Blake-BBY
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Authored by: Nick Gee
For many, the original Star Wars Battlefront series was full of classic fun filled nostalgia. Pandemics series was a childhood classic that let many relive countless Star Wars battles throughout the established era’s. So, when EA announced the revitalization of the series, many (including myself) were overcome with excitement and pure joy. Buzz and commotion sparked throughout the gaming industry about the return of the classic franchise championed by the legendary studio DICE. However, when EA’s Star Wars Battlefront released and the shiny new paint started to fade away, a large part of the community became very dissatisfied due to the lack of content. I am thrilled to say that EA’s Star Wars Battlefront II fixes that problem immensely and the beta only solidified my pre – order for this upcoming masterpiece.
Content, Content, Content:
EA has come out publicly announcing that they had learned from the enormous amount of “critical feedback” from the previous installment. How did they answer fans concerns? Well the beta highlights the return of the biggest question from fans “Where are the clone wars”? Not only is the prequel era in the game, the sequel era has been added with the same amount of love and detail. Like the true series of old you are now able to finally take control as a grunt in major battles spanning the entire lore of the Star Wars universe.
As a major fanboy of the tv series Star Wars the Clone Wars, hearing the same voice actors return to reprise their respective roles from that era is something that truly shows the extent to which EA is going to for this game. The clones and droids respectively look incredible in Frostbite 2 engine, with the majority of art assets rivaling or surpassing the CGI from the movies. For those worrying if this sequel will be short on content at launch, worry no longer as I can personally vouch that this game will be brimming with content that will keep gamers around for months to come. Also, Darth Maul is incredible fun, the ability to watch players run in fear is exhilarating as you cut down enemy troops. Just link in EA’s E3 video, the sector is never clear when Maul enters the battlefield!
Beta Gameplay:
For those who haven’t followed the development of this game closely, EA’s Star Wars Battlefront II is being developed by 3 different companies. DICE (handling the ground combat) Criterion (handling vehicle mechanics/space battles) and Motive (Handling the campaign) all have a major part to play this new behemoth of a game. However, since the beta didn’t give us a look at the campaign I can only base my review of mechanics on the multiplayers portions of ground and space battles respectively. I am going to assume that the campaign mechanics will function like DICE’s handled portion of the game.
The ground combat is spectacular and has tightened the controls from the previous installment. Very few fps dips, smooth animations and responsive controls really highlight the incredible talent at DICE and allow for players to truly become immersed in combat while not becoming frustrated due to terrible controls. Space Combat has been completely revamped by Criterion and it does takes a considerable amount of time to get used. Anyone expecting to be an ace pilot right away will be unfortunately, sadly mistaken. I will be discussing the new class system later but the inclusion of the bomber class really added a fantastic new dimension to the star fighter combat. Criterion’s addition of objectives and cinematic set pieces really set the bar high with the Fondor preview map and I can’t wait to take the fight to the First Order and CIS in their respective maps.
New Mechanics:
The most important aspects of the beta were the new gameplay mechanics that are being introduced this go around. The arcadey powerups and random pickups have been replaced with a skill based points system. Kills, assists, playing the objectives, all accumulate points for player which allows for he/she to pick from two new specialization classes (I will touch on that in a bit), vehicles or hero units. Think back to the old call of duty killstreak systems were better players kept on getting better by being rewarded by getting more kills. This new system heavily favors highly skilled players so I am curious to see if DICE will make some tweaks to this point system before launch or post. As mentioned previously DICE has added in the battlefield class system into the sequel allowing for each class to specialize in a certain style of gameplay. These classes allow players to customize their approach to the map/objective allowing for each experience to be hand crafted by the player.
Alongside the class system are the brand-new specialization classes which are a supped-up character class. The specialization classes have exclusive troopers to each faction that are more powerful than standard infantry. For example, the CIS at launch get Super Battle Droids that have greater armor and firepower which allows the player to become a dominating force on the battlefield. Funny enough the over powered jet pack star card from the first game has been given its own class in the form of a jump or jet trooper for each faction. Each class blends perfectly with each other complementing the strengths and weaknesses of the four classes. It truly makes you feel like you’re fighting in a large army as your actions and decisions affect those around you. These new additions are welcomed with open arms and truly differentiate the sequel from the original.
Best Buy to Buy:
Best Buy has got you covered this winter with all the Star Wars related goodness. From toys and collectibles to the Original Movies that started it all, Best Buy will be your destination for everything Star Wars. Click on the link to pre – order Star Wars Battlefront 2 and while you’re at it, remember to sign up for GCU to save 20% on all physical video game purchases!
