Become Vader, then a trooper, then Luke, then…

Like many of you, I am a “Star Wars” fan and have been since the first time I saw “Return of the Jedi” when I was eight. I waited in line for days when the movies were re-released and the new episodes hit theaters. I can play “Star Wars” Trivial Pursuit in my sleep. I even named my dog Wedge Antilles. I am a fan, so I knew going in that I would end up playing “Star Wars Battlefront” by EA for hours on end.

The addition of larger maps and promised full-scale battle reenactments was enough to make my inner fanboy “SQUWEEE” with joy. But wait, you can play the heroes and villains that you love, like Vader, Luke and Boba Fett? I think I may have gotten a touch of the vapors when the final announcements for “Battlefront” were released. My head clear and my purpose directed, I hit the pre-order button eagerly awaiting Tuesday, November 29, 2015. Even though it was technically a relaunch of a franchise that had already produced two other games, I and the internet did not care. We were ready for “Battlefront,” we were ready for war… Star Wars.

Right out of the box, “Battlefront” is not far from the original games released in 2004 and 2005. The principal was the same. You were going to play as either an imperial storm trooper or a rebel soldier. There would be maps of the famous battles we had watched and or played a hundred times. We were going to get vehicles to drive around on land and ships to fly around in space. Form and function, it all seems pretty much the same. Some would say it was just another FPS that had gotten a high-resolution face job and was now trying to grab limelight from “Call of Duty” or “Halo.” I would say that what you expected of “Battlefront” was not what you got. Not only is the gameplay clean and the graphics bright, but there is a mood while playing it that sets it apart from other FPSs on the market.

As the game installs essential components to your system, it also takes the time to teach you the new controls and play style. Again, seems pretty standard for a good deal of games being released these days. However, “Battlefront” starts you out as Lord Vader marching through the rebel’s base on Hoth. Yeah, your intro to the game is learning how to be a dark lord of the Sith and which button to use if you want to force choke some rebel scum. Rolling out a proper welcome mat is apparently in EA’s wheelhouse.

Once the game is ready to play, you stop killing rebels and proceed to the main menu. Players have two choices, either multiplayer mode or mission mode. Both will let you play multiple maps with a series of characters and conditions. The difference is that just because it says multiplayer does not mean you can hand a controller off to your buddy and hit start. The only side by side multiplayer available in the game is a versus mode in the mission section. One player picks the rebels, the other picks the Imperials. Does not matter if you are ground troops, hero characters or flying an X-wing, you have to be against each other. I had hoped that you could play co-op modes, but that is not something you can do with players on the same console. Though if you love the old school “Goldeneye” shoot ’em up type of gameplay, by all means grab a friend and reenact Luke and Vader’s lightsaber battle.

As explained earlier, “Battlefront” does an excellent job at establishing a very definitive mood for gameplay. The iconic music and characters urging you on in battle are something I have not found in any other game so far. But that is not where it ends.

The first map I played in multiplayer was the Walker Assault map. I expected to join a team of ten and then proceed to die over and over again as I learned the ins and outs of the map. What I got was a screen overlooking the Hoth battlefield filled to the brim with laser fire from both sides of the map. It was like watching streamers explode overhead some child’s birthday party. Explosions and shouting everywhere in the map of 40 players running to maintain control of satellite uplinks. If you are the rebels, you had to get the uplinks to direct the Y-wing attacks on AT-AT walkers slowly crawling their way to your power generator. If you are the imperials, you need to crush the rebels and stop them from using the uplinks to damage your heavy weapons. Either way you played, it was chaos for the first ten minutes of gameplay, with rebels and imperials running around shooting, throwing grenades and firing off mounted heavy laser turrets.

A great advantage in the game is that you can pick up specials that either gives you an advanced weapon or control of a particular unit in the game. I, being new, picked up and suddenly was controlling the AT-AT’s progression toward the rebel base. I was firing cannons and blowing up anyone and anything that stood in my way. When the map concluded, the game switches sides, and I was now a rebel defending the base on Endor. Again, I found a unique and knelt down to become Luke Skywalker. I did not know what I was doing, but I ran head first into the waves of Stormtroopers who were baring down upon us. I was a Jedi, doing what a Jedi was supposed to do. I force pushed some guys off a ledge; I used my lightsaber to deflect blaster fire, and I even force jumped over a group of Stormtroopers to take them out as my Rebel teammates made their way to the uplink. I also may have been yelling at the top of my lungs “I’m Luke Skywalker, I’M A JEDI!”

“Battlefront” swept me into the game and the battles that I was playing. I felt a part of the campaign because the mood set by the game is so realistic and easy to follow. Playing other missions, I got to play as other heroes and villains. I got to hunt down heroes and villains. I got to fly an X-wing through space and into a swarm of TIE Fighters exiting a Star Destroyer. The game modes are as different and varied as they should be, giving a broad range of play styles to master. The types of missions are standard for all multiplayer games on the market, but there is enough to set off any boredom or feelings of continuous grinding.

Gameplay mechanics are something that could use a little updating and editing. Spawn points and the in-game spawning system is a bit odd for some maps. I have spawned into a map several times to find myself face-to-face with the opposing team’s player. Some would call this spawn camping, but the other player spawned in when I did.

To me, this is lackluster programming as progression through a map happens. On most maps, as locations are controlled, the game will move player spawn points further up to the next location. With “Battlefront,” there appears to be a gap in spawn timers which allows for spawn locations to overlap. If you are prone to gamer rage, make sure you take a deep breath before spawning in, just in case you end up getting shot within the first three seconds.

Play progression has some of the same kinds of issues. As you play through maps, you gain points to rank up your character. Levels and points equate to both equipment and the imperial credits to unlock them.

A commonly overused element of most multiplayer FPS games is the jetpack. Ever since “Halo” introduced the jetpack mechanic, almost every other game has added it into their games. I have no problem with jetpacks, but I do have issues with having to unlock them. If you are going to give a jetpack, give it to everyone, like “Destiny” did. Do not make a player open it by grinding through death after death by players who already have it. Seems like I am whining, but I feel that if you are going to give advantages to players, they need to be open and even pealed.

Other game features like character skins do not help or hinder you in any way for the game. You will have to buy some of the different skins, but not a high cost to play as a different looking rebel or Stormtrooper. Blasters at the start of the game are the same, all in all. There is some slight difference between rate of fire and damage. There was not enough to make me want to buy or unlock them all. I am okay playing with the starting blaster, because it did not cost me anything and did not hinder me.

Finally, one of the worst and possible biggest hindrance in the game is the lack of in-game voice chat. I do appreciate not having to listen to another player blast sound effects or profanities, but I would also like to know where my team is going or planning a bit before we all bum rush the base. A player can use gestures to signal movements or actions, but you only have one or two to start with. If you want to unlock others, you will need to rank up and then purchase them in the game. In the game, voice acting does give the gesture verbally, but if you are not paying attention or in a space that is filled with blaster fire, you will not hear what is being said.

I do not need other players screaming into their mics, but I do appreciate the ability to talk back and forth to plan effectively, though, as I mentioned earlier it nice to have the silence while playing a map to experience fully the chaos of the battlefront. I am sure that if there were voice chat, not one would hear the familiar sound of Vader’s breathing or the buzz of a lightsaber approaching in the distance. It is a “Star Wars” game, and these kinds of things are important to me as a gamer and a fan.

Game Rating: 9/10

High points:

• The feeling that you are in “Star Wars.” The sounds of battle and the familiar music egg you on as you rush into the fray.
• Playing as famous heroes and villains in multiplayer modes as an open option for all players rather than only a skill-based assignment.
• Highly detailed maps with smoothly-rendered graphics that can be identified as a fan or a first timer.

Weak points:

• Player leveling and progression are not needed, and in ways give advantage to some players that can cause rage quit or game frustration.
• Lack of in-game voice chats to allow teams to plan battle strategies.
•  Spawn point mechanics.

Have you been playing “Star Wars Battlefront”? Are you on the light or dark side? Is your inner fanboy or girl bursting at the seams as you progress through the “Star Wars” Universe? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below.

-B.C. Pope