When Star Wars: Battlefront was released in 2015, it was the Star Wars game everyone had been dreaming of… for about a day. Once the initial – and undeniable – thrill of the fidelity of EA and DICE’s recreation of the Star Wars universe began to wear off, players qu♔ickly realized just how empty the game actually was.
DLC helped a bit, but the original version had almost nothing that players loved from the original Star Wars: Battlefront series. There was no campaign, the offline experience was reduced to a wave-based survival mode, and there were only a couple of actually fun multiplayer types. It was a massive disappointment to old and new fans alike. In E3 2017, we were treated to a trailer for Star Wars: Battlefront II, due in November this year. Tanks, the prequels, droids, Darth Maul - it looked phenomenal. EA has also provided details about a much-demanded campaign mode, and have announced that there will be four difꦕferent classes i🐠n the multiplayer.
But while these are exciting additions and the trailer was as slick as EA can be, we haveไ been burnt by amazing trailers at E3 before. Hereও are a number of definite reasons that you should consider giving this game a miss, at least until someone inevitably gives it to you for Christmas.
15 🅠 Star Wars Fatigue 𓆉
When 2015’s Star Wars: Battlefront dropped it was the first major Star Wars title in years, we were all eagerly awaiting the first major Star Wars film in years, and we were all still trying to get over Disney dumping Star Wars 1313. It was the perfect time to release the game. Now, with a new Star Wars film due every year and more Star Wars games announced, there is a very real chance that we’ll start to get sick of the same thing. At the very least, Battlefront II won’t be able to lean on the nostalgia like it’s predecessors did, because it’s entering a market saturated by Star Wars, not starving for it.
14 Visceral’s Star Wars ✱ 💃
And as much as people might start to get tired of the franchise, it might be worth keeping some room in your cabinet and wallet for Visceral’s Star Wars title. Not a whole lot has yet been announced about this yet unnamed game, except that it is helmed by Amy Hennig - who found success with Uncharted - and that it might be an experience like Assassin’s Creed. It looks to be an interesting game. However, it didn’t have any time at E3 this year . So while Battlefront II had a polished presentation, and promises improvements on its predecessors, it is a Star Wars gameplay experience we’ve had before, and it might just be worth saving your money until 2018 and avoid Star Wars fatigue in the process.
13 🅷 🐷 Pay To Win?
Loot crates are a widely used and accepted part of AAA shooter titles, and it is no real surprise that they’re going to adopt them into Battlefront II. The issue is that the rewards players will get from these loot boxes are random ‘Star Cards,’ which will give players gameplay bonuses in multiplayer. While these can be earned, and players will get one for logging in each day, if EA makes these loot boxes purchasable – – you can pay to ‘accelerate rewards.’ For many, this is starting to smell like pay-to-win. The randomness of the loot box system is similar to packs in FIFA Ultimate Team, and could mean that players are almost forced into buying them in order to be competitive – a sl🎶ap in the face if you paid full retail price. Which leads to the next reason…
12 Unbalancꦫed Multiplayer 💖
While we will not know the tangible effects of the Star Card system on multiplayer for at least a couple of weeks after launch, it definitely resembles a pay-to-win structure that could ruin the multiplayer. Even so, 2015’s Battlefront was designed to be a broad experience, catering to💃 as many players as possible. Someone could pick up the game a year after release and still compete against the level 50s. Even if the Star Cards do not end up being part of a pay-to-win structure, casual players might find their opponents overpowered compared to themselves. This could lead new players to struggle to get into the game. Of course, progression is hugely important to enjoying a multiplayer game, but currently, there is a danger that casual players, or people who just want to dro𝔍p in for a couple of matches here and there, might be at a disadvantage from the get-go.
11 There Is Already A Battle🦄front II ಞ
I know, I know. We live in an age of re-skins and re-launches. The original Battlefront II is 12 years old and honestly, the graphics have not held up well, but it was a staple of many of our childhoods. Because honestly, the new Battlefront games are not re-launches of the old series; they use the brand to sell more copies. This may seem like somewhat of a petty reason to avoid the game all together, but having literally the same name as a hugely popular game is bound to lead to comparisons, and comparisons tinted with nostalgia. If this new Battlefront II fails to live up to what you remember from the original, without Galactic Conquest, or if the story doesn’t match that of the 501st, it’s going to hurt all the꧟ more. Also, it makes findin﷽g the right game on Google really annoying.
10 Will Try To Please Everyone ⛄
The realities of making a game is that not everything everyone wants can make it in. EA and DICE have promised a lot of extra stuff, but haven’t actually demonstrated the depth of it all. They say that they have heard the fans, and this is a positive, but perhaps instead of putting their stock into making a couple of major additions they have added plenty to cater to a wide audience, potentially leaving many of the modes unfulfilling. Hopefully they can pull it off, but more and more games are opting to push back releases in oder to properly finish, while Battlefront II’s release is likely concrete. We may end upꦗ seeing some cut corn🏅ers, and the information we have right now doesn’t alleviate such concerns.
9 𒐪 Mix And Match Heroes 🍸
This really won’t be a problem for everyone. In fact, for some players, it might be a plus, but in the trailer we saw Darth Maul cut through a swathe of clone troopers, which is a conflict he was not a part of in the films (fan service resurrection for the animated series aside). There are also suggestions that the heroes might be random or freely choosable, rather than tied to a map as in the original Battlefront II. Alternatively, they could be tied to a particular conflict as in 2015’s Battlefront. For the purists among us, it might be jarring to see꧅ Yoda fight Kylo Ren, or Rey slaughter separatist droids. Although, to be fair, to the rest of us that does sound pretty awesome.
8 𒐪 𒈔DLC Will Be Free
That sounds amazing, I hear you say. The backlash against Battlefront’s extortionate Season Pass has been heard, and the player base won’t get divided. Hooray! It's probably too good to be true. This is EA, and while it was criticized, people still bought plenty of Battlefront DLC. They clearly expect the revenue to come from somewhere else, and that place – as we’ve already mentioned – looks to be from the loot crate/star card mechanic. It see𝄹ms unlikely that executives and investors will get rid of season passes and paid DLC without assurances of another revenue stream. As we’ve already seen, these could have a real, da✤maging impact on the multiplayer experience or on your wallet.
7 🐭 No Local Co-op On PC
If you’re a console player, that’s cool, don’t worry. But for PC users, who already feel shafted by games catering to underpowered consoles, this is another annoyance. Sure consoles are more likely to facilitate co-op gaming, but as a primarily PC gamer who loves co-op, it's easy to feel let down by this. So we exist, dammit. There isn’t much of an explanation either, but as someone who got the majority of their playing hours from Battlefront with split screen co-op (as limited as the offline modes were) this is a real reason to avoid this game in favour of more co-op friendly titles such as CoD. Despite all their deficiencies.
6 🌼 Not Enough Information𓄧
We are still a few months away from release, and they have already released a closed alpha, but EA and DICE are still tight-lipped about a number of things. For example, they’ve announced a si𝄹ngle-player campaign, and even given people the chance to play it at E3, but refused to answer how long the campaign would be. Maybe they just don’t know, but games that offer a lot of story tend to shout it from the rooftops. It’s highly possible that the campaign is a short, almost cosmetic addition to give the appearance of listening to fan feedback. Or not, we don’t know, and that’s the problem. Similarly, we know there will be split-screen co-op on consoles, but there is no indication of exactly how this will play out in-game.