REVIEW – STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT RE-VISITED


Game: Star Wars Battlefront
Genre: FPS
Developer: EA DICE
Rating: T
Platforms:                              

  ps4      xbone    windows

As a long time Star Wars fan, it was to my great excitement that just over a year ago, I, like many others, was fortunate enough to partake on the Star Wars Battlefront Beta. With my at-times slow internet, I finally downloaded and started it up and was in awe seeing the logo pop up on my screen, with that ever iconic soundtrack rolling in the background. I must admit it was a great feeling.

From the moment I pressed play I was hooked, with the stunning visuals of an AT-AT stomping around on the planet Hoth, to Darth Vader making it his mission to teach you the true power of the dark side of the force; all followed by a tremendous score and sound effects that are second to none.

Unfortunately, as this was the beta, this is where the good times ended; the fact that you could only really play two of the now many maps, not to mention the server issues that were accruing almost every time you searched for a game, pushed me to the limits of my decision to purchase the game at release.

 

Skip forward to a few days ago, I was on my PC having a look for some Black Friday specials when I thought it would be a good idea to turn on my PS4.  There it was, Battlefront, and its normally incredibly high priced season pass, on special.  Obviously without fail it went straight into the cart and the 35Gb download commenced.  As soon as I turned it on, I once again felt that same rush of euphoria only this time it the feeling was intensified upon the realization that I was now able to choose from a great selection of maps and game play styles inaccessible before.  Once again I was hooked.

11bespin outer-rimdeath-star  rogue-one

My very first mission, to my surprise, begun with an X-Wing battling Tie Fighters in space, in an attempt to take down key points on a star destroyer.  From there, we had to push our way through the depths of the Death Star to rescue our life companion R2-D2, and as if my inner geek wasn’t already impressed, I was able to do this as Luke Skywalker, after picking up a hero token.  The mission then continues back in space trying to clear a path for our X-Wings final assault on the Death Star….. then it happens; the impossible shot that could have only been fired by someone who is strong with the force.

The game offers the ability to be able to take control of an ever increasing roster of heroes including Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca, among others, to taking to the skies in an X-Wing, Tie Fighter or even the Millennium Falcon.  Following this you can jump onto a Speeder Bike on Endor and see just how well your reaction time really is or stomp along in a giant AT-AT or its little brother the AT-ST.  For true fans of the Star Wars franchise there is very little you cannot do.

There is a dark side to this game.  In my limited playtime, I have already come across certain unlocks that require a ridiculous amount of play time to unlock and of course the fact that there was an ability to remove certain non essential aspects of the game, to then add some kind of single player campaign to then fully encapsulate the overall Star Wars immersion.  It must also be pointed out that as this game is now a year old and joining the fight a year later, will leave you at a disadvantage.  For example people outranking you in regards to upgraded weaponry and the knowledge of drops throughout the map, making it at times difficult to keep up.

Conclusion

I like many others was a little disappointed with the small pickings and then terrible server issues the beta had to offer, which forced us to overlook such a rich and immersive game and with other titles taking light away, at $58 (Black Friday Special) including season pass on the PSN (in Australia) Star Wars Battlefront is definitely worth another look.  Also I must state that gamer’s who have purchased the game on PC have still been having issue in finding a game, due to low server volumes.  As a PS4 player however, I have yet to encounter any server issues.

Disclaimer: This review is based on personal opinion

Platform we played on: PS4

Game Score: 7/10

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