Star Wars Battlefront (PS4, XBO, PC)

[Onken]

10 minutes of alpha gameplay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGRuSVpdWo8

[Pit-Pat]

I've not been able to watch it yet (still at work) but I read a lot of comments saying the graphics looked beautiful but the gameplay less so. Any thoughts on that?

My concern is that Dice will have stuck too closely to the original Battlefront's template, when actually there are reasons that things like Aim Down Sights have become so popular. I know that I was a bit disappointed that it isn't going to be Battlefield Star Wars.

[Onken]

My assessment won't be with the majority as I stopped playing FPS games after BF2 and COD3. They're playing on the Hoth map in that video and the player stays in third person the whole time. He's able to go on long streaks killing people from way off distances in a way that reminds me of the fun I use to have in Battlefield 1943 with the rifleman class. If your aim is good enough and can find a nice hill for cover you can pick people off with ease all day. The zapping lasers guns and third person gameplay appeals to me after enjoying Plants Vs Zombies Garden Warfare so much.

[Jim_MacLaine]

I watched it before EA took it down and it's not that dissimilar to the previous battlefronts albeit prettier. It looked a bit boring actually. Did the guy have no other weapons bar a blaster?

[Onken]

He fired off a couple of grenades and may have a pistol but yeah he never entered any vehicles and stuck to being on the ground. The AT-ST's, had to look that up to make sure I remember what they're still called, were vulnerable in the wide open and didn't seem to need a lot of hits to be taken down.

[mobias]

I'm looking forward to it. There really has't been a big third person online battle game to fill the void this generation left by Warhawk on the PS3. I do agree the Hoth level we've repeatedly seen looks kind of boring. Just one solitary AT-AT to have a shot in or play against? Seems a bit underwhelming. If Dice are claiming they set out to make the Star Wars game everyone has ever dreamt of playing then I guess I trust them to deliver on it. 

[Onken]

Eurogamer Drop Zone on Sullust (PC 60fps)

I like the look of this map even though its never featured in the films.

[The Boston Crab]

Are we all aware that this has a public beta from the 8th to 12th October? Might be PS4 only, I don't know. Either way, I'll give this a bash. It looks increasingly like a skin, though, and I don't know how there'll be any weapon variety given the limits of laser guns, so I'm open to being proven wrong. 

[wooders1978]

Bah - would have preferred a really good story based game - online gaming doesn't do it for me

[Onken]

The ex-Uncharted director is working with the Dead Space developer to create a separate Star Wars game you'll be more interested in. Some questions about the beta answered here.

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2015/10/05/star-wars-battlefront-ps4-beta-all-your-questions-answered/

[Onken]

It's downloading for me now.

https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-gb/games/star-wars-battlefront-beta/cid=EP0006-CUSA02940_00-BATTLEFRONTBETA0

900p PS4 and 720p Xbone. Both 60fps.

[mobias]

Downloading just now. Sony's servers are painfully slow when under strain. Can't see this arriving tonight. Its 7.9GB

[Thursday]

The single player wave defense thing was a bit dull. The walker assault just feels a bit too much of a mess at the moment as people are still figure out what to do. Plus, after a few hours of being up it already has the annoyance of people with better equipment sniping you from distance. I played two games of that, one as imperials and one as rebels, and it seemed like the imperials won easily each time, that might be alright once everyone knows what they're doing though.

Pod defense was fine, a lot easier to follow. PWND some noobs despite being a noob.



(I'm not even good at these types of games, these people must really suck)

[Onken]

VideoGamer put a quick video up. They were saying it was a bit unbalanced and favours the Imperial team but that just might be on Hoth mode. No one is taking any notice of the objectives and just running by the looks of it.

[The Boston Crab]

Unless you have a flaming wide on for the licence, I don't see what this has over Desters or Battlefield. I like the noises and music but blasters are unsatisfying and the overall mechanics feel like a total skinjob. Really didn't enjoy that. Aww diddums eh? I get that forty player infinite battles might have a more grandiose vibe so I'll wait for the reviews but that was AVERAGE.

[wooders1978]

Right, gonna download and see how shit I am

[Hollow]

Loving the beta...I like being Rebels cause the Stormies are really easy to see...pop.

[Zetetic]

Unless you have a flaming wide on for the licence, I don't see what this has over Desters or Battlefield.

Or PlanetSide 2, if you want massive battles with blasters. (And it's free.)

[Pit-Pat]

Due to a bout of work-related insomnia I played a couple of hours of this between 4:30 and 6:45 this morning. It was.. Good, I suppose. Not sure it's much beyond that and not sure how likely I am to buy it (alright, I almost certainly will). My doubts about it are mainly about longevity: there's a huge lack of variety of weapons and equipment (though there may be much that is locked due to it being the beta) and I can imagine the relatively (though now standard for Dice) small number of maps will cause it to get old quickly, particularly when several are likely to be as small as the escape pod one (it's possible it expands outwards for bigger game modes but I don't see how it would).

The majority of the equipment being available as random pickups as well introduces a vast element of luck - so that the almost impossible task of killing an AT-AT (I never saw one more than halfway dead by the time the rebels lost) is made either marginally easier with a rocket launcher, or that you get an entirely unhelpful squad shield thing. My guess is that some of the pickups become available as equipment you can unlock later, but I'm not at all sure of that.

The other real issue I have is the ridiculous decision to avoid having aiming down sight, but replacing it with something functionally identical but that feels less satisfying. Being able to fire a stormtrooper's blaster would be fun, so why make it that much less tactile and immersive.

The only other thing I found a little odd was how often Luke would turn up on the Hoth map. It felt as though he was getting killed two or three times a game in some of them, which rather takes away some of the excitement of him being there.

Otherwise, as I say, I found it good if fairly basic and bare-bones. I can't help but feel, on the basis of the beta, that it's a bit of a wasted opportunity to really make a Star Wars Battlefield game, with all of the tactility and scale that implies.

Tldr: Why adhere so faithfully to the now extremely outdated Battlefront series when you could've made Star Wars Battlefield?

[Hollow]

I've just discovered it's far more satisfying blasting rebel scum.

[Hollow]

Or PlanetSide 2, if you want massive battles with blasters. (And it's free.)

It is a solid game (and free), the quality of free to play games has shot up with this gen.

[mobias]

Very quick session on the demo there. Loved it. The full game is going to be incredible. Getting killed a lot in multiplayer so just going to stick to single player this evening. Think I'd prefer a slighter further back view in third person mode though.

Apparently Dylan Jobe the head of Lightbox Interactive, the guy behind both Warhawk and Starhawk on the PS3, put in a bid to make this game and was very close to doing it but EA and Dice won the rights to make it in the end.

[wooders1978]

Played it - not as shit as I thought I would be but those massive multiplayer maps are for kids really aren't they? I can't see what is remotely enjoyable about those sort of death and mayhem style games we'sen
Other than that, seems quite good, looks amazing and gameplay is decent- will there be a decent single player campaign though? Not gonna bother otherwise

[mobias]

Played it - not as shit as I thought I would be but those massive multiplayer maps are for kids really aren't they? I can't see what is remotely enjoyable about those sort of death and mayhem style games we'sen
Other than that, seems quite good, looks amazing and gameplay is decent- will there be a decent single player campaign though? Not gonna bother otherwise

Yeah looks like there will be single player too but I've no idea what the single player campaign is going to be like. A lot of emphasis has been put on the multiplayer so I'm guessing thats where the focus is.

It depends a lot on the what game mode you go for with these big multiplayer games. I tend to stick to capture the flag because its the one game mode that does requite a certain amount of strategy and a big team working together. If you're not too good then you can just play defensively and stay guarding the flag until you get to grips with it all.

With Battlefront at the moment its invariably just going to be one big death match because pretty much everyone is new to it and finding their way around. Once the full game comes out it'll be a lot better I'm sure, especially after a few weeks bedding in period.

[Thursday]

I know I do the same things in Destiny over and over but I can't imagine wanting to keep playing the hoth battle again and again. I mean it'd be nice to give it another go later, maybe get a turn as Luke or Darth, but I just imagine I'd burn out on it very quickly.

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

As a BF4 player with about 1000 hours chalked up I can't see myself playing this for too long, it's too simplistic and easy to have longevity for me. I'd say it's aimed squarely at younger kids and there's nowt wrong with that.

[mobias]

Just had a great multiplayer game there on Hoth. I'm loving it. As a bit of a Star Wars geek I think it definitely lives up to expectations so far. It looks gorgeous, the sound design really deserves special mention and the pace of it is just right. My only criticism so far is that the AT-AT's seem too small.   I just ran underneath one there and it didn't seem as big as they are in the movies. They also need to make it more obvious when you've killed someone in the kill list. Put your name in a different colour or something.

In terms of other stuff I haven't played Destiny or the Battlefield games so I don't have much to compare it to there. All in all it looks top quality fun so far.

[mobias]

Put in a marathon session of this last night to really get to grips with it. I've ranked up to level 5 now and unlocked the jet pack in multiplayer which ramps up the fun a lot. Also had a shot of all the vehicles on the Hoth level. I've got mixed feeling about the vehicles. The AT-AT is kind of crap. Its on a fixed path so you only control the guns and you only get an allotted time in it from what I can tell before getting booted out to let another player in. The AT-ST is a lot more fun. You can go anywhere and blast the crap out of anything.

The X-Wing and Tie fighters I'm not keen on the controls of and that brings into question the roll of power ups in the game, which seem to be generating some controversy. Getting into a vehicle is a matter of luck since the power ups appear randomly on the map in order to stop base camping. The problem with that is the X-Wings are kind if vital to defeating the AT-AT's as they cause a lot of damage. If you don't have good pilots in them then the Rebels are kind of fucked. Anyway, I'm really enjoying it. The full game has a lot of potential.

[Beagle 2]

Why are the goddamn PS4 downloads so fucking abominably slow? I only noticed this was out today, and I started downloading it at noon. Still 47 minutes to go, I'll have time for a half hour bash and then they take the bastard thing offline tomorrow.

[Onken]

I haven't had much time or felt like playing this to really give it a go. In the short sessions the overall impression doesn't make me want to rush out and buy it. As others have touched on the maps don't appeal to me now that I've been able to experience them myself. If I don't get it at launch I know I'll never end up bothering. I feel you have to be there from the beginning for these games.