Few franchises, if any, have the type of universal recognition and household acceptance as "Star Wars" does. With the "Star Wars" brand under the new ownership of Disney and the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (aka Episode VII) hitting theaters on December 18th, it makes a lot of sense that EA would release one of the most beloved "Star Wars" video game franchises of all time around a month prior. "Star Wars: Battlefront" and "Star Wars: Battlefront II" were both instant classics for the Playstation 2 and satisfied "Star Wars" nerds across the world with highly original gameplay that provided unlimited fun.
EA's "Star Wars Battlefront" does a great job of capturing the "Star Wars" universe, and you can tell the developers spent countless hours using new photogrammetry technology just to fully capture the "Star Wars" universe in-game. So when I heard that DICE and EA were bringing the Battlefront experience to the next-generation of consoles I was beyond excited.
And when the day finally arrived and I was able to play it, I was beyond disappointed. I was borderline melancholy. Provoking a reaction somewhat like this.
Now, before all the "Star Wars" fanboys and fangirls jump to the immediate defense of an attack on their beloved franchise, I'd like to say a few positive things about this game. EA's "Stars Wars Battlefront" is one of the most, if not the most, graphically impressive video games to ever come to Xbox One and PS4.
As I mentioned earlier, developer's DICE spent a lot of time using this photogammetry technology in order to recreate original models and filming locations in the game. The result is one of the most visually stunning experience seen to date on the next-generation system and shows the true capability of its visual potential. So hats off to DICE for that. I also want to note that the sound design is undeniably epic and stands proudly as one of the few redeeming qualities about this game. Yet, allow me explain to you why Star Wars Battlefront fails as a video game in this day and age.
Firstly, this is "Star Wars" we're talking about people. Freaking. Star. Wars. The sounds, the locations, and everything about the "Star Wars" brand are nostalgic. So while I do congratulate DICE, I truly do, for perfecting these particular parts of the game; these parts of the game had to be perfect given what they had to work with. If they hadn't absolutely nailed this in its entirety, I would have lost all respect for the entire company.
Secondly, there is no single-player campaign. If you played this title's predecessors, both of which had single-player campaigns, you probably understand why this is so frustrating. Modes such as "Galactic Conquest, Instant Action" and the "Campaign" itself made up comprehensive single-player to accompany the online multiplayer mode, rounding out the originals as a complete experience. But DICE didn't even try here. They apparently didn't want to be bothered with giving Battlefront fans what made the game great in the first place. Instead they spoon feed us waves of enemies in modes such as "Survival" (AKA horde mode) on various planets, and call it a single-player experience. Also, the "Battles" mode of the game is essentially just offline multiplayer. So to take away such crucial part of this game's identity and give us nothing to fill the void comes across as just plain lazy in my opinion.
On top of that, the multiplayer isn't even that good. Ok, we knew coming into this that there was no single-player, fine. People still took a risk on this game because it has the Battlefront name and was developed by DICE, whom are known for extensive multi-player modes in their games. But what we get here is shockingly minimal for the money that people spent on this game. Nine modes? Seriously DICE? Is this a game that you want people to play for a week and then throw in the garbage, or keep for years on end like the originals? Apparently DICE and EA chose the former. On top of the diminutive amount of content for online multi-player, there is a huge issue of balance in this game. For instance in the "Walker Assault Mode," where the scenario is that the Rebels are throwing everything they have at a monstrous AT-AT in hopes of halting the Empire's advance on certain planets before they destroy their shield generators. Sounds like Star Wars right? Right. Yet the only problem here is that the Rebels seemingly lose every single time because they don't get access to anti-vehicle weapons (unless a high-level player) and the Empire has a whole slew of vehicles that players use to absolutely decimate Rebel defenses. It's all out of whack honestly, and when you play as the Rebels you really just get frustrated after while and refrain from doing so even if they're your preferred faction. So there's a huge lack of content accompanied by an absence of balance in online matches that greatly hurt the game in the end.
For some reason, EA abolished the class system. In the previous "Star Wars Battlefront" games, you could pick what class you wanted to play as when you entered the battlefield and this allowed players to each contribute a particular set of skills to the massive battle that was ensuing. There would be snipers on ridges, engineers to repair droid machines and vehicles as well as heal teammates and heavy infantry troops would bring the firepower with their super destructive rocket launchers: it was freaking epic. The best part about it was that it fostered teamwork because in order to achieve your objectives you had to coordinate and strategize with your faction. But what did we get in the place of this already proven-workable model? Some very bare-bones game design people, very bare-bones. In EA's "Star Wars Battlefront," we have a new system called "Star cards." They're really quite simple to explain. Ready? Here we go. You have a three card load out for special abilities when you go into game modes and you unlock more cards as your level progresses. Boom. Done. It's really that simplistic, and its simplicity is pretty insulting to be honest with you. There's no specialization here as most everyone will select the pretty much the same "Star Cards." (you literally can't play this game without the jetpack Star Card, for instance) This makes you feel un-special in the grand scheme of things, and makes your role in this war effort less integral in these massive battles.
The fourth and final reason that this game pisses me off the most is really straightforward. There are no space battles. There are no space battles. I repeat, no space battles. If you don't know or haven't played the space battles from the previous "Battlefront's," go do it, report back to me and try to tell me that you didn't have crazy amounts of fun while keeping a straight face on. I triple dare you. Space battles were literally the bread n' butter of the "Battlefront" games in my opinion, and the audacity DICE would have to cut it out during the development process is just such a shame. Instead, there is a mode called "Fighter Squadron" which pits Imperial and Rebel airships against one another in surface level dogfights. There's only two things to do in this mode: eliminate other fighters and shoot down transport ships. That's it. Oh, and occasionally the Millennium Falcon or Slave I, the iconic ships of the heroes from the movies, will enter the battlefield to absolutely obliterate everyone in their path and go on ridiculous kill streaks. It's heartbreaking to say the least.
Let me conclude by saying that this game absolutely fails in recreating and expanding on the two incredibly memorable "Battlefront" predecessors. EA's "Star Wars Battlefront" feels like a video game that was rushed and relies heavily on its "Star Wars" brand and "Battlefront" license to propel it. Yet, this game just feels incomplete. In its current state, it's barely worth about one-third of its retail value – which is $60. So if you bought this a full value or purchased the season pass as well, I'm sorry, but you were swindled by EA. It's very disappointing for me as a "Star Wars" fan to see how this game was mishandled and pushed out the door to freaking soon just to build excitement around the new trilogy. I think that the "Star Wars" universe is a great setting to base your game in if you're lucky to acquire it. But the final product that we got, "EA Star Wars Battlefront", fails to function as a great video game like the titles before did. If you want to play this game to get your Star Wars fix, I strongly recommend that you wait until the price drops in spring, because this game definitely isn't worth what they're charging right now.
In the meantime, play these masterpieces instead.
