Star Wars: Battlefront is an interesting experience to say the least. On one hand it’s one of the best Star Wars games out there but on the other hand, when you compare it to other shooters released this year, it lags far behind. This experience is designed for casual players who wish to play a standard shooter once in a while. If you’re expecting innovation that furthers the first-person shooter genre, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Overall, Star Wars: Battlefront is a good game that is let down by its desire to visually capture Star Wars more than its focus on gameplay.
Star Wars: Battlefront has a multitude of modes but most of them at their core are basically the same. There are over ten modes but it feels like there are only two core modes. Capture and defend some objective and deathmatch. Truthfully, I didn’t find much enjoyment in the modes with smaller player counts. It just felt like I was playing Call of Duty with laser blasters. The real meat is in Walker Assault, large scale battles with forty players that feel frantic and chaotic, giving you a rush of excitement. I loved this mode. However it’s nothing original because it’s basically just Rush from Battlefield. None of the modes really stuck out to me, it all just felt like modes from Battlefield with a new coat of paint. I realize that the developers have a long history with the Battlefield franchise but surely they could’ve introduced some innovation.
There is another set of modes called Missions which are basically tutorials and a horde mode. I actually got a bit excited when I started playing the tutorial missions because they were fun little set pieces against computer-controlled opponents. The best one is probably the one where you get on a speeder bike and chase Rebels down through Endor similar to the scene in Return of the Jedi. Unfortunately, there are only five tutorial missions and they’re only about five minutes each and they don’t have a whole lot of replay value. The horde mode is incredibly generic and boring since the gameplay is so weak. You’re just sitting there shooting anything that moves for half an hour and they aren’t remotely difficult because the computer-controlled enemies are so poor. Most of them just walk into your line of fire or don’t even attempt to move when you shoot at them. Other games make it a point to stress how advanced the enemy algorithms are but in Star Wars: Battlefront they seem to be an afterthought.
Star Wars: Battlefront is a gorgeous game and the love the developer put into it is evident. Unfortunately, the majority of the time the title feels limited due to its maps and weapons. The guns don’t have a satisfying kick to them and feel like the same weapon with varying rates of fire. Nowadays, the movement system in shooters allows one to clamber, execute moves like ground pound, and charge at foes. I kept on wishing there was at least clamber in the game because I found myself getting stuck on rocks or underneath slightly taller platforms that I would have to go all the way around to climb onto. This makes for a title that has set paths. It eliminates the ability to surprise enemies in the way you want and that is essential in a shooter wishing for longevity. I always knew where the enemies would be coming from and where I should go to find them. In other shooters I’m always checking my back but in this game it was all about moving forward and shooting. For someone that craves excitement, this became rather mundane after a while.
For example, ground pound is an ability in Halo 5 that lets you eliminate enemies from the air, but it also can be used to traverse the environment by focusing on an area further in the distance. The charge and dash abilities are essential to avoid enemy fire and add another layer to the experience. As mentioned already, Star Wars: Battlefront is just about shooting along a set path that the game determines for you. Additionally, many levels are flat. There is a lack of verticality in many places that I found puzzling. Layers add to the complexity of the game and make it more unpredictable hence more fun. I understand that Star Wars: Battlefront wishes to capture the feel of the original games and the film battles but it doesn’t mean you have to stick to outdated mechanics that don’t evolve the shooter genre.
The lack of a single-player component is also puzzling. I realize that tacking on a story like Titanfall isn’t the way to approach a game but Star Wars lore is so rich and the developers had the possibility to tell so many stories from the perspective of the Rebels or Stormtroopers. It’s a missed opportunity. Nowadays a lot of shooters forgo story but I feel that it’s an important part of any game. Not incorporating it into a title set in this engaging universe that has so many amazing possibilities is somewhat unforgivable.
When I first loaded up Star Wars: Battlefront, I was excited and felt immersed in the setting. However, after a few matches, the feeling wore off quickly. For those gamers who wish to jump into this title once in a while with friends, it’ll be a great experience. However, if you wish to continue playing this, you’re left with the painful realization that this is a mediocre shooter that completely ignores all innovations made in the genre over the past two years. The only element it incorporates is a jet pack that hurls you forward. You have to time the jump just right because if you don’t and miss the ledge you’ll have to wait for it to cool down and then run around and try the jump again. I don’t understand why they incorporated a jet pack but left out the ability to clamber. This just leads to frustrating moments when traversing maps like Tatooine that offer some verticality.
Aside from Walker Assault, the only mode I really liked was Fighter Squadron where you’re placed inside a ship and have to take down enemies and protect assets. This has to be one of the best additions to the game and is somewhat unique because I haven’t seen aerial combat done this well for many years now. I just wish there was more of it and we had the ability to customize aspects of our ships and weapons. Maybe incorporate a little bit of Elite: Dangerous in there. I might just be wishing for a separate game at this point but why tease us with something so excellent but make it so limited? This seems to be a resonating theme in Star Wars: Battlefront.
While the graphics are gorgeous, the textures can be a bit rough on Xbox One. When you go too close to an object in first-person mode you can see the blurriness. I don’t like to discuss this aspect of games because each title has its own art style but there is significant aliasing present here that is noticeable and distracting. The image lacks clarity and can only be corrected by altering the sharpness of your television and creating false detail through the set’s software. I would understand this if the frame rate remained stable but that also fluctuates especially when there are a lot of explosions going on around you. I experienced the same issue in Battlefield 4 and Battlefield: Hardline but didn’t say anything because I trusted that the developers would figure this out. Unfortunately, it still remains a problem in my opinion and needs to be shared. The muddiness is most apparent when you’re looking at gun models and notice how they seem hazy.
Star Wars: Battlefront certainly isn’t the game you were hoping for. It’s a generic shooter with a Star Wars skin slapped on top. There’s very little originality to be found here. It’s not a bad game but it’s not worth $60 or paying an additional $50 for the season pass. The more casual audience may find this game enjoyable but people expecting a solid hardcore Star Wars shooter will feel underwhelmed. As a fan of the previous game on the original Xbox, I was sorely disappointed.
Don’t get me wrong, Star Wars: Battlefront is fun in short bursts but it has flaws that can’t be overlooked. I know many of you played the open beta and enjoyed it. It’s designed to be a casual experience but in doing so it loses a lot. Based on the amount of fun I had during the first few hours, I can give it a relatively high score but the issue is replayability here and the desire to come back for more. That’s lacking in this title and is essential when it comes to a multiplayer-only shooter.
Summary
I could go on and talk about the lack of built-in voice chat and how it’s impossible to coordinate with your team but there really isn’t a need for that in this title. I could also talk about the clunky animations some heroes like Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine have but that isn’t the real issue. The issue is that this game plays it safe and doesn’t offer anything new in its core shooting gameplay. It ignores progress made in the genre and that’s most upsetting. Casual players will have a blast but it really isn’t for the rest of us in my opinion.
Cade and Xian is a shared byline ICXM used for 1 article co-authored in 2015 covering game reviews. See the individual contributor profiles for the writers behind these collaborations.