It has been 10 years since the last full Star Wars Battlefront title was released. While a few features from the old games have been removed, the rest of the title has come on the leaps and bounds you would expect, from a ‘next gen’ reboot. So let’s dive straight into what makes this a stand out game and touch on the negatives, the dark side of the game; if you pardon the obligatory Sith pun.
Let’s start with one element of the game which has unquestionably improved, the visual experience! There is a reason that the PC specs for Star Wars Battlefront are set fairly high. The game is simply stunning. Though for those of you with lower end rigs don’t despair: the maps still look like living, believable worlds even on the lower graphics and texture settings. From the white Hoth snow to the vibrant forests on Endor, the quality of the levels are of an impeccable quality. Not only do they do justice to the films but each other of the planets, of which there are four currently available, are significantly different art wise. Matching the visuals, to create a truly immersive experience, is a phenomenal captivating sound board accompanied by the iconic Star Wars music score.
You can hear the difference between types of explosions, the location of weapon fire and other players moving around the map. One of the best examples is having a friendly soldier running along the wooden walkways of Endor and then jetpacking across between structures. You can really hear them coming up behind you and the noise from the jetpack, if you aren’t expecting it, is sometimes enough for you to start running or turning to fire.
One mechanic which initially seemed a simple step to cater to a casual gaming audience is the introduction of cooldown times, on special weapons and grenades. Since the announcement of the mechanic the development team’s choice has been a concern for many, seen as a way of dumbing down the gameplay. In actual fact it helps balance the game and keeps the action flowing.
A prime example is that sniper rifles which can do immense damage in one shot, as they would be expected to, cannot be used constantly. This makes gamers less likely to be camping in a sniping location; as it is much more effective to try a shot or two from long distance and then move forward towards an objective. Gamers with the deluxe edition do start with a slight advantage, when it comes to entering the battlefield. They will start with a few of these special weapons, including the vehicle wrecking Ion Torpedoes, available to them from the offset. However, these special weapons are quickly unlockable by playing.
The ‘Just one more game’ philosophy is one that is certainly not new but Star Wars Battlefront takes this to a new painstaking level. When a match finishes players are taken directly to the rank up screen to see if they obtained enough points to rank up. This is not the issue but from here the player must load into the next match before quitting. I am fortunate that this is a relatively short wait but some players have complained about 30 second loading times for matches. It is not a problem when wanting to play another game but when attempting to quit after finishing a match the waiting could potentially become irritating for some.
EA has clearly spent a lot of time carefully designing the maps, as they manage to offer a mixture of intricate paths and larger open expanses. Even the barren surface of Tatooine offers these close quarters paths which funnel players into choke-holds. At the same time, by simply equipping a jet pack maps seem to change considerably; new places and routes become available and this helps to add to the variety to the maps. Due to this, gamers will have to keep on their toes. If you attempt to camp in one spot for too long an enemy soldier will undoubtedly find another way around, or over, to take you out.
Spawn camping is possible in Star Wars Battlefront but it isn’t overly effective. Due to the Battlefield style killer cam upon death, which shows you the location of the enemy who took you down, you are soon able to respawn and take them out. The speed of the gameplay often means that multiple players will be re-spawning at the same time so you can swiftly overpower a camping enemy with greater numbers.
The only time that it is hard to avoid is when the objective based games are close to being won. Be it the final objective point or the AT-AT reaching the finish line, this often means that the enemy team is pushing directly onto your spawn point. This is when the game is almost lost but it is possible due to the quick respawns and not having to run to get into the action to turn the game around, if you play as a team.
Star Wars Battlefront offers a decent selection of multiplayer modes, although most players will, in all probability, stick to the larger 20 vs. 20 game modes; Supremacy and Walker Assault. Smaller modes such as Cargo, a variation on Capture the Flag, and Drop Zone, which is reminiscent of Call of Duty’s Headquarters mode, add some diversity to the objects in the game. These modes have a lower player counts and are set on a variety of mini levels. These are generally small segments of the Supremacy and Walker Assault levels. While there are currently only 4 planet maps, there are plenty of smaller objective levels to play.
PvP isn’t the only mode on offer in Star Wars Battlefront. Missions mode enables two players to play cooperatively together, although these can also be completed as single player missions. Despite not offering as much of a challenge as actual players, the onslaught of enemy AI units does take some beating. As rounds progress not only does the AI body count rise but additional types of soldiers and even AT-STs are sent to defeat you. This keeps the mode from feeling like a simple horde mode, where you are merely defeated by greater numbers, while keeping the commonly used round based progression system. The only issue with Missions mode is the design decision to limit the coop to only two players. More and more games have limits of four and this mode would be more enjoyable if two additional friends were able to jump into the action.
Before you jump into the action I would strongly recommend playing some of the tutorial missions. These offer a gameplay experience where players can get to grips with a variety of vehicles and heroes. You won’t be able to constantly get these when playing the PvP modes so it will help maximize their effectiveness for your team when you do get your hands one. It is common to see Tie Fighters flown into the ground and land speeders driven straight into a tree. Not only will you avoid the embarrassment, and a quick death, there are challenges for you to complete.
These tutorials and the missions are the only elements of the title to offer non-PvP gameplay: so if you dislike playing online or find yourself unable to, you will probably want to give Star Wars Battlefront a miss. It is disappointing that there isn’t more to do that isn’t against other players like in the original. This being said for those of you happy to jump into an online game some entertaining blaster action is waiting for you. The game is well balanced and the map variety, which is already confirmed to be expanding via a free DLC in December, add together to create a fun Star Wars experience. As mentioned the majority of players will stick to the Walker Assault and Supremacy game modes but the other do offer something a bit different that you will be happy to hop in and out of when you want something a bit different.
[Editor’s Note: Star Wars Battlefront was reviewed on PC. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
