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.
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