Star Wars Battlefront Review

Star Wars Battlefront (PC, PS4, Xbox One) (Rated Teen)

If I could think of a single defining line to write about the new Battlefront; it would have to be something like... "Few games are as refined as the newly re-imagined Battlefront is." Of all the things that crossed my mind while spending time in my favorite galaxy far far away. The one that kept penetrating my mind; was just how refined this game is. It is not as clumsy or random as some other online competitive shooters; it is a refined game from a more civilized time.

 Unlike other online competitive shooters; no matter what you're doing in Battlefront you always feel like your apart of something larger than yourself. With large scale on foot warfare, space battles, lone blaster battles, and epic lightsaber duels I felt like I was finally in my favorite universe. Normally when I play these kind of games; I focus on my achievements, my kills and what I did in a match. Yet, in Battlefront I felt engaged in the large-scale conflict at hand. Each match has a satisfying pace that makes the battle feel entertaining and rewarding no matter what happens. This makes combat against other players even more intense. I loved the satisfaction of being engaged in an energetic battle that felt like it was taken straight out of the classic films.

Of course, the game could not capture the feel of the classic trilogy without the environments, weapons, costumes and music of the films. Everything looks and sounds like it was imported direct from the "Holy Trinity". I also loved that we get to see props that received little screen time. The blaster variety is huge and the weapons feel, look and sound fantastic; but it's the "childhood toy-like fun factor" that makes combat such a blast. Still, without proper balancing, the game could not be as fun as it is. 

Online shooters are not created equally; few that I have played were as well balanced as this game is. If the game lacked balance combat would be frustrating; as opposed to the exciting fun it is. Making a shooter where you face A.I as opposed to real people; is much easier because you have full control over the experience. But, balancing competitive player interaction is a challenging issue to tackle for the best developers. Which is why I was unsure how this game would turn out. The developers were previously responsible for Battlefield 3 and 4, and while they were very fun online shooters; the balancing never felt quite right. Yet it is refreshing to see that they took all the knowledge from those games, and made such vast improvements in this game. This is Star Wars people, if there is ever a time that you polish things to a ridiculous extent; it is when you work on this kind of property.

And that kind of commitment to the fans created a terrific experience. It was easy to be skeptical of every choice they made; after all, as a fan I have been disappointed before. Seeing them make such bold choices worried me. This is a property near and dear to my heart, and this is the first big game to be made after Disney "became it's master". So the stakes and pressure were "higher than I was", while I enjoyed this symphony of a game. Those bold choices, such as leaving out a true story mode paid off far greater than I thought possible. That kind of choice takes balls, because the story mode is essentially a safety net.

No matter what anyone says, one of the major reasons for this game's existence is to be pure fan service. It has to please the fan's first and foremost. That is why you create a licensed product in the first place. You have a built-in audience, and if you fail them, your game will tank. No matter how fun the game truly is if it fails to please the fans; it will always be a missed opportunity. This game plays better than any recent shooter of its kind that I have played. But, that is not the most important part. Especially given the kind of game this is, how can you capture the "magic of Star Wars" in a competitive shooter? You create modes that are not only fun, but feel like a Star Wars game should. The variety is perfect. You get to experience epic battles on the ground and in the air, fighting alongside or against your favorite heroes and villains. Which would be enough; but you will also experience the thrill of being a hero, or indulge in the pleasure of being a villain.  

Honestly, I am not sure myself why this works. Yet, it simply does. I rarely enjoy competitive shooters; not because "I do not like them" unbalanced competitive shooters are simply more frustrating than they are fun. This game has yet to frustrate me, and I'm a decent player at best, trust me. Which means this game managed to be something; I seriously doubted it could. A great competitive shooter, that is, more importantly, the best Star Wars experience of the past decade.

I'm sad that there is not a story mode, yet it truly does not need one. My reasoning for wanting a story mode came from "a lack of faith". I did not expect this style of game, to be the kind of Star Wars experience I wanted. This game has great content on or offline. The offline stuff is admittedly, nowhere near as good as it is online. Yet, this game was meant to be played online, they left out a story mode because this game was never meant to be about that. This game is meant to capture the epic battles of Star Wars, and to make you feel like you're in this incredible world. Star Wars Battlefront succeeds in being that, and so much more. I am not sad however at the lack of content, because Battlefront does not lack content. I am choosing to address one criticism that honestly feels egotistical and baseless. It will take you 20 hours to have done and seen everything the game has to offer. Yet when you have, the fun does not suddenly come to a halt. The content is plentiful, but most importantly there is never a dip in the quality of the content. If you can not appreciate a game that is this fun and well made, after you have seen everything for the first time; then you just do not enjoy the game. It is such a shame that the line between a bad game and a game that everyone enjoys, is so blurred.