Star Wars Battlefront

There are certain things you just don’t touch unless you are absolutely certain that you are not going to break them. Whether it’s sand castles or famous movie franchises from the 80s, the rules are the same, and you don’t get to just walk away after ruining them. DICE probably considered all this before taking on the huge responsibility of developing a new Star Wars Battlefront, but they kept their cool until now, and it’s finally judgement day. Now, does the game live up to the expectations?

Star Wars Battlefront is a multiplayer first-person shooter based on the iconic movie franchise directed by George Lucas, and also a successor to Star Wars Battlefront II. Since it is developed by DICE, you might wonder if this feels anything like Battlefield. The short answer is yes, of course it does, but that’s no reason to be disappointed. In fact, that’s all the more reason to be excited about the game, because the developers did not have to build everything from scratch. Instead, they had the resources readily available from the beginning, and they managed to meld them into something exquisite.

To begin with, Star Wars Battlefront features both single and multiplayer game modes, although the multiplayer is obviously the cherry on top of the cake. There is an entertaining Survival mode you can enjoy in single player, which plays a lot like something from a tower defense flick. You can even invite friends to play in co-op mode, but the basic idea is to hold a few objectives while wave after wave of enemy troops try to capture them from you.

As you move into multiplayer territory, things get a lot more exciting. The Beta version only features a handful of mods, but they are certainly impressive. One of these is Drop Zone, which is quite basic and straightforward. The goal is to protect and capture objectives, while two teams make tremendous efforts to shoot each other dead. On the other hand, you can also try the Walker Assault mode, which is where the real fun is at. X-wings, TIE fighters, AT-AT’s, lightsabers, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and many other special vehicles and characters are available, so that the battlefield is constantly swarming with all sorts of violent and explosive activities.

Given the fact that up to 40 players can be part of the match at the same time, the maps must be large enough to handle all the action. Thankfully, they are. They really are, especially when you consider the fact that there’s enough room to fly the Millennium Falcon around. Special characters make an appearance as well, and they are a blast to see in action. As such, you get a chance to play as Darth Vader, Boba Fett or Luke Skywalker, in order to boost the morale of the troops and perform some impressive feats of power on the battlefield.

Lastly, the graphics are absolutely stunning in all regards. Gorgeous level design helps a lot as well, but everything from the animations, to textures and post-processing effects has been refined and polished to a shine. Granted, such beauty comes with quite the demanding system requirements, such as 16GB of RAM to run the game at high resolutions and on full details. The sound quality is incredible as well, and it only takes a few minutes of explosions and lasers to fully immerse yourself into the Star Wars universe.

Was Star Wars Battlefront worth the wait? Definitely. It’s still too early to classify the game as massive success, but this Beta shows us just enough to get even more excited about the final product. The gameplay is fun and balanced, there are plenty of maps and game modes to enjoy, and the graphics are amazing. Whether you are a Star Wars fan or not, this winter is all about the Empire and the rebels.

Note: This is an Open Beta version of the game, which means that it is only going to be playable for a limited period of time. After the final product is released, the Beta version stops functioning.