Star Wars Battlefront

The Defence
The Prosecution
AMD equivalent
AMD Radeon R9 290
Star Wars Battlefront games were beloved by many and hated by few. A lot of people were waiting for a third instalment that, to the devastation of fans, went down with Pandemic Studios. Recently some gameplay footage surfaced of what could have been Battlefront 3 but that was that, some old builds of a long dead game. But it’s Star Wars and probably no one expected the Battlefront series to stay dead. As soon as Disney nabbed Lucas Arts, Electronic Arts secured the rights to any and all SW games and announced/teased revival and a reboot of Star Wars Battlefront (no number or subtitle.)
One and a half years after its initial reveal the finished game is almost here. Some controversial design decisions have been announced and lots of excited but ultimately sceptical people are waiting and wondering how the game will turn out. The company to bring the new Battlefront to life is none other than DICE. You can feel their experience with the Battlefield series transferred here very nicely but to say that it is just another Battlefield game just set in the Star Wars universe would be wrong.
This year’s Battlefront, just like Battlefield games is a multiplayer focused game with additional co-op element. There will be no single player campaign though. The battles you fight range from infantry only to full warlike battles with infantry, vehicles and heroes duking it out on the same battlefield. Unlike Battlefield though the game feels much more casual and accessible but in a good way. Weapons, gadgets and mechanics are very straightforward with things doing exactly what you expect them to do without “hidden” features or abilities. The game is purely skill based with less of an importance on how well you know all the kinks. Obviously knowing the maps is advantageous but the skill gap between veteran players newbies will be much smaller compared to something like Battlefield. To progress to the veteran status, gaining new weapons and gadgets you will need time. Levelling here is handled pretty much like in any other game: shoot things – earn experience points. After each match your earned points will be converted into currency Hardline style where, if you have a high enough level you can buy shiny new equipment to help you shoot more things. The disappointing, yet unsurprising thing is that there is no customization outside your loadout. You can select only your weapon and 3 gadgets while getting the 4th gadget/ability in the field. One of the things that caused an outrage is the removal of the server browser. The game relies purely on matchmaking. So far it worked quite well with the game placing you in a match pretty much instantly though issues when the game launches would not surprise. The environment that we played was pretty much issue free but it was controlled with limited players having access to the game. The first thing you will witness in the game is the music. Obviously Star Wars has a lot of iconic melodies and they are being used to full extent here. The same goes for all the audio in game. It’s fantastic. AT-ATs, AT-STs, X-wings, A-wings, TIE fighters, blasters and lightsabers sound perfect and put you right into the middle of Star Wars universe. Visually the game is stunning as well. Saying that the game looks good is a gross understatement. Some levels look particularly photorealistic reminding more of a pre-rendered cutscene than a playable environment. And when the battle starts, blaster shots and explosions start peppering the screen, your hart will melt. Star Wars Battlefront is a very enjoyable experience. It should leave you satisfied as a Star Wars fan and as a gamer. Feature wise it is a bit behind the previous instalments so the fans of Battlefront series might be disappointment but I’ll reserve my judgement for when the full game is out. There is a lot more to see and experience and I expect DICE to tweak, fix and implement a lot of small changes to the game according to the user feedback from the ongoing open/closed betas. Most of the issues are just irritating little niggles but a smooth experience adds a lot to overall enjoyment. The game is out in over a little more than a month, on November 17/20th.
Posted 17-10-2015, 23:14
I think thats a question on everyone's mind
Posted 09-10-2015, 00:25
But can you kill Jar-Jar?