I like Battlefront, but it could do with a bit more variety – a sentiment shared among the game’s more vocal player base. For the sake of forty quid, they say, it offers far less value than some of this year’s top releases. In truth, there’s a part of me that agrees with this view. Sure, in comparison to gargantuan open world titles like Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3, Battlefront feels like somewhat of a raw deal, especially with its lack of single player.
However, the argument surrounding “value” and whether some games deserve their steep price tags is a misleading one. There is no set average for how long a game should be or how much needs to be packed onto a disc. Although fans will always want more of something that’s good, Battlefront has provided me with just enough content to sate my hunger for big, nostalgia-infused space battles.
With the Battle of Jakku now available to all for free – read more on that here – the game currently holds ten modes in total. Nine of them were available at launch, while the tenth, Turning Point, a freebie to get fans pumped for upcoming film. That is, in my opinion, a fairly hefty number, and represents far more modes than I’m willing to cycle through on a regular basis.
Yes, Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops III provide a slightly larger selection, yet some of these modes, like Squad Deathmatch and Mercenary Moshpit, are derivative and lack originality.
I’m not saying Battlefront’s spread of modes are flawless by comparison. There are one or two bad eggs nestled in amongst the others, yet each offers a distinct in-game experience, sometimes iterating on existing modes in clever ways.
Cargo is probably the best example of this. Two teams, positioned at opposite ends of the arena, fight to secure the enemy cargo and bring it back to their base. It’s Capture the Flag stripped back to it’s simplest form, and should be instantly recognisable to anyone who’s played a multiplayer shooter before.
In fact it’s probably even simpler than that, as you don’t need your home flag to be secure in order to score with the objective, removing that tense stand-off. As long as you deliver the package back to base you’ll score, yanking the score line one point in your direction.
Despite this simplicity, I find myself playing Cargo almost as much as any other game mode. This is somewhat perplexing given that I’ll normally avoid an FPS’s Capture the Flag mode like the plague, although it may have more do with Battlefront’s code design than anything else.
Two modes that also benefit from some subtle DICE tweaking are Drop Zone and Droid Run. These are relatively similar to Call of Duty’s popular Domination and Headquarters modes, challenging two teams to capture and holding down certain objectives, but with the aforementioned DICE twist on them. Droid Run see your three targets constantly in transit, trundling from one area to the next, while Drop Zone indicates to players where the next objective will land with a plume of smoke as it falls from the sky.
Again, when combined with Battlefront’s pared back gunplay, these subtleties start to add more to one’s enjoyment. That said, modes like Supremacy and the formulaic killfest that is Blast have nothing particularly new or interesting on show. It’s perhaps no coincidence then that these two rank within my least favourite.
Even more unconventional are the pair of hero-centric modes on offer. Allowing one (or three) players to assume over-powered avatars adds some real flare to gameplay, regardless of whether you’re the one swinging a lightsaber or trying to gun down a Star Wars icon.
We shouldn’t forget Fighter Squadron either. Although some have been quick to label it as shooting gallery for dummies, plenty have become rather enamoured with it’s dog fight based gameplay.
Variety doesn’t just come down to modes though. There are maps too, which I personally think there are enough of, as well as the smaller, more customizable elements that have become a hallmark of modern multiplayer titles. It’s here that Battlefront stumbles.
For example, I can count the game’s blasters on my fingers, and perks and bonus loadout items are similarly sparse when compared to the competition. However, worst of all are the cosmetic options. Although no one can argue with the level of accuracy and detail that go into some of the character models, a high degree of customization is now expected in multiplayer games. With so many wacky and outlandish character designs tucked away in the Star Wars canon, it’s a shame to see that there is only a handful of head options to separate one player from the next.
It’s this lack of variety that perhaps hurts Battlefront the most. I’m already half way up the Battlefront progression ladder and there’s only a couple of future unlocks I’m even remotely bothered about. Without that metaphorical carrot to entice players, there’s nothing to distract them from the inherent repetition of playing through the same maps and modes over and over again.
Of course, this may be remedied somewhere down the line. DICE has already given players another planet to explore, while debuting one of Battlefront’s more cinematic game modes. As we’ve already discussed, these are fairly fun and substantive additions, predating the (hopefully) more robust premium expansions that make up the season pass.
Combined, these will certainly keep players distracted, though DICE desperately needs to fill in its progression gaps if they want to keep fans transfixed, otherwise they risk players drifting towards other games in the genre.
pdannysan13
So basically it will be worth to be picked up as a GOTY edition ? But will people still be playing it ?
ron_mcphatty
I’d like some sort of complete edition, with offline and split screen versions of absolutely everything, like Battlefront 2 had!
Although I understand the complaints about lack of value from this game, I’d say that there’s sometimes more important factors than quantity. In this case it’s quality, the game is immaculately built, beautiful to look at and rich in Star Wars atmosphere. It makes some of us uber geeks smile ceaselessly and for that I’m happy to have paid my £43.
mclarenrob2
This is an example of graphics not being everything. It’s probably one of the best looking games I’ve played but I havnt been bothered to play it for weeks now.
Robothamster
I’m currently level 26, have a 1.4 kdr which is good for me on an online shooter and I love the game. If it wasn’t starwars and didn’t remind me of playing with my starwars figures as a kid I’d probably be less keen. DICE have totally nailed the atmosphere with the spot on graphics and sounds.
It’s keeping me off Fallout 4 which I’m surprised about.
Not sure about the Season Pass, would love new maps and modes, but even on BF4, 9 times out of 10 I’d just stick to the vanilla maps.
Tony Cawley
It’s the lack of a proper progression that puts me off. You want different classes, abilities, weapons, attachments etc in an fps that are all unlocked through profession and apparently that’s not present in battlefront.
colmshan1990
Yes it is present.
You have to reach a certain level in order to buy such and such a card (perks) or weapons with the credits you earn each match. The same for certain traits (class abilities). No attachments mind you, but this is Star Wars. There are no attachments to add.
Tony Cawley
I’ve heard it’s very light in that regard though. In fact looking at today’s news snatch it says they designed it so an 8 year old could play it. Disregarding how stupid that comment is for a 16 rated game, it shows what I mean. It’s simplified in its progression, which is not appealing to me.
colmshan1990
It’s simplified in that it lets you adjust your playstyle how to want to as you level up, instead of making you do it three times to pad out game time like Destiny.
It’s the far better system for people who prefer choice and not having to relentlessly grind, but ok.
That quote is just silly considering it’s a game which knew from the start what kind of age cert it would get. I doubt it came from somebody actually involved in the game either, a financial executive doesn’t seem like a developer making game design decisions to me.
Avenger
Tony is correct, Battlefront’s progression system is not nearly as complex enough. Yes there are card based powers n weapons to buy, but no classes and no class specific progression trees make the game a bit lacklustre after the modes and maps have been played a few times.
Previous Battlefronts didn’t even have that much in terms of levelling up and progression, but elite weapon enhancements and multiple classes did incredibly well.
colmshan1990
Yes, Battlefront is a breath of fresh air compared to needlessly complex shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield. Stripped down, with brilliant gameplay and immersion. I’m a big fan.
And let’s not forget Destiny either, a game which demands you play it like a career.
BrendanCalls
I find it’s hard to put my finger on what it is about the game that’s missing. The only way to describe it is that everything feels the same.
Each map doesn’t really offer anything different than another map, large am out of open space, a large amount of inside space, a few bottlenecks and that’s it.
That said, it’s freaking Star Wars and I’ve been loving it. So, I guess Dice have done what I expect of them. Make a game I enjoy playing. In fact as I write this I just got a notification that my brother has logged in to battlefront, so were…I’m off to kill some rebels :-)
coruscant
I’m enjoying it, but I almost wish they will release Battlefront 1 or 2 for PS4. Unlikely, but it’s one of the few re-releases I’d pay for.