Star Wars: Battlefront

[Solo4114]

If I had to put a value on the game I'd say it's a good buy at $30-$35.
It's not $60 worth of gaming.

Based on the reviews I've read, this seems to be the consensus. There just isn't enough stuff to do to make it worth more than about $30, let alone the roughly $110 EA wants for you to buy the whole package right now.

I'm interested in getting the game, but not at this price. And if the game is dead by the time the price comes down (e.g., what I hear is the case with Titanfall), and since there's no real singleplayer to speak of...this could end up being a game I simply pass by.

 

[dascoyne]

Based on the reviews I've read, this seems to be the consensus. There just isn't enough stuff to do to make it worth more than about $30, let alone the roughly $110 EA wants for you to buy the whole package right now.

I'm interested in getting the game, but not at this price. And if the game is dead by the time the price comes down (e.g., what I hear is the case with Titanfall), and since there's no real singleplayer to speak of...this could end up being a game I simply pass by.

I consider myself a pretty forgiving player when it comes to Star Wars gaming (especially when it's about the immersive experience). I've only had about 30 min of game time but I'm going to say that the reviews and impressions are pretty much spot-on. Visuals are meticulous and sound are meticulous and very, very nice. I do like the multiplayer experience of diving in and even often getting slaughtered repeatedly (so long as it's not just a sniper's paradise, as with some games) for an intense chaotic battle experience and this game certainly has that.
One issue I have is with the apparent size of the maps - I could be wrong but the Hoth and Endor maps seem so much smaller than the BF2 counterparts. So far I don't have the same sense of scale as I did with BF2 - which is vital on PC where you can have 60 other players online. Maybe I just need to get used to the maps.
The single player modes aren't as bad as some folks say - mostly playing against waves of enemies with objectives littered in. I can't find any real campaign mode.
Im still tweaking my mapped keyboard controls - until then I'm still getting killed fumbling for secondary weapons.
Overall I'm still satisfied. It's a very good game but, as with others, I was aching with anticipation for it to have been epic.

 

[Solo4114]

One thing I read said that the maps are at once enormous and small.

They're enormous in the sense of the sheer physical space in which you can move, but they're small in the sense of it just being 20 v 20, and everyone's at a choke point. Whereas, in Battlefront 2, you had the (admittedly stupid) AI who provided extra bodies, if not necessarily much of a challenge. The thing is, apparently the Squadron mode is full of AI craft, so it just kinda leaves you wondering why they didn't add that to the ground game as well, to give it all a sense of scale and epicness.

 

[eifion]

Does it bother anyone else to see a whole bunch of stormtroopers running around without a helmet? It kills immersion for me and looks ridiculous :facepalm

 

[Solo4114]

Does it bother anyone else to see a whole bunch of stormtroopers running around without a helmet? It kills immersion for me and looks ridiculous :facepalm

That's already started? I saw in some reviews that you could unlock helmetless models (and that many of them made no sense, like, elderly female troopers or something? I dunno. I haven't seen this), but I thought it took a while to do.

For a game that is thriving pretty much solely on immersion (rather than gameplay, depth, and complexity), it would seem that this is...ill advised.

 

[dascoyne]

One thing I read said that the maps are at once enormous and small.

They're enormous in the sense of the sheer physical space in which you can move, but they're small in the sense of it just being 20 v 20, and everyone's at a choke point. Whereas, in Battlefront 2, you had the (admittedly stupid) AI who provided extra bodies, if not necessarily much of a challenge. The thing is, apparently the Squadron mode is full of AI craft, so it just kinda leaves you wondering why they didn't add that to the ground game as well, to give it all a sense of scale and epicness.

So far on Hoth I've been playing rebel mainly around the trenches where there's some variation in terrain for cover. The rest seems like vast open land where you're basically fodder for AT-ATs. To some degree that was also the case with BF2 but there seemed to be enough variation in the topography of open land to provide limited cover so that you had a small chance at survival. Next time I'm going to have the balls to explore more ... maybe it premature of me to pass judgement. But what you said there definitely sums up the impression I had. Maybe I shouldn't expect BF2 game style. Perhaps I will grow to appreciate the differences.

In BF2 I was always the guy with the rocket launcher and mines. I was superb at downing snow speeders and often took down 12+ speeders in an online game. With indoors maps I was very good at placing mines where they were never expected - or baiting enemies into pre-mined areas - or taking down AT-STs in Endor with mines - or taking out snipers with rockets. I have to accept that this is a completely different game and that I can't have that same experience anymore. *sob*

 

[Solo4114]

So far on Hoth I've been playing rebel mainly around the trenches where there's some variation in terrain for cover. The rest seems like vast open land where you're basically fodder for AT-ATs. To some degree that was also the case with BF2 but there seemed to be enough variation in the topography of open land to provide limited cover so that you had a small chance at survival. Next time I'm going to have the balls to explore more ... maybe it premature of me to pass judgement. But what you said there definitely sums up the impression I had. Maybe I shouldn't expect BF2 game style. Perhaps I will grow to appreciate the differences.

So, I was thinking abotu this, and it hit me. It wasn't so much that BF2's Hoth map had less open ground. It actually had a TON of open ground, in between two ice walls, each with a few outposts here and there. Visually and structurally, I think the new Hoth map is way more true to the films. HOWEVER, one simple difference made the game play very differently:

Spawn points.

You could actively choose where to spawn. Up front right at the action, one outpost back to run a little ways, or all the way back at your start, to grab a vehicle, maybe. On the Imperial side, the AT-AT was a mobile spawn (if memory serves), constantly disgorging troops as you went.

In the new game, you spawn...wherever. At some random point that the game decides (which can be camped by the enemy, quit easily). But this can mean that you have to run over broad areas of open terrain, where you can be shot by snipers or vehicles. It's a really weird decision on DICE's part, and I honestly can't understand why they didn't let you pick your spawn point and/or provide better spawn protection.

In BF2 I was always the guy with the rocket launcher and mines. I was superb at downing snow speeders and often took down 12+ speeders in an online game. With indoors maps I was very good at placing mines where they were never expected - or baiting enemies into pre-mined areas - or taking down AT-STs in Endor with mines - or taking out snipers with rockets. I have to accept that this is a completely different game and that I can't have that same experience anymore. *sob*

Yeah, I mean, that's just the nature of the beast. I never got super into Battlefront's multiplayer. I found it kinda meh and arcadey, personally. (I think at that point, I was heavily into Red Orchestra: Ostfront.) But I find the decision to eliminate classes an...odd choice. I mean, I appreciate the focus on blasters primarily, but I think some of the design in unlocks for this game (based on the beta) is just a BAD idea. Ever since Battlefield 2 came out, I've been vehemently opposed to upgrade weapons, and take a dim view even of sidegrade weapons. I accept that unlocks and upgrades are par for the course now, but at the least, they should be confined to sidegrades. I suspect that this game will, after a short while, become fairly newbie-unfriendly...but I kinda get the sense that EA doesn't give a crap.

The way this game's been designed and marketed just screams "Get it out in time for the movie, so that the saps exit the theater and buy the game immediately thereafter."

 

[ower]

I

Generally the game lacks content and feels very simplified and casual.

Because that is what it is. Not every games needs to be Super serious MLG competitive. It's a game to hop into and blast away and who cares if you go 2/15 KDA . Everyone Is mad because they have their nostalgia glass on and it's not just a re-release of an old game or that it's not yet another CS:GO

There's so many games that if I want to be competitive and have people rage at me for losing I can play, my steam account is full of them. it's nice to have something that's actually casual for once.

Well I picked mine up today. Me and my son have been playing split screen couch mode and while I was wrapped we could play against each other and co-op,soon we realized their was only 4 maps repeated for each mode. It's great fun for us both to have banta towards each other while we are playing,it just lacks so much content. By the end of the DLC rollout it will be great but damn why do we have to pay more to get 100% game. It looks stunning and really feels like your "in" Star Wars. It's super smooth on the PS4 too.Flight controls are awkward and I just don't see why they couldn't use both thumb sticks for controling pitch and yaw. Online will be fun when I'm not with my son but I really wanted it for the joy me and him have had over the years with the first 2. Still worth it though. I just feel a little cheated on content. I knew it was coming though.


Ben

the other modes have more maps, only walker\supremacy have 4 maps... oh and fighter squadron.

 

[Solos blaster]

Mostly this.

I got this effect from Battlefield 3. I got the Destiny PS4 with all the DLC, however as a birthday gift lol


I may pick this up after it gets down to that less than $30 pricetag...may.

 

[dascoyne]

So, I was thinking abotu this, and it hit me. It wasn't so much that BF2's Hoth map had less open ground. It actually had a TON of open ground, in between two ice walls, each with a few outposts here and there. Visually and structurally, I think the new Hoth map is way more true to the films. HOWEVER, one simple difference made the game play very differently:

Spawn points.

You could actively choose where to spawn. Up front right at the action, one outpost back to run a little ways, or all the way back at your start, to grab a vehicle, maybe. On the Imperial side, the AT-AT was a mobile spawn (if memory serves), constantly disgorging troops as you went.

In the new game, you spawn...wherever. At some random point that the game decides (which can be camped by the enemy, quit easily). But this can mean that you have to run over broad areas of open terrain, where you can be shot by snipers or vehicles. It's a really weird decision on DICE's part, and I honestly can't understand why they didn't let you pick your spawn point and/or provide better spawn protection.



Yeah, I mean, that's just the nature of the beast. I never got super into Battlefront's multiplayer. I found it kinda meh and arcadey, personally. (I think at that point, I was heavily into Red Orchestra: Ostfront.) But I find the decision to eliminate classes an...odd choice. I mean, I appreciate the focus on blasters primarily, but I think some of the design in unlocks for this game (based on the beta) is just a BAD idea. Ever since Battlefield 2 came out, I've been vehemently opposed to upgrade weapons, and take a dim view even of sidegrade weapons. I accept that unlocks and upgrades are par for the course now, but at the least, they should be confined to sidegrades. I suspect that this game will, after a short while, become fairly newbie-unfriendly...but I kinda get the sense that EA doesn't give a crap.

The way this game's been designed and marketed just screams "Get it out in time for the movie, so that the saps exit the theater and buy the game immediately thereafter."

I'm thinking that the biggest mistake was in naming this game "battlefront" because it sets up our expectations that the gameplay would be somewhat similar. In my mind I knew that it was a completely different beast but in my heart I couldn't imagine how much of the original games I'd miss. All I can see are the missing elements ... I'm hoping that I can realize occult virtues in this game in the long run.

It's a great point you make about the spawning. Elimination of spawning selection removes an essential element of strategy in the game. Time and time again I spawn and have to waste a couple of seconds to figure out where the heck I am and where im facing. I don't see how you can create tournaments or matches around this ridiculous aspect.

 

[dascoyne]

I'm starting to change my tune.
I've been logging a little more gametime - (PC multiplayer) and I'm starting to enjoy it a lot. Even the Hoth map is more interesting than I've credited it for. The map topographies are much more elaborate in many ways than BF2. I still miss my rockets and mines and I think picking spawn points is a ridiculous omission but the immersion is still surprising me in multiple places.
I'm still getting slaughtered all over the place but I'm actually really getting into it.

 

[Sundowner]

I need to vent a little

I was on the fence about upgrading from my PS3 but when I heard that GameStop would offer $100 trade towards a new system, I jumped on it. I only had one day to decide as the offer was getting ready to expire. So Sunday I just finished up training with my team at the gym and decided to skip a shower/home and go straight to gamestop. Everything went perfectly with the trades and walked out with a PS4 SWB bundle. I get home and as soon as the box opens, the power goes out...no shower, no heat, no Battlefront. It didn't come on till 5am the next morning right before I had to leave for work. Whatever, I had a 24 hour shift but after that it was game on, right?...No I get home this morning to no internet as I can see the line in the yard. My internet provider cannot get the line reconnected until Wednesday, which they said they would charge me for since "it's not our fault"...I can really feel a pull to the dark side...vent over

 

[dascoyne]

I need to vent a little

I was on the fence about upgrading from my PS3 but when I heard that GameStop would offer $100 trade towards a new system, I jumped on it. I only had one day to decide as the offer was getting ready to expire. So Sunday I just finished up training with my team at the gym and decided to skip a shower/home and go straight to gamestop. Everything went perfectly with the trades and walked out with a PS4 SWB bundle. I get home and as soon as the box opens, the power goes out...no shower, no heat, no Battlefront. It didn't come on till 5am the next morning right before I had to leave for work. Whatever, I had a 24 hour shift but after that it was game on, right?...No I get home this morning to no internet as I can see the line in the yard. My internet provider cannot get the line reconnected until Wednesday, which they said they would charge me for since "it's not our fault"...I can really feel a pull to the dark side...vent over

Well I just started getting into Battlefront (see my last post) and now we're flying off to Florida for Thanksgiving for nine days. My wife did this to us. I'm spending a week with her relatives when I want to be home with my game! Arrggghhh.

 

[Sundowner]

Well I just started getting into Battlefront (see my last post) and now we're flying off to Florida for Thanksgiving for nine days. My wife did this to us. I'm spending a week with her relatives when I want to be home with my game! Arrggghhh.

So pretty much the total opposite of what you want to be doing huh hahaha... I think you can do remote play from a PS Vita but what do I know, I can't even set up my PS4 without Internet. I tried setting up a mobile hot spot but since I have unlimited data, AT&T won't allow me to

 

[Solo4114]

Went back and played Battlefront 2 last night...and it's really not as great as some remember. It's pretty simplistic, too, but it still does more than what this game does.

Battlefront 2:
- Has spawn points you can select, including vehicles on which you spawn like an AT-AT.
- Has multiple classes. They're a little uninspired, but it has them.
- Has reloads. Not a huge deal, but they're there.
- Has vehicles you can get into, including additional seats for other players.
- Has heroes, but heroes who you "earn" by getting a certain number of kills on a map.
- Has a space mode that includes space combat AND ground combat (where you can invade enemy ships if you're crazy enough to try).
- Has 15 space maps and 18 ground maps.
- Allows you to play either Galactic Civil War era or Clone Wars era (and divides certain maps up by the specific war -- e.g., there's no clone war era version of Hoth ground assault).
- Has (dumb) AI troops on the map, so it feels like there's more than just 40 people playing.

Now, the gameplay...was fairly lackluster in my opinion. It wasn't awful, but it was pretty basic stuff. The immersion factor was nowhere close to what you get in the new Battlefront, but consider what's missing in the current game by comparison. And they want an extra $50 to get additional maps dribbled out over time? Screw that.

 

[The Terminator]

I need to vent a little

I was on the fence about upgrading from my PS3 but when I heard that GameStop would offer $100 trade towards a new system, I jumped on it. I only had one day to decide as the offer was getting ready to expire. So Sunday I just finished up training with my team at the gym and decided to skip a shower/home and go straight to gamestop. Everything went perfectly with the trades and walked out with a PS4 SWB bundle. I get home and as soon as the box opens, the power goes out...no shower, no heat, no Battlefront. It didn't come on till 5am the next morning right before I had to leave for work. Whatever, I had a 24 hour shift but after that it was game on, right?...No I get home this morning to no internet as I can see the line in the yard. My internet provider cannot get the line reconnected until Wednesday, which they said they would charge me for since "it's not our fault"...I can really feel a pull to the dark side...vent over

I can feel your anger. It gives you focus. Makes you stronger. Use your aggressive feelings, boy. Let the hate flow through you.
That sucks. Even more so if the game doesn't live up to your expectations/taste.

 

[dascoyne]

Bots in the multiplayer maps are definitely more fun in the mix.

 

[Solo4114]

Wait, the new Battlefront lets you play MP maps with bots? I thought you could only play them online? Or are you referring to the old Battlefront 2 bots?

To be fair, DICE has (to my knowledge) only ever done bots in BF1942 and, I think, BF2 in 16-player mode. And its bots...were totally stupid. Like, they had zero idea how to function. The Battlefront 2 bots were, at least, serviceable. But DICE has otherwise ignored bots for ages, I think. At best, you got a decent SP campaign (like in BFBC and BFBC2). At worst, there was nothing to do on the SP side.

 

[dascoyne]

Wait, the new Battlefront lets you play MP maps with bots? I thought you could only play them online? Or are you referring to the old Battlefront 2 bots?

To be fair, DICE has (to my knowledge) only ever done bots in BF1942 and, I think, BF2 in 16-player mode. And its bots...were totally stupid. Like, they had zero idea how to function. The Battlefront 2 bots were, at least, serviceable. But DICE has otherwise ignored bots for ages, I think. At best, you got a decent SP campaign (like in BFBC and BFBC2). At worst, there was nothing to do on the SP side.

I was referring to the old BF2 with bots. I don't think they're in the new one and I really miss them. I think there were quite a few bits on the multiplayer maps.

 

[ghostryder]

http://deadline.com/2015/11/star-wars-battlefront-gamestop-sales-disappoint-1201636061/