By Jordan Ryder
Disclaimer: Since this was the beta, and not the fully released game, not every aspect of the game was covered.
Now that’s out of the way, Star Wars Battlefront was awesome. I don’t think any Star Wars game (or maybe any other game for that matter) has captured the feeling of being in one of the films so well. Next-generation hardware really did the Battlefront series a favor, because everything looked gorgeous and played smoothly.
I was pleased to see Battlefront was not just a graphical update of the older games and had evolved some new ideas. The battle for Hoth mission is a perfect example. Instead of a simple death match — first side to lose all respawns is defeated — the mission instead centered on the Imperials marching their AT-ATs (giant, nearly invincible walking tanks, go see the movies if you didn’t know that already) to the Rebel base, and the Rebels trying to destroy the AT-ATs. I like that the mission is more complicated than simply shooting the other side.
I also liked the upgrade system, allowing some individual style. I did notice, though, the longer the beta went on, the more difficult matches became. I think it was because everyone was getting upgrades. This isn’t a huge deal, but I can foresee in the full game some initial frustration for players that start playing awhile after launch.
I was initially disappointed there weren’t any AI controlled enemies to make the battles feel bigger. Then I played the horde mode and discovered the AI is really dumb. I enjoyed battling player enemies way more than the AI, so I’d want their IQ raised significantly before being included in normal matches. Criticisms I found floating around the Internet: spawning and Hoth mission.
I personally never had the bad spawns people have been describing, but spawning far away from action seems to be common. Or spawning in on a teammate and being killed immediately (this I had happen a few times). I think it will be an easy fix by launch, probably with fixed spawns points around the map.
Others have cried foul on the Hoth mission, complaining it is unbalanced. They’re right, it is, and it’s supposed to be. That the mission heavily favors the Imperials means winning as the Rebels is an achievement and losing is not really a big deal. Besides, individual performances and enjoyment of playing matter, a team winning or losing the match rarely does.
Based on what I played in the beta, Battlefront exceeds expectations. I didn’t think it be as good looking and immersive as it is, and I worried it would be a Star Wars reskinning of the Battlefield series, but it plays very differently. I am looking forward to this being released.
Visit dailyiowan.com to see a video of Star Wars Battlefront beta.
