Battlefront 2’s five modes might look a bit sparse on
paper compared to the 2015 game, but in reducing the amount of modes, they have
become more focused. And as multiplayer is the biggest draw with this game,
it’s a good place to start this off.
Galactic Assault has been the mode pushed in the
advertising of the game since the big reveal at E3, with Starfighter Assault
coming in later as the second big mode. For Galactic Assault, the action is
mostly on the ground, with three phases split across four ‘missions’. In any
one of the eleven maps, the attacking team will either hack systems, defend
transports, capture and hold areas, or protect a charge from being switched
off. It works well, and all of the maps feel different – both in terms of
objective and aesthetic. Which is great work in a game that has almost two of
every biome. Jakku and Tatooine are both desert worlds, but they both have
differing features in how the map plays. And that goes for the other maps as
well. However, sometimes these matches can be won quite easily on the first
stage, especially if that first stage is a capture and hold. A ticket counter
for the attackers gives them limited reinforcements to get the job done, so if
the defenders can do their job well enough, the win goes to them. Of course,
that’s not really a negative point against the game, as this is the standard
two teams format, and it always is based on the skill of the players [and a bit
of luck in some cases]. I’ve had the most fun in this mode, and like Walker
Assault in the 2015 game, will more than likely be my go-to mode whenever I hop
on.
Starfighter Assault has fewer maps, but still manages to
be diverse with them. Kamino takes place around the cloning facility instead of
being out in space, for example. Endor has the battle within the debris of the
Death Star. The objective for the attackers in this mode is to destroy the
systems of either a cruiser or space station. Flight control is vastly improved
in this game, and the removal of a lock-on for primary lasers is very welcome –
as is the removal of automated rolls. They always felt sluggish when used in
the 2015 game, and not very effective all that often, so always being in direct
control of whichever ship you use is great. New Hero ships have been added for
the additional eras, so Yoda’s Jedi Interceptor faces off against the Scimitar
of Maul’s, and Kylo Ren’s TIE Fighter squares off against Poe’s X-Wing. There’s
also a second Millennium Falcon that’s been added representing the sequel
trilogy. Just like the heroes themselves, each new addition has something that
sets it apart from the others.
From a starfighter focused mode to a hero focused one,
Heroes vs Villains returns. Instead of being brought over untouched, it’s seen
a complete revamp. Four light side vs four dark side heroes enter the battle
with a set ticket count. One person per team gets chosen as a target, and
whichever target gets defeated loses a ticket for their team. The team that
manages to keep at least one of their tickets wins. And this seems like a good
time to talk about those heroes. Returning for the light side are Han Solo,
Lando Calrissian, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia, with Rey and
Yoda being new. For the dark side, Boba Fett, Bossk, Darth Vader, and The
Emperor return, with Darth Maul, Kylo Ren, and Iden Versio being the new
additions. At the start, only Han, Lando, Rey, Yoda, Boba, Bossk, Maul, and
Kylo are unlocked. Everyone else needs unlocking through credits earned by
playing. Before all the controversy that hit, Luke and Vader were 60,000
credits each – and when each match is paying out only a few hundred at a time,
that’s a lot to save up. Fortunately, all unlock prices were slashed 75%, so
now they only need 15,000. The mode itself is fun, and works well, due in part
to the smaller sections of maps they take place on – as all small modes do.
The last new mode is Strike, where 8v8 matches are
played. The idea here is that one team has a ‘flag’ that needs to be taken into
the enemy stronghold. If the defenders can stop that from happening, they win.
It’s a mode where sometimes rushing it can help while other times you’ll need
to fight hard to make progress, all the while keeping that flag held by
someone. Heroes and vehicles aren’t allowed here, so it is purely a clash of classes.
Blast is the other returning mode, and remains the basic team deathmatch mode
it always was. Which is to say still a good mode for those who want nothing but
a standard shootout.
New to this game are the campaign and the arcade mode.
The campaign follows Iden Versio and Inferno Squad – a top special forces unit
within the Empire – during the waning days of the war. The plot itself is
focused more on the characters than any of the events that surround them, so
while we see Operation Cinder, the retreat from Endor and others such things,
the focus remains on what the characters are feeling more the details of those
events. As for gameplay, the mechanics from the multiplayer carry over here.
Upon being defeated, you can swap out weapon and star cards to try a different
approach. Some levels are quite decent in length and offer quite a lot to do.
The first mission has you controlling Iden’s droid as it makes its way to her
through the rebel ship. The second half then has you controlling Iden herself. Endor
has you storming several groups of rebels before getting into a TIE Fighter for
some aerial combat. Other missions will have you playing as other heroes such
as Luke or Leia, but these aren’t quite as good. Objectives in these missions
are usually to defend for a certain amount of time before moving on to the next
part of the map. However, for a campaign of roughly four to six hours in
length, it offers a good experience. As for Arcade, there’s eight different
scenarios to play for both light side and dark side using either the team match
or onslaught templates. Team match is basically Blast under a different name,
with onslaught being a one vs many template. Each mission has three
difficulties, with the first difficulty being completed to unlock the next.
These missions are fun, but mostly Arcade will be used for Custom Battles. For
now, there isn’t much to it. Various factors can be changed, such as how the
classes are used [battle points from multiplayer, everything free, heroes only,
etc], how many units each team has and the reinforcement tickets available. The
planet that is played on can be selected, but not every planet is available.
For consoles, this is still great for those local multiplayer matches – even
if, and I know I’m going into territory I don’t usually go, it doesn’t match
the quality of the original Battlefront 2 in terms of choice.
The sound design is great, as are the visuals. There’s a
lot more proper Star Wars music in the game this time, but the voices of heroes
still fall a bit flat in terms of being accurate for some. All units within the
game can be buffed using star cards. Unlike in the 2015 game where these were
bought with credits after attaining a certain level, we have… loot crates. The
most expensive crate is 4000 credits, and with that you can get anywhere from
three to six cards. However, not all of those cards will be actual star cards.
One of those gives credits, and another gives crafting materials. These
crafting materials can be used to upgrade cards, or get new ones, and is really
the only part of this system I like. Star cards themselves can no longer be
placed in one of the three slots available [which already have class specific
items inserted] but instead overwrite one of the three. It feels limiting in an
already limited system. Trait cards are included, and can be upgraded just like
the abilities. Three cards can be active per class [after collecting ten
‘ranks’ for that class], but each class has their own star card sheet which
includes those traits. Again, limiting. However, with or without the system
being an active part of how you play, the game itself is still fun and you can
still use the standard classes without star cards and still progress. Heroes
and vehicles also have star card sheets with specific ability upgrades and
additions available. Guns are thankfully tied to missions, which track progress
within the game. Using a class for a certain amount of time, getting kills with
that class, and getting kills with weapons of that class will unlock class-specific
things. Kills with the class gets new guns, and kills with a specific gun
unlocks add-ons for that gun. Kills with other weapons will give a crate for a
specific item, which really begs the question of why it couldn’t just give that
thing without the need of a crate. I’ve talked enough about that system, and no
doubt you’ve heard all about it from the controversy anyway, so recommendation
time.
Star Wars fans wanting a solo adventure won’t get much
use out of this game, but everyone else I think will find it fun. How much you
cherish an actual progression system over luck-based crates will be the overall
factor though. While I wouldn’t say this should affect your decision, I’d also
advise thinking about whether you found the 2015 game’s loadout customisation
better than the one here. Otherwise, there’s a lot more here than in the 2015
game, so if you can overlook some of the factors, there’s a great game waiting
to be played. And all content being free isn’t that bad either, right?