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Nwahs
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re: A great, honest, fair review of Battlefront

http://www.forbes.com/sites/games/2015/11/18/star-wars-battlefront-review-like-a-storm-trooper-dice-misses-the-mark/

 

"Before we dive in, let’s establish one important thing: I don’t have an ax to grind over the lack of a meaty campaign or single-player mode in Star Wars Battlefront. There was never any reason to expect one, as this franchise has always been rooted in epic, large-scale multiplayer skirmishes. Our official score and supporting criticisms are based on what the Star Wars Battlefront series was always meant to be.

 

Terrific Star Wars Game; Mediocre Shooter

Star Wars Battlefront is fan service to its core, replete with loving nods to the nuances found in the original film trilogy—Vader’s imposing gait, the distinct Wilhelm screams, that crying whine of a TIE Fighter’s engine, Han Solo haphazardly firing his blaster while retreating, and countless more memories from our collective consciousness of youth. With impeccable sound design, fantastic character animations, and exquisitely detailed environments in every square inch of playable space, the developers at EA DICE have crafted a wholly immersive Star Wars experience that remains faithful to the universe and looks stunning in doing so.

From its announcement and initial reveal, detractors have been eager to dismiss this game as “Battlefield with a Star Wars skin.” Thankfully, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Ironically, it is the aforementioned dedication to authenticity that makesStar Wars Battlefront a great Star Wars game, but an unfortunately mediocre shooter. If this was merely Battlefield 4 with the face of Star Wars, we would be treated to a comprehensive upgrade system for the 11 primary blasters, character classes with specialized abilities, and many more pieces that make modern shooters so engaging to play. Just think—various scopes, grips for reducing recoil, attachments for extra functionality, or even skins to customize your loadouts would be available in expanded upgrade trees for weapons.

 

Moreover, an expanded character class selection would enable players with abilities to traverse over the uneven terrains of Sullust and Tatooine more easily, create situations for teamwork with dedicated class roles, and more—but those elements feel cruelly absent. Compared to the crop of modern FPS entries like DestinyHalo 5, andCall of DutyStar Wars Battlefront is missing a handful of crucial inclusions. Not to mention that other essential creature comforts like dodging, shuffling between two primary weapons, and in-game voice chat are also omitted.

In lieu of traditional loadouts are Star Cards—a variety of unlockable abilities and weapons that can be earned and purchased as you level up. Yes, earned and purchased. They’re locked behind both an in-game currency, as well as being tucked away behind player levels. The biggest problem tied to Star Wars Battlefront‘s Star Cards is that most of these items are unremarkable at best. It will take the average player 4 to 5 hours just to unlock the Jump Pack at level 13, which should be standard-issue for all infantry out of the gate to deal with the uneven terrains of Tatooine or Sullust. Even then, the Jump Pack, as well as the other unlockable items, operates on cooldown timers, making it and other perks unsatisfying to obtain. This reward system just isn’t deep or meaningful enough to keep you pushing forward to Level 50. But will the gameplay do it?

star wars battlefront luke

By the numbers, you’re getting 16 single-player missions (not to be confused with a proper campaign), 9 multiplayer modes, and 13 multiplayer maps across Tatooine, Endor, Sullust, and Hoth. 5 of those single-player missions are brief tutorials, while the rest are watered-down variants of more ambitious multiplayer offerings. Survival stands out as the best of the bunch, allowing you and a local or online buddy to team up against waves of Stormtroopers, AT-STs, Probe Droids, and TIE Fighters. There’s a worthy challenge here, but it’s repetitive and feels flat after a few playthroughs. Beyond the personal pride of clearing these at higher difficulty levels, there are no compelling or dynamic elements to keep you coming back.

Battlefront Is Walker Assault. The Rest Is Filler.

The majority of the single-player offerings are palette cleansers between the heart and soul of Star Wars Battlefront—Walker Assault. As the undeniable showpiece of EA DICE’s latest endeavor, Walker Assault features chaotic, objective-driven battles across expansive maps, letting you live out your ultimate Star Wars fantasies. Playing as Boba Fett or Darth Vader, decimating enemies in a towering AT-AT Walker, or taking to the skies in an X-Wing or TIE Interceptor are deeply gratifying experiences. The pacing of the action is similar to Battlefield, but tuned for less seemingly-endless trekking across a map and more immediate action.

The Drop Zone mode is great fun, but exists as a variant of the Capture/Defend mechanics of Walker Assault, having you take control of drop pods that fall throughout a match. In turn, Droid Run is a minor variant of Drop Zone as you capture three slightly mobile droids throughout a map. Hero Hunt is satisfying if (and only if) you spawn as one of Battlefront‘s heroic figures. Otherwise, it’s an exercise in frustration as you get obliterated by bullet sponges like Darth Vader or Han Solo. Fighter Squadron sends us to the skies to engage in all-too-brief dogfights against hordes of AI and player-controlled fighters. As thrilling as this mode is at first, it eventually feels like a tease for the potential of grander fleet battles.

battlefront fighter squadron

At the end, all of these modes are mere morsels when compared to the meaty offering that is Walker Assault. They don’t feel like truly distinct, full-fledged modes with personalities of their own. Instead, they are rather shallow and undeveloped, as if they were created with a minigame mentality. If Walker Assault stands as Star Wars Battlefront‘s core (and rightly so), the suite of multiplayer modes around it should have been fleshed out to complement its excellence. Instead, we are given threadbare offshoots in an attempt to add value and satisfy players who want those staple FPS modes like Control, Capture The Flag, and Deathmatch.

While Walker Assault is quite excellent, I’ve previously stated that it alone doesnot justify a $60 purchase.

Digging deeper, I realized any mode in Battlefront that doesn’t employ hero and vehicle gameplay is merely lackluster soon after its dazzling initial impression fades away. Once again, Battlefront is more of a step backward for shooters, even if it stands as a terrific Star Wars experience.

What you get out of Star Wars Battlefront depends entirely on what you expect from it. If you’re looking to capture that feeling of playing in a beautifully-realized Star Wars sandbox, albeit one lacking variety and depth, EA DICE nails it. If you’re looking for a shooter stacked with substance, engrossing character progression, and endlessly addictive gameplay to sink your teeth into for the months ahead, Star Wars Battlefront misses the mark."



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Nwahs
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re: A great, honest, fair review of Battlefront

It does make me want to quickly re-evaluate if I'm going to keep my $70 purchase of the digital deluxe knowing I may not play it a ton with my love of SWTOR... but so far I don't regret it (note, I've only played a total of like 3 hours between my 45 minutes last night and what I got to do with the open beta).

 

In the end I'm happy I have a Star Wars shooter that lets me fly X-Wings, but perhaps I'd be better suited continuing to play Battlefield 4 or pick up a new PC shooter if I'm really in the mood.  I'll have to keep playing to find out.



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re: A great, honest, fair review of Battlefront

Thanks for posting this.  Now I am definitely going to wait for the price to fall before investing in this one.  It sounds like a great game that just has some flaws that wouldn't be as big a deal at a lower price point.

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re: A great, honest, fair review of Battlefront

Draelenn-TacoHell wrote:

Thanks for posting this.  Now I am definitely going to wait for the price to fall before investing in this one.  It sounds like a great game that just has some flaws that wouldn't be as big a deal at a lower price point.

 Same here.  That plus I'll have to buy an XBone.

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re: A great, honest, fair review of Battlefront

Is it the greatest FPS ever...nope, but...what it is...is FPS Star Wars goodness. It's still a lot of fun. The environments are amazing. The action is crazy. If you want to experience what it might be like to have fought in those battles...this is the game for you. I played about 5 hours so far and really enjoyed it. It can be frustrating at times because you die a lot. It's not like other FPS games where you can camp and go on huge kill streaks. I feel like this game is meant to play with a bunch of friends online and the learning curve isn't as steep as some other FPS games.



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Nwahs
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re: A great, honest, fair review of Battlefront

I definitely will pick it up again at some point!



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re: A great, honest, fair review of Battlefront

If it wasn't for Fallout 4 and SWTOR I'd be all over this but I have a very limited gaming time budget right now.



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re: A great, honest, fair review of Battlefront

Yeah, I returned mine. Just couldnt justify it with the little time I have for gaming now. When I'm back home I'll just steal some time on my brother's XBox or something for the experience of playing it.



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