I guess EA/Dice didn't pay these guys enough

[Sennex 1,903]

http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/5-reasons-youll-stop-playing-star-wars-battlefront-within-a-week

 

5 Reasons You'll Stop Playing Star Wars: Battlefront Within a Week

 

The gates have opened for Star Wars: Battlefront thanks to EA Access. After spending many hours in the beta and now launch, I'm convinced that it'll be the shortest-lived AAA first-person shooter of 2015. Here's why.

 

1. Game Mode Filler

There's a reason you haven't heard much about the game modes outside of Drop Zone and Walker Assault: the other modes aren't very good.

Take for example Heroes vs Villains, which features several famous Star Wars characters in a battle to the death. While it sounds like a good time, it accentuates the shallow design of these characters. They are limited to one offensive attack, and only three abilities. It feels like you're playing a low level SMITE character.

Hero Hunt is one of several game modes you're likely to only play once or twice.

Or look at Fighter Squadron, a mode which should showcase exciting air battles like the Battlefront's of yesteryear. Unfortunately, the TIE Fighters and other airborne vehicles don't feel good to control. It's shocking given the pedigree of EA DICE, as well as the importance of these vehicles in the Star Wars universe.

Meanwhile, Droid Run's design results in players just hulking themselves into control points. Every player becomes a hunk of meat as the game's lack of teamwork mechanics results in a chaotic mess.

This shortcoming is particularly problematic given that Star Wars: Battlefront is a multiplayer-only experience. EA DICE wants you to spend months playing this game, but hasn't introduced enough enjoyable content to keep you coming back for more.

 

2. A Low Map Count

 

Four planets are featured in this game, with 12 maps across them. While this number might not seem too bad, only a few of them are playable on the popular modes.

 

In the case of Walker Assault and Supremacy, there are only four maps available for play. These are moderate sized maps like Hoth in the beta, and where most players are likely to spend the lion's share of their time. Meanwhile, Drop Zone only has six map options. These are smaller, more focused maps like Sollust in the beta.

 

This lack of maps is already netting the game a lot of negative attention, something you may remember Titanfall experiencing. But that game had 15 maps at launch, almost all of which were available in the most played game modes. It's safe to say that repetition is going to hit Star Wars: Battlefront hard.

 

3. It's Lacking Social Features

Remember when Splatoon received all that heat for not supporting in-game voice chat? Well, Star Wars: Battlefront doesn't either. Any communication you have with players on your team will have to be performed by creating a party on the console of your choice or by using third-party software on PC.

Organized team play isn't something Star Wars: Battlefront understands.

There are no clans, or anything of the sort. Organization of any form has been completely overlooked. You're expected to just log in and start playing without interacting with anyone else.

This is the theme with Star Wars: Battlefront. It's clear that it's been designed to be a game where your grandpa can head online and just start shooting people in a Star Wars setting. When playing game modes that require some degree of coordination, it's frustrating to an unbelievable degree.

 

4. Oversimplified Gameplay

 

If you've played Halo 5: Guardians during the past month, you'll instantly notice Star Wars: Battlefront's lack of depth the moment you boot it up. There aren't very many weapons, and each of them are designed to be as basic as you could ever imagine. You'll find yourself and your enemies using the same weapons most of the time, and they require a low amount of skill to use due to their low recoil and the game's high level of aim assist.

 

This is problematic for players who like to be rewarded for effort and skill in their video games. Hardcore players are already being turned off by the low skill ceiling. You shouldn't expect to see any fun-to-watch tournaments, team matches, or a lasting impression on live streams.

 

5. Nowhere to Turn

If this was any other EA DICE release, you could just into a single-player campaign when you feel like enjoying the gameplay and atmosphere without all the intense competition. Unfortunately, there is no campaign in Star Wars: Battlefront.

 

There is no story, but at least you can play as Darth Vader for a few seconds.

 

This comes as particularly surprising given that Star Wars is known for its story and immersion. This is a game that could benefit tremendously from even a short campaign. Sadly, you'll have to stick to some derivative Horde-style co-op missions and online multiplayer.

 

Conclusion

Star Wars: Battlefront is clearly a game that was made specifically to cash-in on the enormous release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It's one that completely ignores modern game standards, and makes little effort to give you reason to come back for the weeks to come.

But it's also a game that succeeds on delivering an experience that's authentic to the Star Wars franchise. It's beautiful no matter which platform you play it on, and there's been a ton of attention given to ensure it contains all the things you look for in a Star Wars game. For this reason, it's going to sell millions of copies and create tons of buzz next week. Unfortunately, many of the millions of people who buy it are going to quickly forget about it.

[The3rdWalker 1,274]

Not surprised by that review. I've heard serious complaints from players during beta where the in game objectives don't really matter and are pointless.

[Madjonny 386]

I played the beta, I saw it coming, I cancelled my pre-order...

Sounds like I'm a winner!

[GazzaGarratt 11,066]

What a shame really. Not been a massive fan of the series but with millions to blow on a decent game they just focus on the wrong principles. Well played EA/Dice.

[J4MES OX4D 10,054]

My overall feeling towards the game after playing the beta that this would die quicker than Battlefield Hardline and the fact it costs £50 is an absolute rip-off of the highest order. The ultimate killer for me is the fact there is no campaign which for a brand like this should be absolutely fucking essential. Everything else seems watered-down and shallow as shit. I think this game will fade quicker than Evolve and I regard that as one of the worst FPS games ever made. Many users who have been playing through EA Access suggest that it's one of the dullest and barest games they've played and a total cash grab. Star Wars fans might be enthused but the wider FPS community will not even entertain considering this game at a budget price I bet. The mainstream media will probably be more kinder but I can't see it scoring very well but each domain.

 

Next up; Rainbow Six: Siege - that's another pure cash grab on the horizon with no single player campaign and a shite offering of content. It actually makes you appreciate the sublime work of Treyarch and Black Ops 3 who have put in a sterling effort of a content-laden game in Black Ops 3.

[crippled_viper 258]

I played the beta, I saw it coming, I cancelled my pre-order...

Sounds like I'm a winner!

As did I. I felt that my time with BO3 and Destiny would be better off.

[wapntake 23]

Nice post, it's made me think twice about buying it, I'm quite disappointed really as I was looking for another game to play along with destiny, think I'll have to keep looking.

[techno 3,511]

Nice post, it's made me think twice about buying it, I'm quite disappointed really as I was looking for another game to play along with destiny, think I'll have to keep looking.

Black ops 3

[Drifter 851]

I still plan on getting it. You have to keep in mind that not everyone wants super complicated ragged edge skill type games all the time. For hardcore gamers that take every game real serious then it's not gonna be a game for you. For a guy like me that does enjoy playing a high skill game, yet also likes some relaxing "just plain fun" games then I think it'll be worth having in my game stand.

[crispymorgan 1,057]

Yeah, this was the game I was holding out for instead of BLOPS 3.  Bugger.

[lepercolony 275]

I still plan on getting it. You have to keep in mind that not everyone wants super complicated ragged edge skill type games all the time. For hardcore gamers that take every game real serious then it's not gonna be a game for you. For a guy like me that does enjoy playing a high skill game, yet also likes some relaxing "just plain fun" games then I think it'll be worth having in my game stand.

 

have to say i agree with this; i don't envision this game being the massive time-sink that other games have ended up being for me in the past.  instead, i look at it as a pleasant occasional distraction.  something that'd be fun to play splitscreen with my roommate since the learning curve doesn't sound like it's too steep, or to party up with online friends if the mood strikes.  i'm still considering picking this up once i pull the trigger on the PS4 on Black Friday.

[Diddums 4,346]

As I've said before, this game can simply not be a modern FPS with all the bells and whistles. I just wouldn't work within the SW franchise. The problem is that this game is aimed at Star Wars fans primarily, and many of those aren't FPS gamers. If you were to take the average Star Wars fan and stick him in the middle of a match of BF4 or CoD, he'd throw his controller out the window. This is why this game isn't designed to be a massive AAA FPS title. It has too broad of an audience to cater to. 

[techno 3,511]

That and the fact it's not an fps it's third person with an fps option tagged on to draw in fps players.

[Sennex 1,903]

As I've said before, this game can simply not be a modern FPS with all the bells and whistles. I just wouldn't work within the SW franchise. The problem is that this game is aimed at Star Wars fans primarily, and many of those aren't FPS gamers. If you were to take the average Star Wars fan and stick him in the middle of a match of BF4 or CoD, he'd throw his controller out the window. This is why this game isn't designed to be a massive AAA FPS title. It has too broad of an audience to cater to. 

 

I disagree with everything except the last 2 sentences.

 

I guess this sort of depends on your definition of Bells and Whistles.