Star Wars Battlefront (2015)
Beyond awful loot boxes and progression systems, Star Wars: Battlefront II is just not a good video game or Star Wars story and is missing so much.
Star Wars : Battlefront II is a premium loot box obstetrical delivery system .
Star Wars : Battlefront II is not a very effective video secret plan .
Star state of war : Battlefront II is gorgeous and has awe-inspiring product time value in its visuals and audio .
Star warfare : Battlefront II does n’t deliver on its story promises .
Star Wars : Battlefront II has the worst progression system ever seen in three-fold - A picture games .
Star Wars : Battlefront II is project to be pay - to - win .
Take your pick of the above for an appropriate corner quote or review title for the disappointingBattlefrontsequel . We ’ve been struggling for weeks figuring out how to canvass as a whole the latest major release from two - time “ worst party in America ” Electronic Arts . It ’s a challenging project becauseBattlefront 2is not as much of a biz as it a facade to monetize its gameplay through manipulating players the same way gaming does , in what ’s called “ varying charge per unit reinforcing stimulus . ” you’re able to read more about the skill and psychological science of ithere . These video game loot boxes have ruined many game in 2017 and are presently beinginvestigated by various governmentsfor their potentially devastating effects on players .
Star Wars : Battlefront IIis supposed to be an action shooter biz base in the Star Wars universe , a sequel that promised to address the criticisms of the first game . That signify fleshing out the content , making DLC expansions free , and adding a story , but EA did n’t really address the even more important stuff and instead , opted for a “ quantity over quality ” scheme . Just look at the marketing which literally includedgraphs on how many more vehicles , heroes , and mapsthere were . What does that weigh if the plot is n’t fun to play or if its story is bad ?
Related : Battlefront II Progression & Loot Crate Backlash Explained
Please stop.
None of the graphs or marketing materials talk about how player ca n’t progress or fit out their characters in a way they opt . That they ca n’t establish a loadout for their multiplayer classes or character like other shooters , that the player count are still little than its sister dealership , Battlefield . That players still can not get in and out of vehicle , spawn in with or on mate ( in fact , there are zero team and squad command or features ) and that the bomber characters have terrible ascendence scheme . The marketing visuals certainly do n’t plow the lack of cosmopolitan counterbalance in the game either .
Players do n’t build up their character with gear or customise their arm in the newBattlefront . No , or else they choose to diddle “ Star Cards ” which make a return and symbolise these thing in the most non - Star Warsway imaginable . Star Cards are acquired through , you guessed it , loot box at random . Instead of equip a Stormtrooper , inStar state of war : Battlefront IIplayers grease one’s palms boxes of wit and play these cards for advantages over other players . The more you spend , the upright poppycock you get although it may not be for the fiber , hero , or vehicle you want . Because it ’s random . Because it ’s gaming . Cards can be scrapped however and used to make the Star Cards participant really want - Up to a degree because you also need to fag to be able to buy and work up the cards desire . If you do n’t have the best cards and the higher spirit level of these cards , you will be at a disadvantage . You are at a disadvantage to anyone paying more money than you .
Why the snake pit are we blab about box of cards in a brand new Star Wars hitman that boast an in - canon account , you ask ? Because this is an EA biz .
Please stop.
And it ’s the whole biz . The intact plan withStar Wars : Battlefront IIwas ( and still is ) to monetise gameplay using play scheme which is why DLC pack are spare this time around . The goal is to keep players playing through free content to keep them disbursal . Because if you spend , you ’re stronger . permit ’s take a deep expression at the sum of Battlefront 2 and what it offers :
1.Battlefront 2 ’s Progression , Star Cards , and remuneration - to - Win Controversy
2.Battlefront 2 ’s Story Campaign Does n’t Fit
3.Battlefront 2 ’s Multiplayer Suite is date stamp and Limited
varlet 2 of 4 : Battlefront 2 Is A Game establish Around Loot Boxes
EA : “ The intent is to provide players with a sense of pridefulness and skill for unlock different heroes . ”
But that was n’t enough . Star Wars : Battlefront 2still had the same dread loadout and forward motion system build around gaming and remuneration - to - profits car-mechanic . They tried to explain this away by suggesting a Libra the Balance of hard body of work and performance in - biz but it was all nonsense . Paying players could purchase gameplay - affecting items since that ’s all the Star Cards are . It got so sorry that the front Sir Frederick Handley Page of Reddit and IMGUR were crowded with posts , memes , and connection to content taking to EA to task . The feedback and spot spread like wildfire through mainstream media . A few EA devs even held a Reddit AMA which end up being extremely restrict and controlled , but at last awkward as they restate the same marketing rhetoric , failing to address the actual hard - hitting questions .
Their “ common sense of pridefulness and accomplishment ” reaction above became themost downvoted remark in Reddit history , and that was just about unlocking the heroes . The situation arrive so bad lead up toBattlefront 2’swide public sack that multiple reports hadDisney execs speaking to EAin light of the negative press surrounding the Star Wars blade and so EA took to Twitter to shockingly foretell - the day before the game released - that they wereremoving all pay - for real money transactionsin - game … . Temporarily . They made certain to let everyone know the buying of “ crystals ” ( the real - money up-to-dateness ) would return at a ulterior day of the month after some tweaking .
The salary - to - win element still exists however and even with crystal out for the time being , participant can purchase theElite Trooper Deluxe Editionof the game to lead off out with better cards . They can just buy better stats for multiplayer , essentially . But that ’s only one level of the larger problem .
Star warfare : Battlefront IIisn’t about having the best shooter experience , and project a loadout that work for you on choice maps . Nor is it about teamwork and scheme or dynamic battles . It ’s about a loot - based progression system , finding the balance between plodding and randomness and using what the biz indiscriminately gives you and play … your menu right . Unless DICE only overhauls the loadout andprogression system of rules , there ’s little to be done to improve this aspect of the game . It ’s fundamentally weak . The real slayer is that the gameplay and write up are fallible too .
Page 3 of 4 : What About Star Wars Battlefront 2 ’s Story crusade ?
Star Wars: Battlefront II’s Story Doesn’t Deliver
I had the opportunity to visit EA Motive weeks beforeStar warfare : front line 2released to gethands - on with the beginning of the biz ’s account hunting expedition . There was no level mode in the first game so it was one of the important pillars of the continuation , and it represent the first piece of software package from the newly formed EA Motive studio apartment in Montreal . While there , we were pay a walkthrough of the intent tenant of the campaign . It was meant to showcase scene of the multiplayer modes to the player and train them to get quick for multiplayer . That ’s why the same weird Star Card system applies , and why much of the biz surprisingly does n’t have you actually play as its protagonist , an original eccentric name Iden Versio ( Janina Gavankar ) who ’s under - use in the game ’s 4 - 5 60 minutes tale campaign .
In fact , the game totally fails to deliver on the promise of countenance actor see a side of the Empire through Iden and her elect Stormtrooper unit called Inferno Squadron . The idea marketed to fans was thatBattlefront 2would research why troopers fight for the Emperor and how it was n’t necessarily bad raise up on a safe , saved , wave satellite within the Empire . Perhaps we ’d finally see why anyone who has the power to make decisions would go along with the Empire making superweapon after superweapon with the only destination of generating reverence . Maybe we ’d explore some of that white-haired area between well and iniquity as touched on inRogue One : A Star Wars Story .
That theme is barely scratched . Iden Versio and her Inferno Squadron do n’t really do much for the Empire in the game , and those whom they report to are depicted as the most cringe - worthy cartoon villains imaginable . What they all do after the 2d Death Star set off at the closing ofReturn of the Jedi(this is where the plot ’s floor picks up ) is laughably stupid and not at all relatable . They even regain a direction to involve the idle Emperor Palpatine , as revealed in the secret plan ’s trailers , and it ’s just nasty . After the first few delegation - the only ones we could fiddle at EA Motive - the game begin set players in the combat the boot of various iconic poor boy characters in the enfranchisement , and it becomes so predictable that it ’s only made worse by the shallow gameplay scenarios the players are forced through .
The heroes are n’t fun to play either . Using force business leader and a lightsaber is somehow made frustrating by poor control and limited gameplay auto-mechanic . despoiler : play as Luke Skywalker involves awkwardly leap up rocks to vote down Stormtroopers , then fight off undulation after wafture after wave after wave of insects in a tiny hold in area .
On the one bridge player , there ’s some fun fan service in view Lando , Ackbar , Leia , Han Solo , Luke Skywalker and others in a post - Episode VI era in the comparatively inadequate military campaign . On the other mitt , they ’re utilized in a way that we can only compare it to fan - fiction . And worse , it whole take away from the idea of Inferno Squadron and the potential of something that ’s interesting and newfangled . There were some neat characters and connection to explore in this game , but they ’re mostly emaciate . Some of the most interesting computer address and Easter Eggs are n’t given any context of use so it ’s hard to tell if any of it even matters .
The missions do n’t thread together well and the " plot of land " bounces around all over the plaza , just to show intimate locating from the saga and let role player essay different vehicles . Remember Naboo ? Even that ’s inexplicably in this story . The military campaign itself does n’t conclude , instead ending with a large time leap , an unreciprocated question , and no information on what the game ’s protagonist is up to .
Page 4 of 4 : But Battlefront 2 ’s Multiplayer is Better , good ?
The Original Star Wars: Battlefront 2 Did It Better
bug aside ( spawn into chargeman fire or being kill by invisible soldiers on some mathematical function ) , if you could n’t tell from mass of the treatment , the biz is built around collecting and playing Star Cards . The actual shooter / action mechanism / vehicle gameplay is so stripped down and generic , made bad by a complete lack of squad or police squad - free-base features and controls , that there ’s not much to do once you ’ve soaked up the pretty visuals .
And gosh , is it pretty ! There ’s something special forStar Warsfans the first clip run through a battle that features large priming coat whole and aery vehicle from the Star Wars universe , andBattlefront IIincludes all three ERA from the episodic films so you get to see it all . you may play as Battledroids , Wookies , and First Order Stormtroopers in the same secret plan . The maps also admit daytime - nighttime cycles , so you’re able to determine yourself playing as the Empire during the day and the Rebel Alliance as the sunshine set . Developer DICE has one of the most impressive game engines for this poppycock and it ’s used well here .
The design of the soldier , fomite , and little particular within building and starship are wonderfully crafted and animated . Seeing them in action mechanism is even more telling with the authentic phone and effect . All that beam does n’t make up for the actualgameunfortunately .
Gameplay inStar Wars : Battlefront II’smain modes is basically a free - for - all that moves linearly from point to taper in the main 20 vs. 20 player ' Galactic Assault ' fashion . The good players get unspoiled thing via Battle Points they earn in the given couple for kill , assist , and playing the objective , to ensure they keep getting better thing , and those who are n’t awful or have the best Star Cards for the competitive edge , are just fodder .
If you are n’t a sniper in the open area or a hero character with more muscular gear , it ’s game over for you most of the time . If a good musician catch a fomite at the start and has good Star Cards , they ’ll get the most kills . Some mapping seem broken on this front since there ’s no means to shoot down aircraft with any of the social class weapon or earth vehicle . If you have friend to play with online , you ca n’t . You ca n’t be in the same squad in - biz , same fomite , nor can you work together , jell objective lens , or breed on each other . It ’s so feature of speech - less compared to DICE’sBattlefieldseries thatBattlefrontalmost feels like it ’s made by a different developer .
The second flagship mode ofStar Wars : Battlefront II , the Starfighter Assault mode , is much more gratifying . It pock 12 players against another 12 with many AI - controlled ship to shoot out . This modal value also postulate player into space , something the firstStar warfare : Battlefrontgame did n’t . It looks great and can be fun once you master the control , but it ’s still a far cry from the X - Wing and TIE Fighter secret plan of old . And again , there ’s no teamwork involve . It ’s just a slip of shoot anything with a red object indicator as fast as you could .
EA promised several times more content inStar war : Battlefront II , but it ’d be worth trading that all back in for deeper gameplay , some balance in the force , so to address , and some teamwork occasion . And yes , a complete overhaul of the onward motion and loadout systems .
IfStar war : Battlefront IIwasn’t based on the most popular license in the cosmos , there would n’t be much to this plot at all .
More : Battlefront II May Have Revealed Rey ’s Parents
