Star Wars Battlefront II Reviews

If all you wanted was more of the same, your dreams have been answered, but hopefully Pandemic and Activision have a few more ideas up their sleeves for the inevitable third game.

Whether you’re brand new to the battlefield or picking your blaster back up after a long hiatus, Star Wars Battlefront 2 is a redemption story worthy of the Skywalker saga. It’s a big, broad, beautiful shooter that nails the Star Wars atmosphere almost everywhere. The campaign is still a bit of a snore, and occasionally long queue times in matchmaking and a handful of forgettable game modes give the multiplayer a couple of caveats, but highlights like Capital Supremacy and Galactic Assault make it stand out and the progression system is fair and rewarding. Overall, it’s a great package now that serves as one of the best and most thrilling ways to have an authentic Star Wars gaming experience.

Star Wars: Battlefront II is highly accessible spin on the Battlefield series tainted by bad monetization decisions.

A game with incredible graphics and brilliant sound design that is brought down by a middling campaign and murdered by a confused and unbalanced multiplayer.

The highly criticised and much talked about Star Wars Battlefront II has finally released and it certainly wasn’t the smooth launch they were hoping for. Before we talk about the review there is no denying that Star Wars Battlefront II has been lord of the reddit forums and quite the hot topic of gamer discussion recently. From the moment it went into open beta the game was in trouble, plagued with loot box woes and character balance issues, the team at EA DICE were clearly going to be in ...

Are these practices enough to sour the rest of the game? That’ll be up to you and your tolerance level. As much as I loathe this implementation of loot boxes, I still keep playing Battlefront II and I will probably continue to do so on and off. I mean, I do like the game. I just wish it wasn’t being squandered like this. You’d be well-advised to wait until overhauls arrive — assuming they ever do.

Two steps forward, three steps back.

Star Wars fans who feel compelled to try everything in the franchise will probably have an OK time. But the lack of clear vision that Battlefront 2 shows at its debut is too much uncertainty for a AAA shooter, much less one bearing the Star Wars logo.

When working as intended, both are monsters in their respective fields: the Empire’s death machine delivers massive destruction, while EA’s multiplayer epic offers huge amounts of fun. However, where the Death Star had a terrible design flaw that ultimately left it in ruins, Battlefront II boasts something similar: microtransactions.

While in the midst of controversy, Star Wars: Battlefront II is now available digitally and on store shelves. You may be asking; is the vocal and frustrated fan base correct in their outrage?

A solid online shooter ruined by thoughtless corporate greed, whose malign practises could damage the whole of gaming if they are not kept in check.

No summary available

With overly complex multiplayer and progression systems, Battlefront 2 saves itself from Jar-Jar status with a strong story and competent core gameplay.

Star Wars: Battlefront II was supposed to fix the weaknesses of the first game, with the season pass dividing the community. Unfortunately, the fun of shooting is spoiled by a shallow single-player campaign and a micropayment system that preys on players' wallets.

The dark side wins out here, as good as Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is in so many areas it just can't overcome the aggressive, anti-consumer practices that are on display in their most egregious form to date in a $60 game.

When the issues of a game are rolled and stomped by its greatness, then it’s something to invest on if you have some spare.

Sirens roar ominously within the mangled remains of a Rebel frigate, warning all to escape. The clanking of hurried footsteps echoes through the halls before being replaced by a series of ghastly screams, loud enough to drown out the alarm. A door slides open to reveal the glow of a red lightsaber backed by the silhouette of Darth Vader. I fire my blaster, and he nonchalantly takes a shot to the chest. He raises his hand and I levitate with it, my throat closing as I inch upward. This spectacle of power is impressive, but as my life fades away, the only thing I can think is “How much did that player spend to unlock the third level of Punishing Grip?”Star Wars Battlefront II is big, bombastic, and fun. It is also diseased by an insidious microtransaction model that creates an uneven battlefield, favoring those who are willing to spend real money to gain an edge over players who are just here to enjoy the Star Wars experience. Given just how slowly in-game currency is doled out, the notion of keeping up through extensive grinding isn’t realistic. This is especially true of Star Cards, which unlock new abilities, boosts, and upgrades for each class and hero, since they are tucked away in expensive loot crates or eat up rare crafting materials (which you mostly get in crates).The benefits from the Star Cards range from slight bumps like explosive-damage protection increasing from 15 percent to 17.5 percent, to game-changers like a boost that increases the rate Battle Points are earned by 20 percent. This is a huge deal, as Battle Points allow players to control vehicles and heroes that rack up kills and turn the tide of war. With each death on the battlefield, players see which cards their opponent is using – a design that plants the seed of “I need those cards.”Even if a player spends a day playing the game to earn credits to buy a couple of crates, they may walk away with unwanted things like emotes or victory poses rather than cards that help their cause. The same currency is also used to unlock heroes like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker – a frustrating conflict of goods that makes progress feel endless and hopeless. The most damning show of the game basically saying “We want you to pay to win” is a limit being put on the number of credits a player can earn in Arcade mode. After finishing five Arcade challenges, the player is told to come back in 14 hours to earn more. This is the kind of gating that makes certain free-to-play games nearly unplayable, yet here it is in a $60 game.

The entire history of Star Wars games is an attempt to capture the magic in those iconic battle scenes. We’ve endlessly recreated the Death Star trench run and the battle of Hoth on every major game system in the pursuit of that magic. This is what makes Star Wars Battlefront II so incredible. You engage in glorious galactic combat in a wide variety of massive theaters ripped right from the films. We’ve gotten closer than ever before to actually creating that magical feeling so effortlessly evoked by those battles. Players can now be a part of some of the most memorable moments in the franchise. Indeed, being part of the battle is more significant than you might realize. If you want to be a lone wolf hero, you can be. But real glory comes from fighting alongside your squad. All the battles I won and all the success I found came when these enormous conflicts were filtered through the lens of teamwork. While this entry in the Battlefront series still has a couple of minor flaws, EA  and DICE have managed to deliver an incredible, authentic Star Wars experience.

So, does Star Wars Battlefront II fulfill the Star Wars fantasy? I believe it does, but it’s a very Empire Strikes Back fantasy; it’s not all lightsabers and Force-using. Sometimes it takes a blaster or two to get the job done or some fancy flying. It may require some frustrating moments of Dagoba-style training. At the end of the day, no matter who gets frozen in carbonite or loses a hand, you’ve got your squad to think about. Only together can you overcome the odds stacked against you.

As of now, I think Star Wars Battlefront II has a lot of fun moments, but it's plagued by a variety of small issues that lessen the overall experience. If you’re not going to spend a fair amount of time in the multiplayer and have only been looking forward to Battlefront II because of its campaign, maybe think about waiting rather than making it a day one purchase.

In conclusion, Star Wars Battlefront Ii is a game of immense magnitude that delivers a first person shooter unlike many others. Honoring the franchise, it digs you into a believable galaxy setting with a diverse experience, fun for any fan of blasting people. Even with its flaws, it's just amazing to hustle within the many aspects it has to offer and take on a lesser known part of the universe. Whether you enjoy huge space battles, close quarter combat or tactical gameplay, Star Wars Battlefront will have something to enjoy for everyone, as long as you don't mind a few indiscretions. For the Empire!

When playing Battlefront II, I got my biggest thrill out of sneaking onto an enemy ship and hiding inside one of the small fighters on that ship. Then I sneakily flew that enemy craft off of the ship and began using it to attack my confused enemy. When I had some mechanical problems, I hid behind a rock on my selected planet and repaired the fighter, and then I resumed my conquest of the enemy.