It’s a gorgeous day on Hoth. The snow is glistening, Lord_MuffinPitz69 has just kamikazied into yet another X-Wing and Darth Vader is busy choking the life out of Rebel scum while Stormtroopers blitz into battle. And right there, my childhood is re-awakened. I’m remembering Luke getting a proper smackdown from an enraged Yeti on steroids, how Lando Calrissian was the smoothest rebel around and how Darth Sidious should have renamed himself Darth Scrotum after he spent a little too much of that Force Lightning on his face.

It’s a fantastic time to be a fan of Star Wars. I’ve got a shelf full of Disney Infinity Star Wars characters, I’ve booked my IMAX ticket for December 18 and I’ve applied enough poison ivy to my face in various patterns to make a pretty convincing Darth Maul costume. And along comes Star Wars Battlefront. It’s everything that you knew and loved about the old trilogy, minus the Ewoks or C3P0 being a chrome-plated complaining f***er whenever he was on the screen.

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It’s the most authentic Star Wars game you’ll ever see. Something which is both good and bad, when you really sit down with Battlefront you’ll notice that the high production values do little to hide a creaking and aging behemoth once you’ve invested a couple of hours into it.

Look, Star Wars Battlefront is gorgeous. Absolutely fantastic to behold and sexier than a Tattooine twin sunset. What DICE has managed to do on current generation platforms deserves the highest of fives. It’s especially pretty when you look at the magnificent landscapes of Sullust, Endor, Hoth and Tattooine. Even something as simple as a rock oozes enough detail to create an imbalance in your on-board Midichlorian count.

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And when you see it in action, Battlefront runs like a dream. There’s a consistently smooth frame-rate at play here, while explosions set off the kind of low-budget sparks that were a signature special effect of the original film. TIE Fighters roar through canyons and sound exactly like they were meant to, as a combination between an elephant mating call and a car driving on wet tarmac.

Thermal grenades give off a satisfying boom, Han Solo’s blaster has the scuff marks on it from the end of Return of the Jedi, Star Destroyer turbo-lasers fire on Rebel Alliance blockade runners as you try to outrun a photon torpedo lock. I could go on and on, talking about details such as the Sandtrooper captain having the right shade of orange on his pauldron, but you get the idea.

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In every single way possible, DICE has managed to replicate the definitive Star Wars visual experience into this latest version of Star Wars Battlefront. It’s pure fan service, and on that level, it’s delightful. And that’s the downfall of Battlefront here.

Because the game is a little too much like the Star Wars films. Bear with me here, I know this sounds weird. I adore Star Wars, but I’m also brutally honest about the franchise and the two trilogies of movies that it spawned: They’re beautiful flights of fancy, but they’ve also got the depth of a children’s pool.

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And that’s a sensation that permeates Star Wars Battlefront. Guns may look the part, but they’ve got zero connection to actually feeling like you’re wielding a piece of Star Wars history. There’s no heft to these weapons, and they all feel like the exact same blaster with various firing rates and scopes added to the mix in a vain attempt to make some sort of difference.

And much like DICE’s Battlefield series (Or 99% of any other shooter these days), progression is locked behind tight-fisted experience gates. I’ve long had a problem with this idea of players having to win to earn decent gear, but that results in the usual maniacs who play these games religiously having the best gear within a day and then running riot on lesser-skilled and underpowered players who are hopping in for a quick match during lunch.

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That results in an even slower sense of progression, where a quick deathmatch feels like a Mustafar slaughter when the opposition comes a-knockin’ on my door with their fancy jet-packs and over-powered star cards. Now granted, Battlefront does scatter power-ups all over the field, but the catch-22 of this progression system doesn’t do it any favours. You shouldn’t need to grind away for hours on the kind of equipment that would keep the action interesting from the start.

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And it’s also just a brutally simple game. DICE already had an uphill battle on their hands when they announced the Battlefront reboot, with many a gamer who had played the original incarnations of this series deciding to dust off their copies that were locked away and angrily shake their fists in unison at this apparent assault on their nostalgia.

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Its this attempt to pander to those cherished memories, that also makes Battlefront a brutally simplistic game with basic gameplay where victory is guaranteed by your loadout. You look at how games such as recent Call of Duties, Titanfall or even the Overwatch beta manage to combine environments, tactics, gear and teamwork into a cohesive whole, and you see just how far behind Battlefront falls with its antiquated ideas.

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Playing as a hero or a villain does add some charm to the game however, as you can Force-choke your way through Rebel soldiers as Darth Vader or look for a lucky shot as Han Solo. And sometimes, it is indeed fun to trip into a proper power fantasy. It’s also surprisingly rubbish at times, as Vader’s asthmatic melee mechanical massacre feels uninspiringly clunky, while Han Solo runs around the map looking like he’s in desperate need of a toilet.

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As for offline players, they get the same taste of the basic structure with horde-mode encounters and living out a fantasy as the most badass bounty hunter alive who can pick off the idiotic AI easily enough and ringing up a mad bill for replacement Stormtroopers. Adding friends to the mix does liven things up, but that’s how any game works these days.

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And as breath-taking as the maps of Battlefront are, the miserly approach to only doling out a mere handful of them stings quite a bit. But at least there’ll be more in the season pass, something that Battlefront is only to happy to remind you about in the main menu, waiting to gobble up your cash. Where Star Wars Battlefront does succeed however, is when it focuses on large-scale events.

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Walker Assault is a mad dash to avoid being trampled flatter than a Mylock when the Empire sets its AT-ATs loose on the Rebels, while Fighter Squadron is a sheer joy to experience as you take to the skies in a TIE Fighter or X-Wing and duke it out against dozens of other players. It’s easily my favourite mode out of the entire game, and one that I hope will be seen in an eventual Rogue Squadron reboot.

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Star Wars Battlefront isn’t a total train-smash. Far from it in fact. There is a very solid game here waiting to be played, but one that is far from being fully armed and operational. It’s far more effective to see it in action than to actually play it, as it relies a little too heavily on nostalgic necromancy to power a product that feels like a very small slice of the Star Wars universe. And an expensive slice at that.

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None of this matters of course, because Star Wars Battlefront will probably sell like Force-infused cupcakes. Star Wars Episode VII already has $50 million in ticket sales, and the film isn’t even out yet. People are hungry for Star Wars, people can’t wait to get their hands on it. And that’s what Battlefront does, as it serves up a quick dish of safe gameplay with a rousing score that is meant to pluck at your memories.

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Last Updated: November 27, 2015

Star Wars Battlefront
It’s quite possibly the most authentic Star Wars shooter ever made thanks to some amazing visual production values, but with shallow action and very little ambition to do more than necessary. Just like the films.
6.9
Star Wars Battlefront was reviewed on PlayStation 4
73 / 100

40 Comments

  1. Ottokie

    November 27, 2015 at 12:01

    That scored better than I expected. D must be very happy it’s Friday.

    Reply

  2. Ottokie

    November 27, 2015 at 12:04

    Also, what happened to the new scoring system that was being implemented at the beginning of the year 😛

    http://www.lazygamer.net/24/introducing-lazygamers-new-game-review-system/

    Reply

  3. Mistake Not...

    November 27, 2015 at 12:08

    “but with shallow action and very little ambition to do more than necessary. Just like the films.”

    I never really understood the whole Star Wars thing, though.

    Reply

    • Jan Prins

      November 27, 2015 at 12:23

      It’s about a sister kissing her brother in the second movie. And in the third, when it is revealed they are indeed siblings, not one “eeeewwwww’ was given.

      Reply

      • Jan Prins

        November 27, 2015 at 12:25

        Note: I am referring to Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The abominations that were episodes I, II and III never happened.

        Reply

    • SentientSulg

      November 27, 2015 at 13:01

      HAHAHA this is exactly how i felt when i read “Just like the films”. the shame Bonthuys!

      Reply

  4. Alien Emperor Trevor

    November 27, 2015 at 12:10

    Much like Darth Maul, it’s not half the game it used to be. ;P

    Reply

    • Ottokie

      November 27, 2015 at 12:11

      Only 20 min left till comment of the week. You can do it Trevor! xD

      Reply

      • Captain JJ never changes

        November 27, 2015 at 12:29

        I don’t believe in him.
        (this seems to help motivate)

        Reply

  5. oVg

    November 27, 2015 at 12:14

    Its confirmed. Darryn is a Trekkie.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ never changes

      November 27, 2015 at 12:30

      Very much confirmed.
      Or he’s a hipster who insults it for the reactions it will get.

      Reply

    • The D

      November 27, 2015 at 12:34

      WRONG! I’m all about the Babylon 5 yo.

      Reply

      • oVg

        November 27, 2015 at 12:34

        Oh, shit. I was thinking that lol You hipster. 😛

        Reply

      • Captain JJ never changes

        November 27, 2015 at 12:35

        As long as you like Firefly all is forgiven.

        Reply

        • oVg

          November 27, 2015 at 12:36

          Season 1 🙂

          Reply

          • Captain JJ never changes

            November 27, 2015 at 12:37

            Yea. After season 1 it lost all its content.

  6. Nikola

    November 27, 2015 at 12:20

    Good review and I think a fair score:)

    Reply

  7. Jan Prins

    November 27, 2015 at 12:21

    Now. If they added bot support in the vain of Unreal Tournament 1… I would be selling my mom’s crockery for this game!

    Reply

  8. oVg

    November 27, 2015 at 12:22

    I still prefer the SP experience.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief - CHAAARGE!

      November 27, 2015 at 12:25

      WHYYYYYYYYYY

      Reply

      • Jan Prins

        November 27, 2015 at 12:25

        I see your Schwartz is as big as mine?

        Reply

      • oVg

        November 27, 2015 at 12:27

        because of this guy all the licensing of the IP got in the sea.

        Reply

  9. Admiral Chief - CHAAARGE!

    November 27, 2015 at 12:25

    Rather make TFU3 or KotOR 3!

    Reply

    • Aries

      November 27, 2015 at 13:12

      KOTOR3, Ive being playing Kotor2 again, brilliant game through and through

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief - CHAAARGE!

        November 27, 2015 at 13:26

        Have you been playing the Steam version? ALL THOSE NEW ACHIEVEMENTS!!!!

        Reply

        • Aries

          November 27, 2015 at 14:11

          Yep, with mods

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief - CHAAARGE!

            November 27, 2015 at 14:34

            TSLRCM?

          • Aries

            November 27, 2015 at 14:36

            That and a few others that fix small things

          • Admiral Chief - CHAAARGE!

            November 30, 2015 at 08:57

            Nice!

  10. Captain JJ never changes

    November 27, 2015 at 12:29

    Just like the films.
    You cray cray man.

    Reply

  11. Melasco

    November 27, 2015 at 12:40

    If they re-skinned Battlefield 3 multiplayer with a Star Wars theme, it would have been worth a 9 imo. I enjoy the game, but it wont hold me nearly as long as BF3 or 4. I would have enjoyed a campaign even a short one. Nice review, thanks!

    Reply

  12. WitWolfy

    November 27, 2015 at 12:58

    Screw this game. I hope everybody who buys it trades it in the next day. Practices like these need to end!

    Reply

  13. ElimiNathan

    November 27, 2015 at 13:56

    This game is awesome. Don’t know whats up with all the negativity surrounding it

    Reply

  14. Benjamin Fleming

    November 27, 2015 at 14:28

    This game was a shallow shell. It should be 20 bucks, not 100. 50 with a season pass, not 180. I played it for about 5 hours and was bored out of my mind after 2. While its beautiful the lack of campaign kills the replay value. I returned it heartbroken.

    Reply

  15. Kromas untamed

    November 27, 2015 at 14:28

    Despite everything I am having loads of fun in BF. More than I ever had in Battlefield at least.

    Reply

  16. GooseZA

    November 27, 2015 at 14:35

    “Let Qui Gons be Qui Gons”

    Damnit Darryn, you are my pun spirit animal.

    Reply

  17. Kevin

    November 29, 2015 at 21:36

    This game is terrible. Even if you do manage to get the good gear, the hit detection is completely screwed. You’ll spend 1-2 minutes just hiking your way to where the action is, finally find somebody to shoot at, hit them 5 times in the head then they turn around and kill you with one shot from the same gun. Ground battles are completely unplayable, and they aren’t “battles” like old Battlefront games. Unless you’re playing Supremacy, which sort of has that feel, it usually feels more like an old James Bond game with everybody just running circles around some building firing from the hip. It doesn’t matter though, because as I said the FPS aspect of it is unplayable. The only thing worth playing is the fighter squadron game. But that gets old fast, same thing over and over.

    Reply

  18. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    December 1, 2015 at 10:31

    Shame the only guy who plays this game in my PSN friendlist is Nicky D… :/

    Reply

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