Platforms: Windows, Xbox One, Playstation 4
Genre: Action Shooter
It wouldn’t be farfetched to claim that Star Wars film franchise is an immortal cash cow. This cash cow keeps spawning money minting ventures even after 40 years of the original film release. Star Wars Battlefront 2 will be hitting the shelves on November 17, 2017 and is going to be seventh overall game associated with the movies. Battlefront 2 is going to be a joint venture between EA Dice, Criterion Games and Motive Studios. So are the fans and aficionados still interested in another Star Wars odyssey? Well let’s take a sneak peek and find out!
Plot
The plot for the game is penned by Walt Williams, the man responsible for storyline behind the highly acclaimed Spec –ops: The Line. The events in the game are built around the content taken from movies The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (to be released on 13th December 2017). A question that automatically comes to mind is will playing this game in advance serve as a spoiler for The Last Jedi? Let’s hope not! Can the writer can be trusted to carefully navigate the ridges of Star Wars universe and keep the storyline convoluted (yet immersive and entertaining) remains to be seen. According to reports, Battlefront 2 will focus on single player story mode shifting focus from the multiplayer (something that was sorely missed in its predecessor).
Players would be stepping into the shoes of Iden Versio (non- cannon character and yes it’s a female). Iden is the leader of Inferno Squad – an imperial Special Forces group. This would be the first time players would be experiencing the game through the empires perspective instead of the rebels. It will be really interesting to see how the story proceeds and how the producers will tackle things from this side of the factional divide. Even more important is the question what will be fans take on this. There must be players out there who’d always wondered what it would be like to be on the “team bad guys”, so here’s the chance to quench that curiosity.
Gameplay
As already mentioned single player campaign is Iden-centric but there will be parts in between where players will be able to control Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren. The multiplayer mode has undergone substantial change as reportedly it will consist of a free DLC which will be available to everyone via a free EA account. Compared to the single player campaign, the multiplayer mode will have a whole host of playable characters from different movies. These include Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Boba Fett, Han Solo, Darth Maul, Princess Leia and our favorite little green ass whopping Jedi master Yoda.
Arcade Mode
Gamers who have played the original Battlefront would vividly recall how underwhelming and unsatisfying the arcade mode was. Seems like the three collaborators at the helm have done their homework when it comes to player’s aspirations as this time around the arcade mode looks significantly better and well tweaked. The AI controlled enemy is going to be increasingly difficult to fight. Little and negligible things which marred the experience like on screen avatar being almost immune to damage have been revoked making the entire experience more challenging and thoroughly enjoyable. The arcade mode has also been sprinkled with variety by inclusion of various missions and varying objectives. These missions can be testing grounds for accurately judging the pros and cons of characters without looking over one’s shoulder for real-life and more over powered players.
Galactic Assault
The most admirable and the most comprehensive chunk of multiplayer game is the Galactic Assault. The capacity of participation is 20 Vs 20 with infantry and vehicles at player’s disposal. The objectives vary as in either defending or attacking a point of interest strategically placed in the middle of the map.
Players will be given the choice of selecting droids or the clone army to accomplish this. The visuals and surroundings of Galactic Assault will immediately induce and trigger a sense of nostalgia amongst players as it takes place on the planet Naboo. Kudos to the graphics people who have successfully managed to rendered this beloved terrain in all of its splendid glory. Galactic Assault is as close to one can get to actually being on set of the movies without the danger of eating a face full of laser blast.
Star fighter Assault
Of course, no Star Wars game would be complete without encompassing some sort of air fight sequence. Star fight assault is an airborne version of Galactic Assault consisting of whole multitude of different arenas. The maps of star fighter assault are expansive with each having multiple objectives to be accomplished. The experience is a thoroughly satisfying one in terms of game mechanics and ambient soundtrack. Different classes of fighter space ships (including the millennium falcon) are available with equally unique role to play in the onslaught. It would take trial and error to find which class suits your playing style but when you do find one, its easy and smooth sailing.
Strike Mode
Finally, the strike mode is a watered down affair (compared to the previous massive and expansive modes) but is very interesting nevertheless. The objectives are traditional as in fetch and escort quest where two teams compete against each other. The objectives change from round to round so players might find themselves filling different roles with each iteration. Strike mode specifically caters to players who don’t like their screen overwhelmingly populated with different events all taking place simultaneously (which is a hallmark of massive multiplayer modes). The action is very fast paced and players will certainly be dying and spawning quickly to throw themselves back into action at a moment’s notice.
Verdict
From the onset, Star Wars Battlefront 2 is a significant improvement over its predecessor in almost every department. The story spans across 30 years of Star Wars cannon but is kept cohesive and entertaining. Star Wars Battlefront 2 seems like it will go down in history as one of the most satisfying and enthralling sci-fi game. More will be revealed as the game finally makes its full scale debut on the aforementioned date. Till then we shall keep our fingers crossed and eyes peeled for it.