Review for Star Wars Battlefront II. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 17/11/2017
How difficult it is to talk about a video game that is also a brand, which is also a film legend, which is also the element that populated the dreams of when we were children. How many times have we tried when we were small (but also when we grew up) to move objects with the power of thought as a Jedi Knight? We may not have dreamed of piloting the Millennium Falcon, to wield a lightsaber, to visit the wonderful planets we saw in the films? Star Wars Battlefront II (the name alone should make the fans shiver) wants to catapult us into the center of the action through all the "eras" that have marked the history of films. We start from the oldest and most original trilogy to move on to the golden age of the Jedi with the second trilogy, the one we lived as children or adolescents (falling madly in love with Natalie Portman). And then, finally, here is the new trilogy, still incomplete, which will be enriched by a second episode in less than a month. The trilogy that we will, in all probability, deliver to our children. And we will say: "look my son / daughter, that's a Sith, that's a Trade Federation droid and that ... yes, that's a mighty Wookie."
Hey R2, pass me the holocron on microtransactions
Tears aside, we need to immerse ourselves in writing a review that has, and shouldn't have, anything to do with our emotions. In other words, it is a question of quantifying and analyzing the work of EA and DICE in the creation of a video game that promised to be spectacular and full of references.
These days anyone with an account on any social network has been bombarded with numerous memes trying to discredit the work of developers and publishers. We will have to deal with this first. Many infamous images have been posted that describe a video game that does not exist. He went very much on the fact that the evil EA had inserted microtransactions that gave "advantages", at the multiplayer level, to those who were willing to spend the right amount. It has been said that those who bought Star Wars Battlefront II bought it for 60 euros but in reality they should have spent at least 200 (there are also those who wrote 900, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world, but let's leave these trifles aside) to be able to enjoy the title and be competitive. For once these sacrosanct pressures from the players (who should then be the ones to whom every developer should listen) were heard: in Star Wars Battlefront II, mark it, there are no microtransactions or ancillary sums to pay. The memes didn't stop though. Obviously behind there are the usual Sith who want to take revenge, or gamers with little salt in the pumpkin. Choose the one you like best and it offends you the least.
Iden Versio - The single player mode
One of the much publicized big news was the introduction of a single player campaign. While in the first DICE Battlefront there was only multiplayer, here we will be able to take part in a sort of spin-off that will take us from "Return of the Jedi" to "The Awakening of the Force". Iden Versio is the Commander of the Inferno Squad and the Corvus corvette. His team consists of two main characters: Del and Hask. Iden also has a small imperial droid that helps her with various operations. Here, too, there has been complaints about the brevity of this campaign, but things are different in our humble opinion.
Only those who have recently approached the saga will not recognize the immense value of what is told, even briefly. This campaign should be taken for what it is: a film, a three- or four-hour spin-off about the events that brought the Empire to complete ruin after the destruction of the second Death Star and the concomitant death of Emperor Palpatine. He tells us how the rebellion did not end its fight on the Wood Moon of Endor but had to chase what was left of the Empire around the galaxy and, as it happens, the decisive battle takes place on Jakku. Coincidences? Of course not. All the more reason [SPOILER ALERT] if Iden Versio and Del fall in love after the battle of Jakku and… decide to have a baby girl. We haven't told you anything anyway, also because the girl is officially called Gideon.
In any case, what is really told is how Del got to know Luke Skywalker and stayed in touch with him for some time, so much so that Luke himself gave him a piece of the map needed to find it. When Del, as an old man, senses that Kylo Ren is on his trail to get the piece of the map, he makes sure that his piece is delivered to Lor San Tekka. What would “Who is Lor San Tekka“ be like? Well no. R2, pass me the holocron on San Tekka. Give him time, R2 will make it, and don't say his wheels are out of place. He is offended. Lor San Tekka is the elder who delivers to Poe Dameron the piece of the map leading to Luke Skywalker in "The Force Awakens". The circle comes full circle, huh?
In itself this campaign is done in a masterly way but it must be said that it is a bit "stuck" as regards the exploration of the maps and the actions we can take within it: the developers wanted to put us on well-defined tracks. And in the end we also understand why: it doesn't end here, the campaign launches the idea for a second episode. However, we do not know if it will be present in the future Battlefront III or if the knots will come to a head at the cinema next December 13th.
On a technical level, compliments must be made to DICE for having created a compelling campaign, which transports the player into a real interactive film. Too bad only for some points of the plot that hold up little. Like Iden Versio's conversion to the Rebellion. You don't understand why he does it, you don't understand what you gain from it, you don't understand why you love your father, Imperial Admiral, then you hate him, then you save him, then you forgive him, then you hate him, etc.
The multiplayer of discord
And we come to the biggest hot potato of the year. R2, please play the message. No, not Ben Kenobi's! The one about Battlefront II, come on! Oh dear.
Having clarified the question of microtransactions at the beginning, let's first see what the multiplayer of Star Wars Battlefront II consists of and let's briefly analyze its strengths and weaknesses. The gamer is faced with five possible choices: Galactic Assault, Assault with Starfighters, elimination, Heroes vs. Villains e Team Battle. It goes without saying that Galactic Assault and Starfighter Assault are the only two modes that will allow you to play with less than eternity waiting for other players. Let's face it right away: the servers are still half empty. If the wait is very short for the first two modalities mentioned, for the others you could really wait for the Apocalypse, the day in which surely people will decide to try the other three modalities because they should be included in the "list of things to do before dying" .
The overall impression is that DICE and EA wanted to create a feeling of "mayhem" by putting all three eras of Star Wars in the cauldron. But if you think this multiplies by three weapons, abilities, maps and various items well, no. Simply no. Trivially no.
The Maps
Not being able to choose the map we can not say if they are few or aunt. Endor, Death Star, Kashyyyk (two maps: one by day and one by night, you find the meaning, we did our best ...), Kamino, Tatooine (Mos Eisley to be precise), Hoth (we saw it once in 36 hours of play ... 36, guys), Maz Kanata Castle (no, not out in the woods and ruins like in the movies, right inside), Yavin IV (no, not the rebel base and the old Jedi Temple , just a mound in the woods and two rooms of the Temple), Jakku, Naboo and Base Starkiller.
Now that we have painstakingly listed them we will say that they are beautifully made and have all the flavor we would expect from a game set in the Star Wars universe. Some beautiful details have even been included: on Kashyyyk, looking out of the playing area, we will see the scene from "Revenge of the Sith" where the droids storm the Wookie Beach, while on Naboo we will see helpless people running through the streets and taking cover. Details that make the difference. It would all be incredibly cool if the maps weren't so narrow and long and caged the player inside the tracks we were talking about earlier for single player. Star Wars Battlefront II maps are made to move forward and backward, never to discard to the side. Too bad, because very little tactics can be done.
The classes
Four classes, Assault, Heavy, Official e Specialist, and four weapons each. Are you surprised? In fact, the weapons this time are a little less than those of the first Battlefront. Or rather: each class will have a set of four weapons, one immediately available and three to unlock by completing the challenges, consisting, most of the time, in mere thresholds of kills to be achieved with that class, so nothing transcendental. More than anything, sorry not to have a large set to choose from as in the first chapter, but the introduction of the classes brought about several difficulties, first of all the possibility of making a character practically invincible with the right mix of cards and weapons, so that's okay, isn't it? Well, to be honest, the classes right now aren't the best in balance: Assault, Officer, and Specialist work fine, but the Heavy class has some balancing problems. Its weapons, while powerful, fail to do much damage to enemies, and although the class is a sort of self-propelled fortress, has a similar accuracy to your when, on summer nights, try to kill mosquitoes in the dark with your eyes closed.
Similarly, the fighter and bomber classes of all three eras have been improved. Finally we have a pointer that indicates the exact point at which to fire to hit the enemy and in general the maneuverability of the vehicles has finally been standardized: in this way it will no longer be enough to increase the DPI of the mouse to make absurd evolution. True, damn hunting users?
Cards
In Star Wars Battlefront II A new card feature has been introduced, which old players of the first version are familiar with. These are passive or active (mostly active) skills that trigger a variety of effects. The great thing is that there are so many of them and they greatly customize our character and the gaming experience. These cards must be unlocked through the "lootboxes" but they can also be created through the "parts" that we can obtain by completing the Challenges or that we find in those same lootboxes. This way we won't have to wait very long to unlock the card we want so much.
How much they affect the gameplay? Fortunately, not a lot: they give a decent advantage, but you also need to know how to adapt them to the map every time, which no one would dream of doing. Take it as a "pro" tip.
The heroes
Also in this chapter we will have the heroes of the film saga available. There are some new entries, as expected, and there is a respectable hero park, which also extends to fighters with the custom ones of Yoda, Vader, Kylo Ren, Poe Dameron and two versions of the Falcon: one with Han and Chewbacca, the other with Rey and Chewbacca. Apart from that, it is noteworthy that heroes are now no longer invincible and able to heavily influence the tide of a battle (right, damned Bossk users?). They have to be used tactically and the disproportion to the life points of normal soldiers has been contained (right, damned Bossk users?). In general, then, even the heroes have seen a sacrosanct leveling down and they're not that hard to kill anymore (true, damned uses… er…). One flaw - especially for fans of the saga - lies in the fact that it is not clear why you can play with Vader during the attack on Naboo by the Trade Federation, or to use Rey during the Battle of Hoth. These are trifles, but they undermine the credibility of the game and make purists turn up their noses.
R2, play the final message! How is it that you have a message from Ben Kenobi? Everyone knows that, give me ... how, is this another message?
"Hello everyone! I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi. Many of you know me and consider me the greatest Jedi in history, but they are too good. I got to play Star Wars Battlefront II and I must say that I was amazed by the accuracy of the landscapes, the depth of detail in every area and the exceptional graphics level, worthy of the most spectacular Malastare shell races. I loved the story of Iden Versio even though uncivil weapons were used most of the time. I only have one question for developers: because I'm not there? I mean: I'm not that bad. No? I would have liked to see Yoda and Anakin again. May the Force be with you all! "
► Star Wars Battlefront II is a Shooter type game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 17/11/2017
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