The following article is from The Cantina staff member TIDMADT, concerning the recent reveal of the new game Star Wars Uprising…

We finally get to a subject I am uniquely suited for… playing games. Kabam Games officially announced today their ambitious new project, Star Wars: Uprising. Set in the period between ROTJ and TFA, this will be our first canon peek at the galaxy following the Battle of Endor….

Kabam is a leader in console quality games for mobile devices. Built off the “freemium” model, their games allow players to enjoy the games for free, with optional premium content that enhances the game play, allowing them to make a buck while still presenting hours of free enjoyment for fans that can’t afford the high price of most console games. The freemium model is one of the most popular, and if done right, one of the most powerful ways to bring a project to the public.

Star Wars: Uprising is an ambitious project. Set in the time period following the Battle of Endor, this will be our first canonical look at how the galaxy comes to terms with death of the Emperor, and exactly how staggering a blow this really was. Gameplay takes place in the Anoat sector, home of Hoth and Bespin, and introduces new characters and locations. Kabam worked with Lucasfilm, so you can be sure what they bring to the table is part of the new canon.

First I want to talk about Imperial Governor Adelhard, who is in charge of the Imperial presence in the Anoat sector. When he hears that the Emperor has been killed, he does what any good Imperial agent would do: He locks down all travel in the sector, and blocks all communications. The trailer features a voice-over from Adelhard denying that the Emperor is dead and claiming that the Rebellion was crushed during the battle, and that any opposition to the Empire would be met with the harshest penalties. We have long speculated on how crippled the Empire was following the battle, and here finally is our answer.

Also present in the sector are remnant troops of the Rebellion. These are troops who were trapped following the flight from Hoth during ESB and have lost contact with the larger main Rebel forces. They have been joined by workers who have been displaced by the Empire, and a new generation that has grown up watching the struggle between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance.

The two other main factions in the game are the Nobles and the Trade Spine League. The Nobles are the descendants of the original Anoat leaders who have formed a secret society trying to restore the sector to the pre-Republic style of government. The Trade Spine League are smugglers and mercenaries thriving in the lax regulations and control of an outlying sector, and are resistant to the new harsher regulations the Empire is imposing with the crackdown.

In addition to the Cloud City of Bespin and the deserted Rebel base on Hoth, game play will also take place on Burnin Konn, a mining colony resting on a most inhospitable world. Hoth, in the wake of the Imperial assault on the Rebel base chronicled in ESB, has become a nest for scavengers stripping the hulks of fallen AT-ATs. Does any of this sound familiar? Jakku anyone?

Another new character is Commander Bragh. Right hand to Adelhard, Bragh leads a group of enforcers called the Purge Troopers. Again, this seems to foreshadow Christie’s role in TFA as the leader of the Chromies. Keeping in mind that these events are right after RotJ, and still 30 years before TFA, we are either seeing the beginning of more specialized units, or finally expanding further into the ones that have always been there, but not covered through the main action of the films.

There are three other characters that we know far less about. The first is Brask, who is a Trandoshan, the same race as the bounty hunter Bossk. No idea which faction Brask is with, but from what I have seen, he looks to be a smuggler type and could be a pilot for the Trade Spine League.

Then we have a character named Deathstick. “She rose up from a street level criminal to become the most legendary assassin in the sector. Twitchy and prone to sadistic flights of fancy, few people seek out an audience with her.”

Finally, we have Riley, an orphan on Burnin Konn who, with her sibling, has survived by scavenging and thieving. At some point there was an accident, and she now has a cybernetic leg. Again, this points strongly to Daisy’s character in TFA.

Also, I mentioned that in the trailer for the game, we hear Adelhard laying down the new Imperial line. The counterpoint for this is a member of the opposition, going from group to group and showing a hologram of the Death Star being destroyed, revealing the lie of Adelhard’s proclamation. One of the groups he shows the image too appears to be a member of the Hutt cartel… looks like Slug Lyfe, baby…

There will be many that scream that the plotlines are being copied, and to a strong degree, I agree with that. Everything from the new leader assuming iron fist control, the commander of the specialized forces, the scavengers stripping war remains on a distant world and the lovable urchin… all of this sounds like what we know about TFA.

Far from being a bored copy of plots, I think this is giving us a much broader view of the galaxy as a whole. It isn’t that they are copying the events from one to the other, it’s that the situation in the galaxy is pretty much the same all over. The local systems, once part of the proud Republic, are now longing for their independent days of yore, and “city state” governments are rising. The Empire has a massive PR problem, and is solving it through iron fisted diplomacy. Thieves, scavengers and smugglers are expanding business, and trying to make a living in police state galaxy. And everywhere, hope blossoms like a flower on an icy world.

Star Wars: Uprising is in the registration phase, and is expected to be released on iPhone and Android systems. You can visit the official site HERE.

Also stay tuned for an exclusive SW7N interview with the game’s Creative Director in the next few days.