Everyone knows that Han Solo can hold his own with his trusty blaster, but what if the scruffy-looking nerf herder was given a machine gun and stuck in the middle of a near-future battle? Now gamers can discover how handy Han is with an arsenal of weapons and vehicles as an unlockable character in the new LucasArts' combat title Mercenaries.

Gamers using a PS2 console can unlock Han by collecting 100 Blueprints. Xbox must collect 20 National Treasures to unlock Han. Once the skin is unlocked, players must visit the Merchant of Menace (the in-game Mafia-run black market website) to change their appearance to Han.

Even though Han is an unlockable character, don't expect to see him piloting the Millenium Falcon through the North Korean locale of Mercenaries. Han is completely immersed in the Mercenaries universe, using weapons and vehicles that the standard characters have at their disposal -- even though in the Star Wars realm Han would never encounter helicopters and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

As for Han's character, instead of the sarcastic rogue made famous in the original trilogy, the Mercenaries version of Han takes on the characteristics of the mercenary the player has chosen.

"For example, if you've chosen Chris Jacobs as your hero, your Han will become imbued with extra toughness, like Chris," Shara Miller, LucasArts Producer for Mercenaries explains. "From this standpoint, Han is the most versatile because he can be tough, quick, or stealthy, depending on the player's original hero choice."

Whether it be shooting at stormtroopers, pushing his bounty hunter nemesis Boba Fett into the Sarlacc Pit, or exchanging witty insults with Princess Leia, fans already know Han can hold his own in a fight.

"Han embodies the attitude of Jennifer, Chris, and Mattias, our three mercenaries," Miller explains. "Like Han, our mercs aren't necessarily fighting to advance a cause; they're in it for pay. Han's willing to take risks for big profit, and he's got the sarcastic nature that would probably make him great drinking buddies with the agents from Executive Operations."

Because of sound memory constraints, the development team wasn't able to include speaking lines specially created for Han as he navigates his way through the battlefield. However, Miller did offer a sample of what one of the lines would have been here:

Fiona, the Tech Support Coordinator: "I knew we could count on Peng for another face card."
Han: "Reminds me of playing sabacc with that scoundrel Lando Calrissian. He always had one too many face cards!"

Though the added dialog didn't make the cut, some Star Wars-specific Easter Eggs did. Whether or not the hidden features involve Ewoks is unknown.

"You'll find lots of goodies salted away as you adventure through the world," Miller reveals. "But it wouldn't be fair for me to ruin the surprise!"

For gamers looking to get the most out of their Han experience, Miller suggests a few handy tips.

"Take Han up to the Changsong Train Station on the north map, up way past the Sinuiju farms," Miller hints. "With the snow and mountains, it almost feels like Hoth. Also, each time you get offered a job in one of the faction HQ's, there's a different little interaction that becomes available just for that briefing. Han's the type who might case a room if given the chance, so be sure to look around for secrets while taking contracts as Han."

Miller and her team, being huge Star Wars fans, wanted to also add Han's trusty sidekick Chewbacca. However, due to certain issues, Mercenaries launched Wookiee-free.

"We really, really wanted to add Chewie as a skin also," Miller confesses. "But scale-wise, Wookiees (even a runt like Chewbacca) are way too big to fit into most of the vehicles in Mercenaries."

For more information about Mercenaries, please visit the official site here.

(Wouldn't it also be fun to play as Indiana Jones?)