whether it be reality TV star Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman or Gerard Butler in that film no-one watched, there's something effortlessly stylish about the occupation. It's apparent in the Star Wars universe too - The Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn gets a ponytail, while the Bounty Hunter Boba Fett gets a jetpack. Which would you rather be?
Jetpacks all the way.
Billed as a "mature" third person cinematic action adventure game (hopefully simply to try and distance itself as far from this monstrosity as possible) Star Wars 1313 hopes to capitalise on the love that mankind has for Bounty Hunters, by placing you firmly in the toe-spiked shoes of an as-yet-unnamed Bounty Hunter and dropping you into a wretched hive of scum and villainy, Coruscant's titular (and never before mentioned in Star Wars lore) level 1313. Designed like an enormous department store, Coruscant (the densely populated capital of the universe) is split into levels, with thousands of floors of apartments, offices, shops, council chambers and the like. And much like any good department store, there's a floor dedicated entirely to roughnecks, and it's this floor you'll need to explore as you uncover the truth behind a criminal conspiracy. What this conspiracy actually is remains to be seen, but as Coruscant is the location of all political goings-on in the universe, anything that happens could have a tremendous impact on the Star Wars universe, so there's a lot resting on your shoulders.
And what manly shoulders they are...
Unfortunately, that's as far as the official information goes, so all that remains is for us to speculate on what the finished game is going to be like. From the first promotional image shown (that you appreciate above), the inclusion of TIE Fighters and the Imperial Shuttle seem to place it closer to the original trilogy era than the prequels-that-we-won't-mention-again, which should encourage a number of the older Star Wars fans to give it a look. We'll eat our hats if there's no cameos from other, more well-known bounty hunters in there, too. Maybe not someone like Boba Fett, as he'd attract too much attention, but this chap could blend in quite well:
The one on the right, with a cannon for a face. Maybe.
In fact, the only thing that really has us concerned about this one is the "mature" tag, seeing as "mature" usually seems to be games industry slang for a game that's full of blood, swearing, and unnecessary violence, making it fodder for teenage boys who think they're 'ard. With any luck, the "mature" tag is simply a misguided marketing attempt and it turns out to be a thoroughly good new franchise in the Star Wars universe - and God knows, it's been long enough since we've had one of those. We're remaining relatively hopeful about Star Wars 1313 for now (even if it isn't a new space flight sim or Dark Forces game), and we'll have more information on it as soon as it happens.
