Star Wars Battlefront Review
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Star Wars Battlefront has finally arrived on the PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. The title has been developed by EA Dice and published by Electronic Arts. The game is essentially a first-person and third-person shooter (players can switch from first-person to third-person perspective).
Now just to give players a heads up, Star Wars Battlefront does not contain a single-player story mode. This means that players will need an online connection to get the most out of this title. Apart from lacking a single-player campaign mode, Star Wars Battlefront offers up one of the most authentic Star Wars experiences available on PC and console. From the menus and screen savers… to the musical score and gameplay, Star Wars Battlefront offers players a truly memorable experience.
While an online connection is recommended, Star Wars Battlefront does offer a few modes that can be played offline as well as via split screen. One of the most notable modes for single-player or cooperative gameplay would be Survival mode. Survival mode pits players up against 15 waves of progressively difficult enemies ranging from Stormtroopers, AT-STs, Shocktroopers, camouflaged Shadowtroopers, and even Tie-fighters. While this mode will keep players entertained for a considerable amount of time Star Wars Battlefront truly shines once connected to an online connection.
When it comes to online play, Star Wars Battlefront has a great, although limited, set of maps and modes to play through. At launch, the game came standard with 9 multiplayer modes as well as 13 multiplayer maps – which span across the four planets of Tatooine, Hoth, Endor and Sullust.
When engaging in epic 8-40 player battles across each map, I noticed that the developers had placed in a remarkable amount of time and effort when it came to the visual representation of this title. Each map, planet, character model, weapon and vehicle featured an incredible amount of detail, which ultimately makes Star Wars Battlefront look and feel as authentic as ever.
While impressive visually, Star Wars Battlefront truly shines whilst playing through its most notable modes Walker Assault, Supremacy, and Drop Zone.
Supremacy sees two teams of 20 Vs 20 battle it out in order to see which team can dominate the other by pushing the opposing team off the map. The maps featured in Supremacy are large in scale and also offer players the option to use vehicles such as AT-STs and X-wing Fighters. To win, teams much capture all control points or have the most points before the time expires.
Next up is Walker Assault. In Walker Assault players who choose to side with the Empire must protect AT-AT walkers on their way to destroying the Rebel base. While playing as Rebels players are tasked with activating uplink stations in order to call in a Y-Wing bombing raid that can help take the walkers down. Essentially this also makes the Walker vulnerable for a few seconds, which essentially allows rebels to focus fire on the Walker in order to deal as much damage as possible.
In addition to Walkers the two teams of 20 will essentially go head to head on the ground as well. To add things to the mix the mode also allows for Hero and vehicle pickups. These will allow players to play as, dependent on which side of the force you are on, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Han Solo and Princess Leia, among others. Heroes are much stronger and faster than your traditional ground forces, which makes them much harder to eliminate.
Moving on to Drop Zone. The objective in Drop Zone is for each side (8-players vs 8-players infantry only) to take control of drop pods, which fall onto the map at random. Once a pod has been captured, power ups will be released and a new pod will fall at random somewhere else on the map. The team that claims the most drop pods is crowned the winner. One of the best things about Drop Zone is the fact that players are constantly moving to different sections on the map. This allows players to test out various strategies while exploring different areas of each visually striking map.
Star Wars Battlefront also features a variety of other modes, which include: Fighter Squadron, Cargo, Droid Run, Heroes Vs Villains, Hero Hunt, and Blast. Heroes Vs Villains shows promise; however, larger scale warfare would have made it a much better experience overall. These modes are not entirely bad; however, they do not compare to the highlight modes such as Drop Zone, Supremacy and Walker Assault.
As authentic as this title is, Star Wars Battlefront’s authenticity borders on being overbearing at times. One liners delivered by heroes can come across as being cringe-worthy at times. Additionally, the triumphant sound of the battle anthems feel over used at times.
Conclusion:
Overall, Star Wars Battlefront is one of the most authentic Star Wars experiences on console and PC at the moment. Not only is Star Wars Battlefront visually striking, but it is also fun to play. Granted, there may be no single-player campaign; however, the more notable multiplayer modes such as Walker Assault, Supremacy and Drop Zone will keep you hooked. Yes, Star Wars Battlefront does feature other modes, but they are not as bigger draw cards as the aforementioned modes.
To add to the overall experience, Star Wars Battlefront keeps things fresh by offering a level system that will allow players the opportunity to unlock new weapons and gear via Star Cards.
While Star Wars Battlefront only offers up a handful of content, at launch, the developers have revealed that the game will be expanded upon with DLC content… with the first set of DLC being made available to the public for free.
Star Wars Battlefront was reviewed by Darryl Linington
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