Star Wars Battlefront Beta - First Impressions - Preview
by Brandon J. Wysocki , posted on 09 October 2015 / 8,805 Views
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.” The intriguing line delivered by Kylo Ren’s talking figure certainly applies to me when it comes to getting my hands on the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront. Now, having played the beta in the comfort of my own home, I feel compelled to share my initial thoughts on the title.
I’ll cut right to the chase on an important point. Being the Star Wars nerd (or would it be geek?) that I am, I question my ability to appraise this game objectively. From my baseless dreams of what the next entry in the Star Wars series might have looked like during the seventh generation of consoles, to rumors and eventually the leaked footage of what was once meant to be the next installment (it looked great to me!), to the eventual official teaser of this game, I have been eagerly awaiting a new Star Wars console title.
Upon loading up the game, the score immediately stood out to me. Much of it sounds new, but it fits all the same, and helps to set the stage. In its current form, the start menu is pretty basic, but what does stand out are some of the titles of the multiplayer game modes. Most of them are not playable in the beta, but names such as “Cargo” and “Droid Run” manage to stir up memories and spark the imagination.
As it is, three games modes are available to play. “Survival” is a fairly simple and straight forward offline mode where you fight against waves of enemies. It provides a quick and easy way to get a feel for the basics of the game, but I don’t see much use for it beyond that. A nice feature is the inclusion of split-screen co-op.
Beyond that, there is the heart of the game - multiplayer. The two playable multiplayer game types were “Drop Zone” and “Walker Assault”. In Drop Zone, two teams fight for control over escape pods as they fall to planet’s surface. It’s frenetic and fun, but it only kept my interest for a short while.
I have thus far been most impressed with Walker Assault. To me, it’s very reminiscent of Rush mode in the Battlefield series. In the beta, this mode takes place on Hoth, with the Empire marching two AT-ATs toward the Rebels’ shield generator. As they march forward, the Rebels can activate two relays to call for air support. If successful, the AT-ATs' shields will be temporarily dropped, allowing the Rebels to inflict damage on them for the period. The Empire can disrupt those relays, however, and continue moving towards their objective.
It reminded me of Rush in that you push the Rebels back to new sets of relays a few times until it finally comes down to victory for one side or the other. I definitely found this mode the most compelling of the three presently available.
One of the last titbits of information I gathered during my time with the beta is the all too familiar less-than-1080p resolution for the two consoles (PC is not inherently restricted, as is also typical). With the Xbox One apparently natively displaying the game at 720p, and the PS4 at 900p, before being upgraded by the system itself, I read one article that described the Xbox One version as blurry. Numbers tend not to lie, so I trust that the Xbox version is not as crisp as the PS4 version, and the PC version is presumably better than either console.
But playing it on the Xbox, I was immediately very pleased with the quality of the graphics. Nearly all of the footage I had witnessed up to this point had been running on a PlayStation 4 or PC, so I feared that the Xbox version would not be nearly as impressive as what I had seen, but it fully looked the part. The lighting and textures look terrific. The snow on Hoth stands out for its lifelike clumps and random sparkles as you move around. The armor of the Stormtroopers is also notably convincing.
However, graphics and audio (which is Star Wars through and through) are all for naught in a videogame if the gameplay is lackluster. I experienced hiccups such as the occasional noticeable drop in framerate, but overall the gameplay is very smooth. That said, ultimately, the gameplay feels very average and “safe” to me, and I had hoped for more.
There’s a certain arcade-esque and shallow feel to the game. I know there will be more customization options in the full game, or at least I hope there will, but it looks destined to pale in comparison to something like Battlefield in terms of gameplay. Overall, I think my main concern with the game is it stands in the beta is that is lacks gravity, and even to some extent intensity.
In many ways Star Wars Battlefront reminds me Titanfall. With its emphasis on multiplayer, and even in the way the games look, play, and feel, the two are pretty similar. Even the fantastic environments and set-piece events that surround the map evoke Titanfall, with Star Destroyers and various Rebel ships hovering overhead.
It is pretty spectacular; those set pieces, even if they are combined with a fairly plain FPS foundation, combined with the graphics to suck me into the Star Wars universe. In what look like assets borrowed from the Lego Star Wars games, or Disney Infinity 3.0, the power-ups and extra abilities scattered across the maps are nothing more than bright, floating, rotating pick-ups. There are so many ways that they could have implemented the same mechanic in a more sophisticated and fitting way that I cannot begin to fathom how the developers decided on this current method. It’s a glaring low point for me.
On a semi-related note, those pretty sparkling pick-ups are how you gain the right to control a “hero” or fly a vehicle. And because of that, in game, your character just takes a knee, closes its eyes, and seemingly just imagines him or herself as Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker, or that they’re in a ship flying over the battle. It’s another strange choice that doesn’t jive well at all with the rest of the game.
In my first match, I started as the Empire on Hoth. I rounded the perimeter of the map, hoping to flank the Rebel scum who resisted us. Suddenly, I came to a familiar-looking, icy hanger housing Rebel ships. As I would in other games like this, I looked around for an unused ship that I could borrow from the enemy and use against them. But they were all unused… and unusable. Silly me, I should have been looking for the flashy spinning neon sign in the shape of a snowspeeder!
As the game seems to share so much with Titanfall, I feel as though EA Dice would have been better served adopting some of that game's more immersive gameplay decisions. Perhaps a timer and/or score requirement to unlock a hero. Or maybe actual vehicles representing the vehicles players can utilize, rather than a coin that suddenly and inconceivably warps you into one.
In my brief time with the beta for Star Wars Battlefront I’ve been mostly pleased and entertained. Some design and gameplay decisions are less than ideal, though, and overall they serve to give the game more of a cheap, quick fix feel. This does not strike me as a game that I’m going to sink more than 100 hours into, unlocking bonus weapons and accessories.
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Brandon J. Wysocki is a contributing writer for VGChartz. You're invited to contact Brandon (username SpaceLegends) in the comments below or through private messages on VGChartz, or even at his barely ever used and effectively dormant Twitter account @BrandonJWysocki.
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In the current state, I'm not really a fan. I'm holding off until it's out of beta, though. I wanted Battlefront. Not Battlefield: Star Wars.
like it was ever different
It's been so long since I've played the originals, it's hard for me to make comparison. I myself like the idea of Battlefield: Star Wars, I think what bothers me is that it isn't quite that, or revolutionary, or anything particularly unique in any way. It's a rather generic shooter with a Star Wars skin. I do enjoy playing it, but somehow I still feel underwhelmed.
I hate how the game feels and I prefer the Pandemic Games BF series. The movement and gunplay feels wrong like copy-paste from Battlefield. The gunfights do not feel like Battlefront.
HEY! a bf vietnam c&p would have been great.
I'm still torn on how I feel about the gameplay. Some of the criticism, like the strange way vehicles are implemented, I stand by. Overall, the game may very well be growing on me.
Hm I've been trying to decide between this and Halo5 for FPS multiplayer action, and it looks like I'll start with Halo. It's Star Wars and it doesn't seem bad but..meh
Yeah, Halo has lost some of its luster to me some time ago. The gameplay is always very good, but I've never cared for the number of shots it takes to kill enemies (AI or online opponents), and in general, there just hasn't been much growth in them in my eyes. That said, I agree, even though I have not had my hands on Halo 5, I think it is clearly the better/safer purchase. It just looks to have so much, and almost certainly something for everyone, that if you've ever been a fan of Halo, or of FPS games in general, it looks like the easy choice.
attacking in walkers assault is way more easy than defending, I hope they balance that out, also the game doesn't look as good as it did during E3
I've heard the balance in that mode has been bad in every playable form back to E3. It could be better balanced, but my team has managed to both win as the Rebels and lose as the Empire. Not often, but it has happened at least a few times.
It's a great game, but I don't think it's worth the $60 price tag, at least for me.
With the arcade-esque gameplay (to me), I can totally agree that if it was being sold for less, maybe the $30-40 range, I'd feel much more strongly about it. But being a big budget, $60 game, it feels a little lacking.
I played a few matches on the X1 earlier today. I'm not a fan of BF but I like how this game feels. I don't think I'll pay $60 for it. But its something I will pick up down the road.
Yeah, if this was not a full price, big budget, AAA title, I would feel a lot better about it. The idea of waiting and getting it for less makes it sound more appealing. But, with the near lack single player, offline focus, I'd fear the online would be dead by then, or have been boiled down to mostly just the best of the best.
Some things I liked an others I didn't. It felt like Battlefield but didn't at some parts. I'm definitely looking forward to the more maps.
Looking forward to it
This game may look a lot prettier, but I actually enjoyed playing Star Wars Battlefront 2 a lot more than this version of the franchise. I dislike how the veteran players will have better weapons and skill cards than people just starting out. It's a terrible Battlefield trait that shouldn't have been brought across. Battlefront 2 had a more "pick up play" mentality which suits a franchise like Star Wars. I'm also not a fan of the gimmicky battles and would prefer more maps with a freer battle style. Finally the lack of variety in planets is disturbing...
I can't recall how Battlefront 1 or 2 played. I remember liking them, but I might have been at least partially blinded by my unwavering love of Star Wars. I loved the prequels when they came out. I think initially, every prequel was my favorite when they first came out. In time, I grew past that, but yeah. What kind of variety in the planets are you hoping for? Obviously the full release could very easily be better in that department.
As for the better weapons, the ones that are currently in the game seem pretty balanced. Different, so possibly better suited to a certain type of player, but overall, they looked and felt balanced to me. The cards definitely lend a huge advantage. I'm not sure how I feel about them in example you mentioned. But calling them cards and having your "hand" just seemed kind of weird. It doesn't make sense in a real-life war scenario, nor does it fit particularly well with Star Wars. I think they could have thought of a better, more fitting way to have unlockable abilities.
Doesn't feel like something I'll play a lot and spend $70 for.
Halo 5 will be enough for me this year.
Need's space flight battles.
I'm enjoying the beta, especially the co-op, but will wait for it to be cheaper, and not sure if EA will milk this or make this game annually.
The annual release model for games is pretty lame to me. I always gave sports games the pass, but now in the age of DLC, it's hard to justify it with them. Plus too much of anything, even a good thing, is still simply too much. Annual COD, Assassin's Creed, WWE, and however many EA Sports titles is pretty ridiculous. And yet, we (collectively) keep buying them, so the studios would almost be dumb to stop making them.
Awesome game, however not a worth the price... I'll wait for the price drop. Also, it feels like some kind of mod.
I thought it was fun. Probably will get it this year.
I was put off by the lack of single player, but this game does look pretty fun..... might buy it used later for dirt cheap.
