Via thefederalist.com:

‘Battlefront’ succeeds as a fun, engaging immersive game that scratches the Star Wars itch. But little maddening and avoidable issues hold back what could have been a great game.

Death Star, “Star Wars Battlefront’s” highly anticipated third DLC, arrived last week. This latest addition to the Star Wars first-person shooter (FPS) asks players to either help destroy or defend the Death Star.

“Possibly the most iconic location in the Star Wars universe was released nearly a year after the game launched as paid DLC?” Only a cynic might ask this question—one who views the game as a half-finished money-grab that quickly fragmented its player base by offering several paid map packs.

A New Hope
Electronic Arts released the highly-anticipated “Star Wars Battlefront” in November 2015 in an obvious attempt to feed off “The Force Awakens” hype. While not a great FPS in pure gaming terms, “Battlefront” has proven itself a perfect option for gamers who may not have the time (or desire) to endlessly level-up or collect the best weapons and other murder-assisting doodads. This accessibility gives even terrible players like your friend Keith the chance to play as Nien Nunb without fear of being a complete embarrassment.

Even better for more grown-up gamers, the console version doesn’t feature team text or voice chat, like many online games. Casual players can enjoy a match without constant, vulgar reminders of how terrible they are or what’s been done to their mother recently. It’s like they made the game for married gamers and gamers with kids.

More importantly, “Battlefront” captures the look and sounds of the Star Wars universe better than anything this side of the movies. Facing down AT-ATs in Walker Assault, the multiplayer mode, feels as daunting as it did on Hoth. Drop into a Supremacy match on the Survivors of Endor map, and the smell of charred Ewok practically emanates from the screen. Retrieving the payload in Cargo brings back that classic game of capture the flag from “Return of the Jedi.” Even the lighter moments of the game exhibit the scale and beauty.

“Battlefront” succeeds as a fun, engaging, and thoroughly immersive game that scratches the Star Wars itch. But little maddening and avoidable issues hold back what could have easily been a great game.

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