EA Access impressions
I wasn’t all that smitten with the Star Wars Battlefrontbeta, but today the full game launches for EA Early Access members, with a 10-hour time limit caveat. Now the game is free of content locks, with all modes available for play in addition to the offline component, which features split-screen support and bots.
The final build hasn’t really changed my mind all that much.
Firstly, I have to say I’m surprised at how smooth the EA Access build has been. I’ve had no issues connecting to any matches, and online play has been very smooth. There’s also plenty of people in the program, and nearly every match I’ve played has filled up immediately. Additionally, nine modes in all is enough to keep people interested without having the unfortunate effect of splitting the community.
In addition to the modes I already covered, another addition really stood out — Hero Hunt. It’s a 1v7 mode essentially, where one player takes the place of an iconic hero, and defends themselves against a group of standard soldiers. Whoever kills said character becomes one next. It’s pretty fun, mostly because of how formidable each hero is. I love that it’s constantly changing up the hero after each kill, as it forces players to adjust their tactics
The other breakout mode is Fighter Squadron, which is an entirely vehicular based affair, similar to a Star Foxskirmish. It’s a far better way to handle ships than the lame “power-up” style pickups in the core modes, and there are even hero ships like the Falcon involved. AI is also built in to make it feel more full and “epic,” which I’m mostly okay with since it feels more arcadey than anything.
As for the rest of the modes they’re pretty standard fare (team deathmatch, escort), and across all of them I noticed the same stilted animations from the beta. It feels cheap, even in comparison to DICE’s recent efforts like Battlefield 4. Voicework for standard grunts and heroes alike also feels rush and hastily injected. Pop-in is a major issue, and one of my soldiers even grew hair in the intro — it was hilarious, but when it happens in-game it’s just annoying.
Thankfully the offline modes have been fully unlocked as well, allowing me a much bigger taste in comparison to the one horde mode mission in the beta. As a note, all of the following supports online and split-screen play, the latter of which sees a small drop in quality as well as the framerate, but is still presented in a very much playable state.
The first of the two modes is “Battles,” which are essentially team deathmatch confrontations with AI built in. There are only four maps to choose from (Hoth, Tatooine, Endor, and Sullust), and both support regular or hero battles — the latter of which allows players to control a named character (Luke, Han, Leia, Vader, Palpatine, or Boba). It’s…straight-up Kill Confirmed from Call of Duty. After downing a foe they’ll drop tokens, which you’ll have to collect to score points. Do that 100 times and the match is over. If you want you can turn off yourAI support, which makes the gametype even more like a horde mode than it already is. Sadly, the AI is a bit dull even on the “master” difficulty, so they never really take the gameplay to the next level.
The same exact four maps are available in Survival mode, which delivers enemies in waves like a traditional horde experience. It’s a fun distraction, but it doesn’t ever go the full mile, heavily relying on nostalgia, like the classic soundtrack from the original trilogy. Ultimately, both modes feel the same. The former is framed more as a versus match, but still places multiple AI opponents in each arena with you — it just isn’t presented in a wave-based format. For those of you who were holding out hope for a more involved single-player component in lieu of a campaign, prepare to be disappointed.
I obviously need more time to deliver a final verdict, so stay tuned for a full review sometime next week. In the meantime, you can download the game now if you’re in the EA Early Access program or you happened to get a free token recently.