Star Wars: Battlefront is perhaps one of the most anticipated games of this generation, and that is understandable as its game changing prequel was released a whopping decade ago. Taking over from Pandemic, DICE has taken the series’ reigns and gave it both their personal and updated touch, releasing it for the PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

I’ll be honest with you, this is a very well built and polished game. Throughout the entirety of my experience playing it, very rarely did any game breaking hiccups occur, and if it ever did, it lasted for merely a few seconds. With a heavy multiplayer centric title, it is sadly considered a big feat these days as the norm consists of unfinished or rushed products that frustrate more than they entertain. I am glad to say that is not the case with Star Wars: Battlefront.

Every aspect of the game from the sound to visuals is consistent, and carefully crafted to truly sell you on the Star Wars experience, with even John Williams melodies included in the soundtrack to add more authenticity to the franchise. There were a few problems I noticed with the music system however, especially the with fact that the some of the major themes, such as the Imperial March, Star Wars’ most popular theme has not been utilised effectively. Rather than letting it play at opportune moments, to truly strike a chord with the players, the theme is tirelessly repeated every time the gameplay gets  hectic. It defeats one of the most important purposes of John William’s score, which is to truly make some scenes iconic and memorable.

Still, for audio, the sound effects take the prize as every single detail has been crisply crafted and mastered to give players an engaging experience, even more so with the aid of surround sound, which sounds absolutely sublime. Ultimately mixed with the responsive and easy to pick up and play gameplay, it makes the overall experience that more stellar. What really put a smile on my face was the inclusion of split-screen, a beloved feature that is sadly missing from many modern games. Not to mention, the game lets you control some of the series’ most iconic characters like Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and my personal favourite Bobba Fett.

The game has a total of 8 different modes that take place throughout 12 maps. The game modes are clever takes on various popular multiplayer game types like Capture the Flag, Aerial Dogfight and Escort, which a lot of Dice’s Battlefield fans will be quite fond of. The maps are overall very well designed, once again showcasing Dice’s excellent handle on designing multiplayer related content that is both non-linear and progressive. Not only that, but the maps are some of the most iconic places from the movies, such as Tatooine, Endor and Hoth.

Even though a traditional campaign is missing, players can play the survival modes and training on their own, which although quite interestingly designed, they do not sate the need for a campaign. The campaign’s exclusion was definitely not one of Dice’s strongest decisions and the game feels held back because of that, which brings me to my next point.

Retailing majorly for £47-49 at major outlets, the game feels lacking and its content does not support the hefty price tag it comes bundled in. Comparatively, Call of Duty: Black Ops III is cheaper, and contains much more robust content than Battlefront, which unfortunately relies too much on its multiplayer counterpart. Even though I had quite the blast with the game initially, it is currently gathering dust as the overall experience has gotten quite mundane and repetitive for me, an experience I never expected to end so prematurely.

If you are a diehard Star Wars fan and want to experience some of the franchise’s most iconic battles, race through the forest of Endor on Speeder’s, take out X-Wings while piloting Solo’s Millennium Falcon and take on a platoon of Rebels as the cunning Darth Vader, now is definitely your chance. However, if you are a casual Star Wars fan like me, who just wants an exciting game with worthwhile content, you may want to consider renting it instead as the game is expensive for what it contains. That, ladies and gentlemen is my honest opinion.

Still, those shortcomings in no way account for the game’s quality and as mentioned before, the game is a robust experience that not only works, but works well and features some of the most well realised Star Wars maps ever seen in a videogame, next to The Force Unleashed of course.  With Christmas just days away, it might be wise for you to resist the power of the Darkside and holdout for those penny saving sales.

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