Star Wars Battlefront (PS4, XBO, PC)

[Beagle 2]

I've asked for this for Christmas. Somebody say something nice about it. You're spoiling my Christmas.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I'm enjoying it, despite being very bad at it. The only real annoyance is that most of the best modes are online only. I'd have liked to play some of them either against the computer or splitscreen with friends.

[mobias]

I'm enjoying it but there's just not much of it so if you've paid 55 quid for it you feel more than slightly ripped off, which doesn't help with your appreciation of it. If it was £20 I think some people may be more charitable towards it. Like I said before its really the sort of game you just put on and have a bit of fun with for a little while each evening. Its a very simplistic arcade shooter but it does look and sound spectacular, which for me anyway helps carry my enjoyment of it a fair distance.

I'm enjoying it, despite being very bad at it. The only real annoyance is that most of the best modes are online only. I'd have liked to play some of them either against the computer or splitscreen with friends.

Playing online co-op with a friend is good fun but its got a fairly convoluted system for putting you and your friend(s) into the same game.

I was and still am shit at it. You have to be prepared to die a lot and run from spawn points back into the action. The game really improves when you unlock the jet pack at level 13. I've read some criticism of DICE for locking the jet pack away at level 13 and not making it available sooner. Its such a necessary item. Two other tips to doing well are unless you're a really good shot then just stick to the standard blaster you get quite early on. It has the best balance of rate of fire to damage done to cooling time. There are other blasters that inflict more damage but you have to be a good shot, which I'm not, to get the best out of them. They have a much lower rate of fire and/or a longer cooling time. I'd also recommend sticking to the impact grenade. Its effect is immediate as soon as it hits its target. I've also read its best to keep the controller sensitivity fairly low, I have mine at about 30%. Seems to be round about the standard setting for most people. 

[Beagle 2]

Are there any modes you can play with bots?

[mobias]

Are there any modes you can play with bots?

There are a few single player modes where you play against AI but they are fairly simplistic, easy and really only there as training sessions for the multiplayer.  It is at its core a multiplayer game. They could do a lot more with it as single player game but there's no campaign as such at all. I did read over on Neogaf that Visceral Games (owned by EA) are making a Star Wars game using the same engine as Battlefront but it'll be more of a single player game. Disney sold the gaming rights for Star Wars to EA so you bet anything they're going pump Star Wars games out as often as they pump out all the other flogged to death gaming franchises they own.

[Beagle 2]

Aw fuck this, my internet connection is pretty choppy, I didn't mind the lack of campaign but I thought you'd be able to jump into a quick match with some bots.

I want something fun to unwrap goddamnit! I might have to change my order to Just Cause. Or preferably get my Wii U back again.

[mobias]

I might have to change my order to Just Cause.

Though that seems to have internet connection problems and other technical issues all of its own too from what I've read.

[good times]

I've still got 6 hours left on my 10 hour trial version after having it for several weeks... which may say something about the depth of the game.

That first hour or two was brilliant mind.

[Onken]

Star Wars Battlefront is a first-person shooter, but it is [one of] the only teen-rated first-person shooters, [...] we had designed it to be a much more accessible product to a wide age group.

So, an 8-year-old could play with his father on the couch, as well as a teenager or 20-year-old could play the game and enjoy it. It is more accessible. And for the hardcore, it may not have the depth that they wanted in the game.

Eight-year-olds, Dude.

[mobias]

Eight-year-olds, Dude.

Thing is Star Wars is basically a kids franchise with cross generational appeal. To that end the game does do quite a good job of balancing things out, so its quite right that 8 year olds should enjoy it. That being said I think they would have been better off not trying to pander too much to the juvenile end of the gaming market. When it comes to gaming kids are a lot more switched on than adult game designers give them credit for. Speaking there as someone who was given a lesson in how some of the finer points of the Witcher 3's RPG system works by an 11 year old.

[The Boston Crab]

I would buy this just for the graphics and sound design but I just can't bring myself to support something with so little content. Konami are brazen buggers but they at least put out fifty hours of brilliance before rinsing the microtransactions.

[Onken]

Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare is a really accessible third person shooter. When you're playing it all you will hear is children talking on the mic but the game doesn't lack depth and has plenty of modes. I've played 60+ hours on the PS4 and not unlocked half 40 variants of characters who all have different abilities. Plus theres 200 customisable options for the different classes. I've read it takes nearly 150 hours to unlock everything in that game. Although it probably doesn't have the quarter of the budget of Battlefront I think the actual gameplay is also superior in PvZ.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

After many, many, many hours of playing, I think I'm starting to become less crap at the game. Now I seem to die only about 85% of the time. Buying the Scout trait was a big help, since I'm less likely to get shot from ten miles away by some big sod.

Obviously the huge pitched battle modes are the game's big selling point (beyond simply being Star Wars) but I actually think I prefer the smaller games, like the Cargo and Droids ones, to the larger, more chaotic types. They seem to engender a bit more teamwork, instead of the free-for-all madness of Walker Assault and the like.

[hoverdonkey]

Yep, the eight-year-old in our house played this for a couple of days, but has since gone back to PvZ because there's so much more to it. A few years ago no one would have put up with this shit, releasing a game that's essentially the extra bit but without the main content. See also, that pic doing the rounds on Twitter showing how Roses tins have got smaller and smaller in the last 20 years.

[Onken]

If you reskinned PVZ with Star Wars or Nintendo characters it would be one of the most popular games. I can just imagine the praise from Kelvin saying its better than Smash Brothers.

[lazarou]

Origin/EA are having a seasonal sale at the minute, including $20 off whatever edition of this you fancy (on PC), the cheapest being a shade under $40. As I just got back from TFA and am in dire need of some pew pew business, I think I'll give it a try at that.

[lazarou]

Okay, I'm going to take advantage of Origin's refund policy and get something else.

I was willing to go with the sparse content and twitchy gameplay for a bit of blasting fun, but the PC version already seems to be dying on its arse. I wanted to try a game of the large-scale "supremacy" mode and there was nobody playing (and that's on US servers). It sets me waiting on a server page with two other lads, which slowly fills up to about ten or so and then someone leaves causing everyone else to follow suit. As it won't start until it has 24 players or so, you seem to wait forever. A few of the other, more popular modes seem to be doing alright, but anything outside of the couple of main modes has you waiting a while for a game, if it ever comes.

I'm not sure how they're going to sustain it on PC for the poor sods that buy the season pass. If it's already a little tough trying to get vanilla games, imagine what it'll be like when you're trying to find a DLC game with the maybe 1-in-20 (at a very generous estimate) people that own it, three months down the line when the enthusiastic newcomers have all moved on. If they don't fix the matchmaking somehow in the next month or so (before all the christmas/movie crowd start leaving), then I can see this going the way of BF:Hardline and just ending up a ghost town while everyone goes back to their old games.

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

Battlefield 5 is where it's at. Only 10 months to go..

[Benevolent Despot]

Battlefield 5 is where it's at. Only 10 months to go..

That's good news. I'm still putting time into BF4 occasionally. The new free map release has brought me back to the fold once again. There's so much value for money in the game. I reckon I've put in over 200 hours, there's always some new tactical avenue to explore. I now only have jets to unlock all the upgrades on, not that I'll probably bother. They are the most frustrating to fight with, and the kill count and tactical advantage of them is pretty low unless you're an expert. I've pretty much specialised in being a DMR Engineer, or DMR/Sniper-C4-and-beacon sniper.

My most satisfaction comes from parachuting in on battlezones and C4-ing the wits out of a confused enemy. Careful, oblivious and bold. It's a plagiarised motto.

[The Boston Crab]

I bought this basically to encourage one mate to buy a PS4. It is shallow in pretty much every way, control system, gameplay variety, power ups, weapons and game modes but I had a really enjoyable evening on it.

Is it as good as Destiny or BF4? Definitely not, but because every mode plays like a free for all full of casual noobs, it quite suits me! I don't feel there's any penalty for dying so I just run round really aggressively and grab all the power ups and turrets and vehicles. My team always seems to lose but it's just a coincidence.

[mobias]

Is it as good as Destiny or BF4? Definitely not, but because every mode plays like a free for all full of casual noobs, it quite suits me! I don't feel there's any penalty for dying so I just run round really aggressively and grab all the power ups and turrets and vehicles. My team always seems to lose but it's just a coincidence.

Its absolutely perfect for just dipping in and out of. If you just fancy a couple of quick rounds of Walker Assault you fire it up and away you go. It asks next to no involvement from you which is actually quite nice in a game sometimes. There really isn't much need to rank up, although the jet pack available at rank 13 is a nice bonus, so you don't feel that you need to grind away to get the cool weapons and kit all the players around you have like in other online games. Its fairly evenly balanced in that regard. Its pure arcade gaming fun but I definitely wouldn't say its unputdownable. There's too much - die, re-spawn, run back into the action, die re-spawn, run back into the action, repeat until the end. It does get boring quickly.

 

[The Boston Crab]

Well, after a few more hours on this today, I'm really enjoying it and starting to feel I can do OK on it. Less running round like a dickhead and more using the full area of the maps to work some good angles. I love the verticality of it, really offers plenty of opportunities to attack the main channels, especially in Endor but also great to go up the cliff sides elsewhere. I'm probably going to buy the Season Pass because I'm the kind of person who keeps the worst of the industry afloat. I have three FOBs in MGSV.

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

I reckon I've put in over 200 hours, there's always some new tactical avenue to explore. I now only have jets to unlock all the upgrades on, not that I'll probably bother. They are the most frustrating to fight with, and the kill count and tactical advantage of them is pretty low unless you're an expert. I've pretty much specialised in being a DMR Engineer, or DMR/Sniper-C4-and-beacon sniper.

My most satisfaction comes from parachuting in on battlezones and C4-ing the wits out of a confused enemy. Careful, oblivious and bold. It's a plagiarised motto.

I've got 1200 hours in now. So you're a C4 parachuter eh? Scrublord.

[Beagle 2]

Wow, you really weren't exaggerating. Spawn PYOW PYOW PYOW die spawn PYOW PYOW PYOW die. Absolutely wank.

[Beagle 2]

I can't.... I can't believe how shit this game is

[colacentral]

It's quite moving to see the post at the top of this page and then scroll down to the crushing truth.

[The Boston Crab]

After my crushing negativity, I am really really enjoying this game. I've unlocked the snipery thing and I'm banging heads, loving it  I've got a decent eye for the battlefield but shit house reactions so long range BONER fucking my WIFE from two rooms down is my FORTE. Get on my long gun and suck my magazine right out from the backyard of number fourteen, I'm cummin now from my anus right up my gooch and my balls are in a vacuum, blowin my soul out of my juddering rodder WHAM

[Onken]

Currently online players

PC: 29,167 (24h peak: 29,167)

XBOXONE: 148,676 (24h peak: 148,676)

PS4: 206,330 (24h peak: 206,330)

Total: 384,173

http://swbstats.com

its all down hill from here.

[Beagle 2]

This did actually need a single-player campaign, didn't it? As well as the gameplay being so lightweight, you just don't feel like you're getting anywhere or achieving anything. It's so lovely to look at that I'd definitely keep it if there was a campaign there to chip away at along the lines of the old games (would that have been so hard?) but as it is the whole thing feels utterly futile. The "it's perfect for just dipping into" thing, I'm not convinced. I don't want to spend precious small moments of time seemingly not affecting the game or making any progress. Back to BF4 for me.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

The first DLC is due tomorrow.

   
• The Tatooine Survival map will now support the Blast, Droid Run, Drop Zone, Hero Hunt, and Heroes vs Villains multiplayer modes, and is called Raider Camp.
• New Hoth-themed outfits for Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, both of which will be available to all fans when they play as these two iconic characters on the Hoth – these were unlocked by our players for completing our Heroes' Holiday community mission last month.
• We are giving players the ability to create Private Matches, which makes playing with friends even easier.
• The introduction of Daily Challenges and Community Events. These are designed to rally the Community around certain goals and objectives, giving players the chance to earn credits and unlocks even faster. We'll have more news regarding Community Events and Daily Challenges in the days ahead.
• And of course, we are also including some overall balancing tweaks to both weapons and multiplayer modes.

Surprisingly, this one is free too. The question is, will anyone care?