Star Wars Battlefront

[Caziel]

getting mixed reviews from what I've read, would be pretty neato if it was like a BF1942 with a Star Wars theme but I'm afraid they skimped on some of the FPS aspects so they could cross-platform it and dumb it down for all the overly-retarded Star Wars fans, screaming it will suck because they don't like FPS'.

Anyone pick this up?

[Slamz]

I'm too spoiled on Planetside to really like this game, at least multiplayer. I haven't tried singleplayer.

It's basically what you would expect from BF1942 meets Star Wars. The different characters you can pick (stormtrooper, scout sniper, dark trooper, etc) all feel pretty well balanced, the vehicles are cool, the graphics are good at distances if not excitingly detailed close up.

I'd probably enjoy it more on a big server with no AI. Fighting the AI is kinda no fun since lots of the maps have lots of bushy ground cover and the AI will shoot you right through it when you can't even see them. I've been playing multiplayer with some AI to fill it out.

Some of the maps don't seem real fair to the Rebels, though. It takes a shitload of firepower to destroy an AT-AT and in the meantime it's a mobile spawn point that will merrily be blasting guys away in one hit.

Fun, but not awesome fun.

[Grieve]

We've been playing this at work, so far just Grumples, Dustie and I. It's a lot of fun, but I don't know if it has real long lasting appeal. It's not really that different from other RTSs such as Unreal Tournament, and actually has less game modes the UT. Of course the Star Wars factor definitely helps... I'd love to try the multiplayer game with 10-15 real players on each side...I bet that would be a blast.

I also need some better opponents....Grump and Dustie are such pushovers. :wink:

[Caziel]

been reading the reviews on gamespot.com and all the fan boi's are giving it 10's but, it seems most of the experienced FPS' are giving it 5's. From playing this game (not that you all have been playing the mplay much on full servers), would you think the below review is accurate? I'd be interested in trying it out but don't want to spend the jack on another coaster when I can pick up Doom 3 or something else. They should have just reskinned BF1942, actually I think a SW mod was released for it...

mjtaub2

Trusted by
6 users
"Disappointing"
Score: 5.6Gameplay 3Graphics 6Sound 9Value 3Tilt 8Difficulty:
Easy
Learning Curve: 0 to 30 Minutes
Time Spent: 10 Hours or Less

If you're looking for something as good as BF1942 or BFV, well... look elsewhere. What a disappointment.
I have been a Star Wars fan since 1977 and couldn't wait to play this game. Now that I have played it some, I am ready to go back to the Battlefield series. This game is ok, but nothing like the Battlefield series.

The game loaded fine, but the initial setup interface drove me nuts! I had a very difficult time setting up my joystick for flight (stupid interface kept mapping the slider to everything).

The internet server selection menu is a lot like playing whack-a-mole. Rather than take a snapshot like the Battlefield series, SWB constantly updates the server list. This makes choosing a server very difficult. Why do you want to choose a server? Well, ping times have been horrible, I don't like playing with heroes (various characters from the movies whom you cannot seem to kill, I like to check to see how many reinforcements are left in the match because matches are really short and I would rather play than wait for loading, also checked if team killing is enabled, etc.). When you finally select a server, the one you had highlighted has often moved up or down the list, so you have to be careful or you might accidentally click launch on a server you did not intend to select. There is no filtering of server attributes at all. Another thing driving me nuts is that when I select a game with 31/32 people playing, it always comes back as server full and then you have to wait while SWB reloads the server list all over again! If you play this game, make sure at least 2 spots are open or you get caught in the endless loop of SWB loading the server list, select a game, SWB tells you the server is full, repeat.

Gameplay sorely lacks any real strategy that I can figure out. Everyone seems to just run out and start shooting. A lot of people start flinging grenades also. The end result is just chaos and much mayhem. Occassionally one team gets it going enough to overwhelm the others and take a control point. Unlike the BF series, you don't get tickets. If an enemy captures all control points the game ends. Most games I played finished in under 5 minutes vs. about 1-2 minute load times. Just when I started to get into the game, the map would end. IMHO the games are just too short.

The end of the game features a leaderboard and awards and then you are whisked away to a new location and consequently have to wait (no 2nd chances like the BF series). Frustratingly, many of the servers I played simply seemed to go to never-never land, so I did not get to go to the next map at all, but instead got returned to my favorite screen: the server selection screen.

The graphics are bland, but the sound is awesome (maybe the high point of the game).

Character classes also seemed rather lame. I don't know what anyone would choose to snipe in this game, because people run around and jump so much that sniping becomes a game or random chance.

Yes you can drive vehicles, heck you can even pilot an x-wing. Piloting is pretty lame though. I think you can get about 100ft off the ground before you hit the artifical ceiling and you are bounced down. I doubt that you can execute any rolls or loops thanks to the invisible force ceiling that yoda installed. The framerate while "dogfighting" (if it can be called that) was horrible with ship warping from spot to spot while I tried to shoot them down (quite laughable). Tanks and such are overwhelmingly powerful and quite useful for mowing down a lot of enemies as well as your own troops becase of the free-for-nature of the game.

As you can see, I am not terribly impressed. I expected more from this game. It seems as though this game was built for the PS2 and Xbox and not the PC.

The game is not without its merits. It can be fun and since I bought it I probably will play it some more. But as I said earlier, if you are looking for BF1942 or BFV, then you are better off bypassing this game and waiting for BF2. If you still want to play this game, I would wait until a demo level comes out so you can try it beforehand.

[Grieve]

Hmm, I've never played it online or with more than 3 "real" players, but that review seems a bit harsh. Most of the games we've played have lasted quite a while before anyone wins, with control of the control points jumping back and forth a fair amount.

Also I think it does reward cohesive teamwork. For example...making sure a couple of people spawn with rocket launchers to take down AT-STs/vehicles, a few more as snipers to protect the approaches to your bases, others as assault teams, etc. I'm surprised the reviewer didn't like snipers, I spend most of my time as one - they rock.

If you're deciding between this and Doom 3, I'd go for this. D3 is great eye candy, but I got bored of it very quickly.

[Slamz]

The game could get really spammy if you turned team damage off. Everyone has grenades, the vehicles shoot big explosions, etc.

And the maps really are too small for good flying, but then, I pretty much felt that way about BF1942 as well.

I think the bottom line is if you liked BF1942, you ought to like this. Yeah, it tends to lack in overall strategy, but then, so did BF1942. You fight for control of command posts, whichever side runs out of reinforcements first will lose, that's pretty much it.

I do think BF1942 maps tended to be better laid out, though, like a better flow from one command point to the next. SWB maps tend to be pretty open when it comes from getting from one command point to another, so I think it dilutes the combat. I don't feel like there's the main paths where you get a lot of fighting in, like in BF1942.

[Grieve]

Talking of Star Wars, I've never been able to summon much enthusiasm for the prequel movies (okay, except for that first teaser trailer). Actually most of the time I'd rather forget they'd ever been made.

But after watching the Episode III previews on the Original Trilogy DVDs, I gotta say I'm REALLY excited about that final Obi-Wan/Anakin duel at the end of the movie. It looks it's going to be absolutely stunning, and I can't wait to see it. The Darth Maul 3-way fight shows Lucas can still do lightsaber battles if nothing else, but this looks like it's going to top that bigtime.

The Episode III game looks pretty nice, as well.