Support NeoGAF

[Chubzdoomer]

Not surprised at all by these underwhelming review scores. Just like I said back when I played the beta: all style, no substance.

If only they'd put even half as much effort into the gameplay as they did the presentation...

 

[Enosh]

12 is still pretty low for what is essentially a mp only game. And the problem is they're split up by mode so if you only like walker assault there are only 4 maps.

12 maps is imo enough out of the box, the problem with this one is that it isn't 12 maps for everything

if BF5 launched with 4 CQ64 maps I'd be really fucking pissed

 

[Boogdud]

So much salt.

Having to reach back 16 years to find a game that doesn't make this one look bad is pretty funny. That said, Q3A and UT99 were completely above and beyond the competition when they launched. Quake 3 launched with something like 25 maps.

Battlefront, on the other hand, doesn't even compete with a Battlefield game released a year ago, much less any of it's current peers.

I went to those games because they are the benchmarks for high skill ceiling and depth for a FPS. You might not remember, but both of them got a lot of criticism at the time for not having a substantial single player campaign, nobody cared about multiplayer "depth" and "progression". Those concepts are relatively recent in the fps genre, basically to cater to today's carrot chaser and participation award seekers. My point was, in today's market they would get terrible reviews because they lack some perceived "progression" or "depth" even though they are two of the most highly regarded shooters ever. You seem to be confusing map count with the 'depth' they are referencing.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

What do you mean by the big modes the really matter? I spend most of my time playing smaller player count in modes like Drop Zone and Blast. Those are the modes that matter to me.

I think content is a silly argument for games like this as long as a game has enough to reach a critical mass of players.400+ hours in rocket arena 2, 250+ hours in tf2, was I paying too much for those games because I spent the majority of my time in each on roughly 4 maps? Don't be silly.

I'm paying for an experience, not how many lines of code are in the shipping product.

I'm a big Battlefield fan so I'm holding Battlefront to a similar standard considering it's from the same developer. In Battlefield Conquest is the premier mode, the rest are smaller affairs that really just exist as fleeting distractions. It's possible the smaller modes in Battlefront will be more compelling but based on what I've played, seen, and read I kind of doubt it.

Walker Assault is the premier mode in this game. That's how it's been positioned from the beginning and it seems to encompass parts of all of the smaller modes into one cohesive whole. Supremacy seems to be the only other major mode and that seems to have the same maps as Walker Assault.

With that as the framework for my point it's downright pitiful that there are only 4 Walker Assault maps. As I mentioned before Battlefield 4 launched with 10 gigantic maps, all of which supported Conquest mode in addition to all of the smaller modes.

By the way I'm buying this game because I think I'll play it enough to justify the cost, as you said. I'm just disappointed that I won't be playing on more maps because I think that could hurt the longevity for me personally.

 

[SpaceWolf]

No IGN review yet?

 

[RedAssedApe]

No IGN review yet?

said it'll go live later today after they've had more time to play on retail servers. halo mcc effect

 

[Skellig Gra]

So does partying actually work now?

 

[Kriken]

Gameinformer: 7.5

By no means should Battlefront be considered for its single-player or cooperative play. Both avenues are supported with bare-bones survival and battle modes – neither of which comes close to replicating the large-scale conflicts of the multiplayer component and end up having awkward lulls in the action.

DICE succeeded in creating a Star Wars experience I always wanted to be a part of, but it didn’t hold my interest as a gamer long. It’s a game I plan to revisit often, but not for extended periods of time. Forthcoming DLC could certainly change this approach, but for the time being, the thrills out of the box are extremely limited.

 

[la flama blanca]

Seems like a fair amount out of the box.

Walker Assault - 4:
Forest Moon of Endor
Outpost Beta (Hoth)
Sorosub Complex (Sullust)
Jundland Wastes (Tattooine)

Supremacy - 4:
Forest Moon of Endor
Outpost Beta (Hoth)
Sorosub Centroplex (Sullust)
Jundland Wastes (Tattooine)

Cargo - 4:
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)

Hero Hunt - 9:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Heros vs Villains - 9:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Fighter Squadron - 4:
Outpost Beta (Hoth)
Sorosub Centroplex (Sullust)
Jundland Wastes (Tattooine)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
NOTE: All four are naturally in the sky.

Blast - 9:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Droid Run - 6:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Drop Zone - 6:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Yeah...no. The game was gutted in terms of content, this is 2015, fuck outta here with your bs

 

[Kyne]

mhm.

will wait for the re-release with the $50 expansion included.

 

[antitrop]

Gameinformer: 7.5

Ouch, a 7.5 from GI is like a 5 from anyone else.

 

[Hello? This is Hailun!]

Seems like a fair amount out of the box.

Walker Assault - 4:
Forest Moon of Endor
Outpost Beta (Hoth)
Sorosub Complex (Sullust)
Jundland Wastes (Tattooine)

Supremacy - 4:
Forest Moon of Endor
Outpost Beta (Hoth)
Sorosub Centroplex (Sullust)
Jundland Wastes (Tattooine)

Cargo - 4:
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)

Hero Hunt - 9:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Heros vs Villains - 9:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Fighter Squadron - 4:
Outpost Beta (Hoth)
Sorosub Centroplex (Sullust)
Jundland Wastes (Tattooine)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
NOTE: All four are naturally in the sky.

Blast - 9:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Droid Run - 6:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Drop Zone - 6:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Those are all practically the same map though.

BF4 didn't triple it's map count because it sectioned parts off for different game types.

 

[Hello? This is Hailun!]

I went to those games because they are the benchmarks for high skill ceiling and depth for a FPS. You might not remember, but both of them got a lot of criticism at the time for not having a substantial single player campaign, nobody cared about multiplayer "depth" and "progression". Those concepts are relatively recent in the fps genre, basically to cater to today's carrot chaser and participation award seekers. My point was, in today's market they would get terrible reviews because they lack some perceived "progression" or "depth" even though they are two of the most highly regarded shooters ever. You seem to be confusing map count with the 'depth' they are referencing.

A 16 year old game re-released in 2015 in the exact same state it was in over a decade ago would probably getting mediocre reviews, yes. This isn't really surprising.

 

[oSoLucky]

Pretty much all of my friends that I game with are foaming at the mouth for this game. I think they're going through what I went through with Titanfall. For the first few days, you couldn't tell me that it wasn't the best MP shooter ever made, then about 4 days in, I had no inclination to ever touch it again. I'm apprehensive to buy it because I feel like the boredom will set in sooner than later. Maybe I'm wrong and we'll have a new game that pulls us away from Destiny/BO3.

Can anyone recommend reviews written by non-Star Wars fans? I don't care much for that stuff and I've read 12 reviews so far, and the fan service has been a big positive in each of them. It will be moot for me.

 

[Kriken]

Ouch, a 7.5 from GI is like a 5 from anyone else.

IGN will be the nail on the critical reception coffin

 

[JeffZero]

IGN will give it a 9, won't it? I recall reading that someone said they accidentally posted it a couple of weeks ago or something.

 

[Bsigg12]

mhm.

will wait for the re-release with the $50 expansion included.

This is probably the right thing to do. The game is fun but man, does only having 4 maps for Walker Assault kinda suck especially when you're the Imperials on Endor.

Hoth for Walker Assault is still the best map.

 

[goishen]

Yah, just got out of a game on Tatooine. Just spawned, maybe 2 seconds later a grenade drops in and blows me to shit.

ALT-F4, I want my money back. If your developers are not smart enough to stop spawn campers -- I want no part in this.

 

[Northeastmonk]

Gameinformer: 7.5

So it's basically Star Wars as another arcade game.

 

[DubiousSnake09]

I think the game is pretty awesome, I have had Xbox One for a couple of weeks now and it seems like the one thing missing are multiplayer games that have a high player count like battlefront/battlefield. Was very disappointed in games like destiny and cod with its 6v6 nonsense and halo5 where the big team game modes only had like 2 maps. This game is probably the best multiplayer I've experienced so far on Xbox One

 

[Bornstellar]

Pretty much all of my friends that I game with are foaming at the mouth for this game. I think they're going through what I went through with Titanfall. For the first few days, you couldn't tell me that it wasn't the best MP shooter ever made, then about 4 days in, I had no inclination to ever touch it again. I'm apprehensive to buy it because I feel like the boredom will set in sooner than later. Maybe I'm wrong and we'll have a new game that pulls us away from Destiny/BO3.

Can anyone recommend reviews written by non-Star Wars fans? I don't care much for that stuff and I've read 12 reviews so far, and the fan service has been a big positive in each of them. It will be moot for me.

That's unfair. Titanfall is much better and more dense mechanically, and had much better map variety at launch.

 

[SpaceWolf]

(Sheev Voice) WHEEEEEERE IS THE IGN BATTLEFRONT REVIEW?!

 

[oSoLucky]

That's unfair. Titanfall is much better and more dense mechanically, and had much better map variety at launch.

Oh I'm not directly comparing them, just that it seems like a lot of people are having the same kind of reaction that I did to Titanfall.

 

[Percy]

i mean, that's your opinion, but most people would agree with my statement

Some? Sure. Most? Doubtful.

 

[SmoothRunningGun]

Gameinformer: 7.5

7.5 from GI is like a 5.5 from anywhere else.

 

[SmoothRunningGun]

Seems like a fair amount out of the box.

Walker Assault - 4:
Forest Moon of Endor
Outpost Beta (Hoth)
Sorosub Complex (Sullust)
Jundland Wastes (Tattooine)

Supremacy - 4:
Forest Moon of Endor
Outpost Beta (Hoth)
Sorosub Centroplex (Sullust)
Jundland Wastes (Tattooine)

Cargo - 4:
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)

Hero Hunt - 9:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Heros vs Villains - 9:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Fighter Squadron - 4:
Outpost Beta (Hoth)
Sorosub Centroplex (Sullust)
Jundland Wastes (Tattooine)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
NOTE: All four are naturally in the sky.

Blast - 9:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Rebel Depot (Tattooine)
Imperial Station (Endor)
Imperial Hangar (Sullust)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Droid Run - 6:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

Drop Zone - 6:
Ice Caves (Hoth)
Jawa Refuge (Tattooine)
Swamp Crash Site (Endor)
Sulfur Fields (Sullust)
Rebel Base (Hoth)
Dune Sea Exchange (Tattooine)

You can make a long list but it basically has 12 maps which is low for a MP only game. Also many people are interested in the 40 player modes which only have 4 maps.

 

[TaterTots]

I was expecting 7 or 8's. However, I'm surprised that people did not find the Beta fun. Is it simple? Yes, but that's how you draw people in. Does it lack some content? Yes, but I won't argue there. They should add space battles or something for free.

 

[RedAssedApe]

IGN will give it a 9, won't it? I recall reading that someone said they accidentally posted it a couple of weeks ago or something.

the review in progress kind of reads like an 8 or less. you never know though

 

[Ferrio]

I was expecting 7 or 8's. However, I'm surprised that people did not find the Beta fun. Is it simple? Yes, but that's how you draw people in. Does it lack some content? Yes, but I won't argue there. They should add space battles or something for free.

What do space battles have over Fighter squadron? I guess other than a pretty skybox?

 

[Grief.exe]

I understand fine and get what your saying.. I think most still hoped for 1080p as do I on the PS4. To me 900p is and always will be just plain odd even with its resource saves against 1080p. But thats just me.
EDIT that's not saying it looks bad. Before people freak lol. I think regardless of platform this thing is a looker.

It's a 30% difference, so they are probably just trying to make up some frames to achieve a consistent 60 FPS.

Keep in mind that the game is likely running at 70+ FPS, vsynced to 60, as during intense scenes they need to account for framerate dip.
I'm not saying you don't understand this, but I don't think a lot of console players talking about 'locked 60,' understand what they are referring to.

IGN will give it a 9, won't it? I recall reading that someone said they accidentally posted it a couple of weeks ago or something.

It's a AAA game appealing to a mass audience with a high marketing budget.

Good bet IGN will give the game a 9.

 

[Tookay]

What do space battles have over Fighter squadron? I guess other than a pretty skybox?

I think what most people mean when they say "space battles" is the part where you can fly into the hanger's of enemy capital ships and destroy their cores too.

 

[mrklaw]

Sounds like a perfect ea access vault game. I still have my preorder coming for PS4 as I preordered with a decent discount. But I'm not opening it until I've finished my 10 hour EA access demo play to see if that is enough to satisfy me for now.

It is absolutely beautiful and perfectly captures the essence of the OT though, which may be enough for me to keep it.

 

[NoPiece]

There isn't really a lack of content here and people need to stop pointing to that. This has nothing to do with maps or amount of guns or what have you. Counterstrike has like 4 maps that people play over and over and only a handful of different guns people use and it's the biggest multiplayer shooter going. Sports games have essentially one map. Those games get played for hours and hours and no one complaints about content.

The Counter-Strike community settled into 4 maps after cycling through many dozens of maps. You need a big pool of maps to sort through and find the best, fun, most balanced options.

 

[Deasnutz]

I think they have to be targeting a younger audience, which could explain the simplistic design. All dem pre-teen and teens who are hyped for the new movie and buy merch.

 

[Ferrio]

I think what most people mean when they say "space battles" is the part where you can fly into the hanger's of enemy capital ships and destroy their cores too.

Ya a death star mode or something would be great, I won't deny that. Hoping it's something they add. Enjoying the flying a lot, so a mode that's more objective based in ships would be nice.

 

[ElTorro]

nvm, wrong thread

 

[commish]

Someone actually said "sports games have one map".

...

GAF, this whole defense force thing HAS GONE TOO FAR.

 

[DavidDesu]

For all the mention of a single player mode.. I thought for all but the Halo's of the world the single player campaign in FPS's was a one time only affair, and many players don't even bother and jump straight into MP. It seems like an angle of attack for the sake of it. If they'd put resources into that many people would skip it or not care for it. I think they've focused on what they do, which is MP. I'd rather that be polished than have a poor single player campaign that doesn't feel remotely like Star Wars, with a third rate story and characters....

And yeah I know the answer will be "there's so little content what on earth are they asking this money for", which probably is a valid point in itself, but a separate issue!

 

[NullPointer]

For all the mention of a single player mode..

I think a decent compromise on this for multiplayer focused games is to ditch a single player campaign in the usual sense, and opt for co-op (but soloable) campaigns in the mold of Modern Warfare's Spec Ops and Battlefield Bad Company 2's Onslaught.

Just a really fleshed out solo or co-op objective PvE mode that leverages as much of the multiplayer mechanics as possible. Did you guys love Spec Ops and Onslaught as much as my circle of buddies did? Because those were damn good times.

We've gotten these modes before, and I'm pretty sure there's something small along those lines in Battlefront, but companies only barely dip their toes into those waters. Its too bad because those PvE modes were my favorite go to modes to return to when not in the mood for competitive, and were a lot more fun to replay than a more story focused linear single player campaign.

Basically I'd love to see more tries at this.

 

[Petrae]

For all the mention of a single player mode.. I thought for all but the Halo's of the world the single player campaign in FPS's was a one time only affair, and many players don't even bother and jump straight into MP. It seems like an angle of attack for the sake of it. If they'd put resources into that many people would skip it or not care for it. I think they've focused on what they do, which is MP. I'd rather that be polished than have a poor single player campaign that doesn't feel remotely like Star Wars, with a third rate story and characters....

And yeah I know the answer will be "there's so little content what on earth are they asking this money for", which probably is a valid point in itself, but a separate issue!

"Many" players might not bother with solo campaigns, but I certainly do. I don't play multiplayer at all, so any game that doesn't have significant single-player content is an automatic no-buy. It's a shame in this case, because Battlefront sure looked gorgeous while people were trying it out at the midnight launch last night... but I personally cannot justify dropping $60 on a game that offers me so little in terms of my gaming preferences.

Even if a solo campaign loses some luster after the first playthrough, I can still choose to replay it to get more value from the game. For example, I'm replaying the Modern Warfare trilogy now, with the Bioshock trilogy on deck. I've played through these before, but every so often, I feel the urge to go back through them.

A mostly-multiplayer game like Battlefront offers me almost nothing in terms of value, and actually costs me more money (online subscriptions, DLC) to extract any value at all.

 

[smisk]

Reviews seem pretty on the money so far. It's clearly a gorgeous game that plays well (I had a good time with the beta) but I feel like I'd get bored quickly. Gonna wait for more content and a sale.

 

[Kalentan]

Those are all practically the same map though.

BF4 didn't triple it's map count because it sectioned parts off for different game types.

But the smaller maps aren't sectioned off of the larger maps. They're their own maps.

 

[The Elite]

We still don't know how that planet/maps will break down, unfortunately.

I think I read that it's 2 maps from Jakku but we don't know what they will be. I imagine one will be Supremacy.

 

[BluePigGanon]

I'm so torn on this, mostly as a huge SW fan. But it seems so thin.

$40 would be a no-brainer for me - or free DLC later. But as-is... I dunno.

 

[k4n3]

from my understanding DICE was not allowed to make a story campaign due to Disney taking over, remember all the old games use to be part of the EU cannon and now they are all bunk and if anything is going to 'fill in the gaps' its going to be Disney they have 6 star wars movies coming out over the next 6 years... you think they would allow a video game to tell the story of what happen in the 30 years from jedi to ep7? they will milk every penny out of that

 

[eshwaaz]

"Many" players might not bother with solo campaigns, but I certainly do. I don't play multiplayer at all, so any game that doesn't have significant single-player content is an automatic no-buy. It's a shame in this case, because Battlefront sure looked gorgeous while people were trying it out at the midnight launch last night... but I personally cannot justify dropping $60 on a game that offers me so little in terms of my gaming preferences.

Even if a solo campaign loses some luster after the first playthrough, I can still choose to replay it to get more value from the game. For example, I'm replaying the Modern Warfare trilogy now, with the Bioshock trilogy on deck. I've played through these before, but every so often, I feel the urge to go back through them.

A mostly-multiplayer game like Battlefront offers me almost nothing in terms of value, and actually costs me more money (online subscriptions, DLC) to extract any value at all.

Seconded.

 

[Karak]

It's a 30% difference, so they are probably just trying to make up some frames to achieve a consistent 60 FPS.

Keep in mind that the game is likely running at 70+ FPS, vsynced to 60, as during intense scenes they need to account for framerate dip.
I'm not saying you don't understand this, but I don't think a lot of console players talking about 'locked 60,' understand what they are referring to.



It's a AAA game appealing to a mass audience with a high marketing budget.

Good bet IGN will give the game a 9.

I get you. No problem at all man. Something we have had to describe time and again in the videos on the channel.
I just wished both consoles bumped their res is all. Can't have everything I guess.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Got my jump pack and immediately spent the rest of my credits to upgrade it.

 

[Chance Hale]

Reminder to anyone interested in the PC version that you can get it for 40 dollars via mexican origin.

 

[neogaffer1]

Some? Sure. Most? Doubtful.

you realize you don't have any proof behind that, right? i don't know why you think what you think is true, but there's a reason the game got really good impressions at every trade show it was at, still had hugely positive wom after both the closed alpha and the open beta, and ended up at the same metascore as fallout 4: