Banking on the fan base of the Star Wars movie and game franchise, as well as the anticipation for the upcoming" Star Wars: The Force Awakens," Electronic Arts (EA) has predicted selling more than 13 million copies for Star Wars Battlefront, which charted 9 million players during its beta phase. Less than a week after the game's release, however, most game review outlets and fans have expressed their distaste for the latest title.
Last week, some publications published their reviews and ratings of Star Wars Battlefront on the same day as the game's release. Both ratings and reviews are quite underwhelming for such a highly anticipated title. Even with the exquisite visuals, the highest it scored was a 8/10 while some had it at 6/10. So why is the force not strong with this one?
10. Die, Spawn, Re-die for Smaller Maps
If there's one thing MMORPGs have taught us, it's that when spawn points get camped, they will stay camped. Spawn points in Star Wars Battlefront can get camped even if they aren't players spawn too close to the battlefield, especially in small, cramped maps. Hence, they die before landing a shot or seeing the enemy.
"Oh look there's a bad guy — Die, spawn, re-die," AngryCentaurGaming notes of cramped maps like what players get in modes like Hero Hunt. Nonetheless, this annoyance hasn't stopped most gamers from enjoying the mentioned mode.
9. Disappointing Single Player Mode
Many have commented how the newly released title's single player mode does not hold a candle to the previous Battlefront titles. According to Steve Kovach of Tech Insider, playing alone on Star Wars Battlefront is "dull, repetitive, and not very fun at all."
"The single-player mode dumps you in the middle of a battlefield populated with computer-controlled characters trying to hunt you down," writes Kovac. "The objective is usually to take out as many of them as you can while searching for tokens that unlock powerups like new weapons and certain special abilities."
Note that in single-player mode, players can unlock powerups, which can be used for multiplayer mode. Kovac finds the need to go over this "frustrating."
8. Unsorted Multiplayer Matches
Aside from single player mode, playing multiplayer matches will also reward gamers with items and turn them into one of the playable heroes or villains. Needless to say, players get stronger as they unlock more powerups.
The problem arises with newbies getting placed in matches against players who have higher rank items and unlocked playable characters. While it's fun for the ones who dominate, it's never fun for those who are on the receiving end of the stick.
"Others have had a lot more time to play the game, so matches are essentially run by players who are overpowered and able to stomp on newbies like me. It's not even close to fair," Kovac explains.
Moreover, when queuing, players will get thrown into almost-concluded multiplayer matches to replace those who rage quit of the game. Those who have experienced this comment on how frustrating it can get.
7. Imbalanced Boba Fett
It's not a secret that a lot of people love Boba Fett. Apparently, one of them works for DICE. Not only does the bounty hunter stand out among heroes and villains with his prolonged hang time, which is courtesy of his jet pack, but he also has a flamethrower and wrist rockets that can rarely be dodged. Elevate, fire the rocket and anyone controlling him will have easy kills. The video below in which Xfactorgaming got a 62 kill streak should help demonstrate how to milk the overpowered Boba Fett. And yes, the player is good.
6. Limited Maps
Right now, the base game only includes 12 maps. Among the 12, four are Walker Assault exclusives and another four are for Supremacy and thus, the other seven modes of the gameplay shift between four maps only.
"With just four maps, it gets old in an afternoon. Why did it have to be like this? Why aren't there more maps, and better bots available?" Destructoid's Chris Carter asks. "It feels rushed, almost like EA had to add in a token offline game type just to have it in there."
While both Endor and Hoth are fantastically designed, the game needs more variety. People can only have too much cheesecake before they get tired of eating it. Do note that most game reviewers have also noted of the limited maps.
5. Voice Acting Can Be Better
Aside from the visuals, the sound design of Star Wars Battlefront is also highly-praised. However, the voice actors are another thing entirely. This was given due attention by Jack Pooley of What Culture.
"Battlefront really drops the ball here, because while it's understandable that such an illustrious cast of actors couldn't find the time to lend their voices to the game (or simply didn't want to), it seems like DICE pretty much just offered a ham sandwich and a can of Coke to an intern to give these impersonations a try," Pooley comments. "It's depressing most of all because DICE have paid so much attention to the little details visually and in other aspects of the soundscape."
Terrible voice acting ruins the magnificence of playable "Star Wars" characters taking the field. And although it is understandable that DICE couldn't book the original actors due to budget constraints, there are certainly other people who could have better voiced the characters.
4. Most Modes Are Not Fun to Play
In total, Star Wars Battlefront offers nine competitive game modes. However, with the exception of Walker Assault and Supremacy, the other game modes are either uninteresting or can get stale quickly. Hero Hunt can be fun in the first few matches but it can get boring in the long run. Mike Mahardy of Gamespot has the same thoughts about the game modes.
"Many of Battlefront's modes feel uninspired, or even poorly designed," Mahardy writes. "Battlefront has a depth of game modes, but only a few have much depth."
3. Fighter Squadron Can Use More Depth
Fighter Squadron is a mode that takes players away from the monotonous midrange shooter gameplay of Star Wars Battlefront and allows them to take to the skies on X-Wings, A-Wings, TIE fighters, TIE interceptors and iconic hero ships from both factions. But although it initially offers decent amounts of fun, the mode suffers from the same complaints as the other gameplays — lack of depth.
"Sadly, I personally can't see myself playing this game mode for longer than a couple of rounds," YouTuber jackfrags comments when he dissected the Fighter Squadron mode. "There isn't much depth here."
Moreover, some are questioning why the battles are not set in space. It certainly isn't "Star Wars" without the space and stars in the background.
2. Stormtroopers without Helmets
"Star Wars" fans are questioning why DICE made efforts towards this customization. It's simply not needed. Stormtroopers should remain the way people recognize them — with helmets. There's no reason to ruin anyone's experience or vision of the "clone troopers" by giving them faces. Instead of putting a face, why not have the weapons customized or create more variety with the stormtrooper armor, body shape and height?
1. The Price
At $60, Star Wars Battlefront isn't a cheap game. The base game's content doesn't justify the price. Another $50 for the DLC is extortion.
"The idea of paying $60 to EA for a game that's like 30 percent of a game and eventually, maybe, the game will be complete through DLC that I also have to pay absurd prices for [is] crazy to me and completely unfair," rants Chris Stuckmann during his review of Star Wars Battlefront. "I see a person with a very large hand reaching across the country — from California or where the [explicit] EA is — into my pocket and going, 'You like Star Wars, don't you?' and taking that money."
Star Wars fans aren't that dumb, EA.
