Star Wars Battlefront 2 was such a disappointment to me when it released. To me one of the reasons I bought the game was that the campaign was advertised as being able to play as the Empire. Turns out it was a bait and switch and you be a part of the rebellion after like 2-3 missions in. Which is such a disappointment
A big issue was how terrible and lazy the story was. Nobody stood out and it was clearly a bait and switch. The game was advertised as us playing as a villain with Iden Versio. Speaking of which, Iden Versio was just a boring character. The other surrounding characters had legit no importance or have anything that stands out about them. They would have hero’s be playable, which seems cool, but with the large amount of times they do that it kind of hinder the story when trying to build the main characters.
This game has gone down as one of the biggest disappointments and missed opportunities in Star Wars video games. You know what else, I think there is a better story that makes sense and I have decided to rewrite it.
My Rewritten version of the game
I may be in the minority here, but I hated how they started this game with it near the end of Return of the Jedi. So instead I feel that Iden’s story has to start at around the end of Rouge One and then it ends with the aftermath of the events of Return of the Jedi.
Aftermath of Revenge of the Sith/The beginning of Versio
We start the game with the aftermath of Revenge of the Sith where we have Iden Versio’s father Garrick Versio rise in the Empire. Through the Order 66 we have Garrick continue to rise the rank and he becomes a notable Stormtrooper who finds and delivers the killing blow of multiple Jedi/Padawan’s. He proved his worth and eventually gets promoted as being one of the top members of Palpatine’s Cabinet and even becomes one of the main generals. With this promotion he ends up signing his daughter Iden to start her training process of being a stormtrooper.
We then have a large time jump and we have a grown Iden Versio on Tatooine where she becomes one of the high ranking stormtroopers and we have multiple missions that are focused on her toning down rebellions in Tatooine and even capturing droids which the empire then utilizes as a sense of power.
A New Hope Through Iden
Knowing how A New Hope goes, guess which droid Iden has assigned to try and capture? Yes C3P0 and R2D2 as they escaped with the Death Star Plans. We eventually get to the point where She tries to track the droids down and finds out about Jawas selling droids. We get Iden killing the Jawas and realizing that they have been sold and there are multiple sightings from them. It is here where we get Hask, Del and Iden Splitting up to find them where Del and Iden go into the mainland. Hask decides to go to a farm where that is where Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru are and each group takes a bunch of stormtroopers with them and they eventually kill them.
This then leads up to Iden leading Stormtroopers to the Millennium Falcon and we have the same scene we got in the movie where the Falcon escapes. We have Iden then message Garrick Versio to keep an eye out for Scoundrels and those ships could carry the droids as well.
Now we get to the missions on the death star where Iden returns to the death star and we have an investigation of the Millennium Falcon. I would but easter eggs in this and have clues regarding why the ship was discovered. It is at this point where I would introduce a new skill with Iden where she can track footsteps of people not stormtroopers and have her try to discover the droids and almost does. Until she gets an update that the princess has escaped and she tries to go back to the ship quickly. However, she is too late, but is part of the crew that see Vader kill Obi Wan Kenobi.
Of course the next mission would be thee space battle at the death star and we all know how that turns out and Iden & everyone important to the story escapes except for Grand Moff Tarkin.
Time Jump To Empire Strikes Back
Now we get into a time jump where Garrick wants to avenge Moff Tarkin’s death, so he and Iden decide to investigate a station where The Resistance is hiding at so, we have a scout droid missions and the planet they land this at is…. Hoth.
Now we have the Hoth battle and I would call this the art of Iden who would be the one that breaks into the base first and gets all the intel they can on the Resistance, brutally. This would also be the moment where Del starts having doubts about The Empire. So, they collect intel on bases, weapons, and even certain names linked to The Resistance. I Call this Iden’s hit list as of course, she is assigned with assassinating multiple names on this list.
Cloud City
The last person on that list reveals another hidden name that is connected to Han Solo and that name is of course, Lando Calrissian. Which then helps make more sense as to why they got to Lando first in Empire Strikes back. Hask and Garrick sees this and are amazed and excited to have an edge on The Resistance and Solo especially as they have been a pain in the neck for far too long. I would even throw a Rebel Scum line in there too.
So Hask and Del goes to Cloud City along with Iden where they find Lando. I would even have the same machine Solo was torture in the movie with be used on Lando’s top members in his crew to convince Lando to help capture Solo and the Resistance. Del would then speak up to Iden saying that this is wrong to do and have Iden & Hask say, “No. This is a necessary move to show who is in power and ensure we get what we want in Solo to put fear in the minds of others”. Iden’s next mission is making sure Solo’s body is put in Boba Fett’s ship.
In the aftermath of succeeding here, Iden is now promoted in a higher role and she is basically on top of the world in the view of The Empire. I would have her ceremony be a cut scene and have her father be proud of her.
Return of the Jedi Through Iden
Now we get into Return of the Jedi and at this point we have Garrick do a tour of the new version of the death star. Then I think to show of the graphics that EA loves to do with these games, Garrick takes a ship to Endor, where we are introduced to the shield generator. At that process we can have a space battle of ships scouting the Death Star 2.0, which of course The Empire wins. Now on Endor we find out that Garrick Versio is in charge of the Shield Generator and we get missions in Endor now focused on the Ewoks.
A Mole in the Empire
Then comes the big war on Endor where Iden figures out an attack could happen on the generator as she discovers a mole leaking stuff to The Resistance. They prep for a situations on if Solo’s group comes. They get parts of reinforcements and a hidden attack with a lot of stormtroopers. We basically get sort of similar to what we got in the movie, but we have a hidden stormtrooper that helps kill mor.
That stormtrooper who is the mole by revealing the Shield generator and supports Han Solo into blow it up is of course Del. Garrick then is one of the people that shoots and wounds Princess Leia, but when a wounded Garrick is about to kill Leia and arrest Solo, he gets shot by Del, thus blowing his cover to the Empire to Hask who the war continues.
Hask takes a wounded Garrick Versio to there hidden bunker. Where the Generator is now blown up. Iden hearing the boom rushes to the Generator where she realized that it is blown up and rushes to the bunker. We get Iden saving Hask and getting Garrick to the bunker. Garrick tells Iden to deliver the documents to the empire on the death star, and Del betrayed us all. Garrick’s final words to Iden is “I gave my life to this empire and I am glad you followed in my footsteps”. Garrick Versio is now dead and now we get an enraged Iden and she goes to the death star. I would have Hask chase the Millennium Falcon and have him update her on the time she has left.
Death Star 2.0 Arrival
It is at this point where Iden arrives on the Death Star 2.0 and at the corner of her eye hears the Emperor scream. She then hears a boom and the Emperor is dead. (This is his real death and his return never happens as it did in Rise of Skywalker). Shell Shocked by what she heard, she immediately goes to the ships as the evacuation sirens go off.
Then she notices that Darth Vader is dead maskless with Luke Skywalker standing nearby upset. Iden then immediately shouts, “What did you do?” and we get a quick battle between Luke and Iden. In the middle of the battle Iden gets wounded, but she gets a message from Hask telling her to get out of there now the Falcon just hit the weak spot. It is at this moment where Iden and Luke are separated from each other and go to there respective ships leaving the Death Star 2.0. Hask then radio’s Iden and informs her that I am too deep in the Death Star and I am not going to make it. When the Death Star blows up his final words are, “It was a honor serving with you Iden, Damn you Del.”
Revenge for Garrick and Hask
Iden then starts planning for a way to get The Empire powerful again. She then realize that the only way that they can get started is by eliminating Del who would know her next tracks. So, she eventually track Del down and there is this big fight where Del at this point would be weak, but try and convince Iden about his actions.
It is at this point where Del states that “..while on one of his missions he was trapped and called for someone to help retrieve him and after a few days nobody came. Days turned into weeks and I was on the brink of death. Luckily Luke Skywalker came and he influence me on the journey of Hope. His actions made me loyal to the Resistance and I wanted to pay him and the group back. It was at this point I realized the empire made us into puppets that they were going to throw us away like toys. You guys were next and I had to do the right thing. Please Iden, join me and together we and The Resistance can build the empire and bring peace around the world.”
Iden has a choice to make and of course with The Fading Empire and realizing Del’s betrayal resulted in Garrick Versio’s death, she decides to kill Del to prove her loyalty to the fading empire. With one last chance at saving The Empire we get a time jump of her trying to build up her version of the empire.
Iden’s Last Stand
It is at this point though we get to see a young Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) get introduced in the story. He is now starting to train with Luke and I would have Iden start to spy on Ren & Luke. The Training sessions go on and on and she realizes the best time to strike is now as Luke is rebuilding the Jedi Order which if that happens, then there is no chance of a resurrection of the Empire.
Here we go, Iden Versio’s last stand and attempt to end the rebellion and help the empire rise again. We have a big fight where Iden does her best and even takes multiple bases from The Resistance and is about to capture Leia & Han, until the big guns are called. Luke and Kylo Ren are here to stop her. Before the duel begins I would have her say “You took everything from me, now I take more from you”.
We have Iden Versio facing against a young Kylo Ren and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Versio then gets a way to have her face with Kylo alone. It is at this moment where Versio tries to get in the head of Kylo Ren about the beliefs of The Empire and utilizes his respect of Darth Vader to convince him on which side is truly in the right.
A Young Kylo Ren then kills Iden Versio brutally, and at this point, you can see Luke realizing that Kylo is going straight to the dark and but still seeing the good in everyone (Like he should have in the Movies). I would then have Luke give an inspirational teaching moment to Kylo. Still, in the game I would place signs of Kylo turning to the dark side and even say to Luke that “At one point Iden had to go and she had many assassination attempts on our families lives, why wouldn’t you want to eliminate the main threat and bring safety along with fear to the enemy”. Luke then does an inspirational speech on the Good side and seeing the light side of people.
We have Luke, and Kylo respects Iden by burying her right next to her father, Garrick Versio like she wanted before her death, in a diary that she had in her possession.
So, that is How I would have written this game. We have a well-built story and character with Iden. With this game over, we have hints dropped on Kylo Ren turning to the dark side and further explaining why Kylo turned. Plus, we have a much more organized and no bait-and-switch game that was gifted to us.
What do you think of my rewrite? Do You Like it? Well, let me know in the comments below.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 is playable on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
- Let’s Predict The Madden 24 Cover Athlete - June 6, 2023
- WWE 2K23 All John Cena Showcase Unlockable List - June 3, 2023
- Diablo 4 – How to Emote - June 2, 2023