Access: Some areas of Outlaws’ cities, and even smaller settlements, are off limits to outsiders. I breezed through a couple jobs that would’ve been a little harder if I’d had to sneak in.Discounts: Faction zones have special vendors that offer unique gear and discounts to friends.Jobs: A menu says a syndicate is “more likely to give Kay jobs” when she’s on good terms.Cosmetics: Clothing for Kay and Nix, skins for her blasterIt’s a lot more involved than I expected. Almost every mission I played moved Kay’s reputation up or down, either because I was hired by one gang to screw over another or prompted mid-mission to take a side in a turf war Kay has no stake in.

(Image credit: Ubisoft)Sneaking missionOne pleasant surprise of my extended time with Star Wars Outlaws was discovering how much of a stealth game it is. Yes, you can blast your way through most encounters, but I spent my demo ghosting past Stormtroopers, triggering distractions, and knocking out the occasional gangster. In the early chapters Kay could only take a handful of shots before going down, and healing vials weren’t plentiful. Taking on two or three troopers was no problem, but any more and I usually wiped back to checkpoint.

The trailer on shows all kinds of good stuff: an SMG that shoots toxic ooze, a sniper rifle that drops cluster bombs on its target, and a plasma rifle that lights up a whole area with a firestorm all stood out. Add this to what looks like a bunch of vehicles and other random methods of destruction like airstrikes and you might have something fun—or at least worth trying out this weekend.

Complicating matters are all manner of obstacles. Giant radiation-spewing turtle creatures, a map that changes every time you drop in, environmental hazards and the other three squads will all seek to prevent you from a smooth retrieval. If you do manage to escape with a biocore, however, sweet loot awaits.

In the announcement trailer, a pensive driver-mechanic swaps between melodramatic brooding over his damaged car and an in-game driver camera as he slings trash talk while barreling down a dusty track as other cars smash and sideswipe each other—before a particularly well-angled hit from another driver sends him rolling across the course.

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