Press Start To Continue: Star Wars Battlefront

image+courtesy+of+www.ea.com%2Fstawarsbattlefront

image courtesy of www.ea.com/stawarsbattlefront

Nate Chesterfield and Trevor Ouimette

If you owned a PS2 in 2005, chances are you probably had one of the original “Star Wars: Battlefront” titles. “Battlefront” I and II were two of the best-selling games for the console, and they launched a franchise that would become near and dear to the hearts of many gamers. But after 2005’s “Battlefront II,” the franchise went off the galactic radar.

10 years later, EA and DICE have picked up the rights to the franchise and have re-booted it as “Star Wars: Battlefront.” For anyone unfamiliar, DICE is the studio behind the highly successful (and similarly named) “Battlefield” series, so these guys know their stuff. And while they may have brought their First-Person Shooter (FPS) expertise, they didn’t bring us a fantastic “Battlefront” title.

While it may not be perfect, “Battlefront” does deserve a lot of credit. The game launched with four planets from the “Star Wars” universe: Endor, Hoth, Tatooine and Sullust. Each planet is full of stunning visuals that look so clean and crisp that it feels like you are on the planet itself.

While it may not seem like a lot of variety, these planets feel huge in scope and diverse enough in their offerings that it’s worth playing each mode to see the entire explore-able surface.

Like the older “Battlefront” games, this new installment in the franchise puts a new spin on the single player. Players can jump into tutorial missions helping them understand how the game works. On top of these, players also get to play battle missions or hero battle missions that take place on each planet in the game. These modes unfold like regular battles, with different objectives depending on the mode.

There is also a game mode called “Survival” that puts players in a wave-based style of battle, facing wave after wave of enemies. Players can dive into the waves of enemies alone, or invite a friend and take on the forces of the Empire cooperatively.

Playing Survival was some of the most stupid fun we’ve had playing a video game in a long, long time. It never gets old watching your teammate die, having to kill an AT-ST by yourself and then reviving your friend only to have to rendezvous across the map to kill another one mere seconds later. It’s a unique rush that kept us playing for hours on end, despite the lack of diversity.

“Battlefront” also has multiple game modes for its online competitive multiplayer. These modes can range from Blast, a basic 20v20 battle, to Walker Assault, where the rebels must kill two AT-AT’s before they reach a series of checkpoints. With each game mode providing a different play style; there is a mode for everyone.

While players can chose to play together or solo, the party system mechanics make teaming up with friends quick and easy. As soon as one friend joins a game, the other friends receive a notification asking if they want to join in. Press a button and boom, you’ll be joining forces in an instant.

In addition to the easy party mechanics, the leveling system for multiplayer is a simple take on a common leveling system that several games use. At the end of each game, players earn experience for how they did in the match. Their experience is then turned into credits, which is the currency for the game.

As players level up, they can use the credits they have earned to unlock new weapons, equipment, perks, and items for character customization. It’s a simple system that makes the multiplayer rewarding and diverse. You’ll rarely come across two troopers with the same setup, despite the low number of weapons and secondary benefits.

The game is also, and most importantly, stunning when it comes to audio and visuals. This may be the most beautiful video game ever produced. The ships, blasters, armor and scenery is replicated down to the smallest, most exact detail; even the scuff marks on the Millennium Falcon are identical. The sound matches the level we’ve come to expect from DICE, and really adds to the experience.

It’s so much more satisfying to fly a ship and hear the engines whir or swing a lightsaber and hear that oh-so-familiar humming; all while birds chirp and AT-ST’s stomp far in the distance.

Even with all of the high points in “Star Wars: Battlefront,” there are still a handful of downsides to the game. “Battlefront” lacks highly in the area of a strong single player story. While the missions are fun, there is not much of a story to them, and then lose their excitement after about one play through. One of the positives of this game’s predecessors was an intricate, lengthy campaign that actually fit into the “Star Wars” narrative. Here, the little story that does exist has no consequence.

And despite all the wonderful sound design in the game, the voice acting is horrendous. DICE couldn’t snag the original actors to do the voices for their heroes, and it shows. Oh boy, it shows. Some less dedicated fans might not notice, but “Star Wars” buffs will definitely hear the difference, and it isn’t good.

The largest and most glaring flaw with the game, however, is the overall lack of diversity. What is there is fun and will definitely keep you entertained for a bit of, as we said, stupid fun, but that’s about all. This game doesn’t have nearly as much as it should for how complete of an experience it’s trying to be. 4 maps weren’t nearly enough to sell this game, but they shipped it anyway, hoping that the massive amount of fan servive in the game and the title of “Battlefront” would sell it to us. Somehow, it worked.

Overall, “Battlefront” has its highs and lows. It’s a fantastic “Star Wars” game, with brilliant sound and visual design, but it isn’t the best “Battlefront” title by a long shot. The lack of diversity and content on launch is disappointing, and the lack of a single player story is a huge turn-off for many gamers. All in all, the game is fine for what it is, but it’s a little short for a Stormtrooper.