This week in video games, April 24, 2017: New Star Wars story in Battlefront II

This week, Batman comes to more VR systems and Stardew Valley comes to consoles. Plus, play StarCraft for free and check out a VR conference coming to Vancouver. But first, the lowdown on the next Star Wars video game, Battlefront II.

Step into the shoes of the enemy in new Star Wars Battlefront II

At last week's Star Wars Celebration event, Electronic Arts revealed the forthcoming Star Wars Battlefront II video game will be released on November 17, 2017, for PS4, Windows, and Xbox One.

The game tells a new story in the Star Wars universe and features a single-player campaign, something that was lacking from last year's Battlefront. Motive, in Montreal, led development on the campaign. In it, a player will become an elite special-forces soldier from the Galactic Empire.

In case you're not up on your Star Wars lore, those are the bad guys.

The story is set between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens and details the rise of the First Order.

Star Wars Battlefront II will also include a multiplayer component that supports up to 40 players and will include locations from all eras of the franchise, including Mos Eisley and Starkiller Base.

And a space-combat mode has been added to the experience, giving players a chance to get into the cockpits of various Star Wars starships.

Go here for the full-length trailer.

Virtual-reality expo coming to Vancouver next week

Anyone curious about virtual and augmented reality will get a chance to see what all the fuss is about next week as the CVR conference descends on the Vancouver Convention Centre from May 5 to May 7.

The event will include presentations from people working in VR, like Evelyn Miralies, who works for NASA as a VR innovator.

There will also be hands-on demonstrations of hardware and software from companies like Microsoft and local developer Cloudhead Games.

The event is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets for the event range from $18 for a one-day student pass, to $99 for a two-day pass for general audiences.

Get StarCraft and StarCraft: Brood War for free

Blizzard is prepping a remastered version of its seminal real-time strategy space game, StarCraft.

To celebrate that, the video-game developer and publisher is "giving away the original version of the game for free".

Available for MacOS and Windows, the download includes both the original 1998 game and its expansion, Brood War.

The remastered version, which includes new graphics and updated audio, is expected later this year.

Become Batman in VR on HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

One of the coolest early VR experiences was Batman: Arkham VR on Sony's PlayStation VR.

This week, gamers with an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift can get in on the fun.

In the VR space, players actually become the Dark Knight, using his gadgets to unravel a mystery.

Releasing this week

• Stardew Valley Collector's Edition, a farming role-playing game that has sold a million copies of its Windows edition, is now available on PS4 and Xbox One for $40.
• Symphony of the Machine is a VR puzzle game that is playable on HTC Vive and PlayStation VR.