I wrote a few days ago about my disappointment with the Star Wars Battlefront beta. So you can imagine that I shouldn't care much that it's period to play has been extended. That's when I stumbled upon this article from Forbes talking about balance issues on one of the three maps the beta allows us to play.
“But this isn’t even the problem I’m talking about in my title. I think what most people will view as the biggest problem with the Battlefront beta is the obvious balance issue on Hoth.
The long and short of it is that in the current form of the encounter, it’s really, really hard for Rebels to win. I don’t know the exact stats behind how many poor Rebel soldiers have been slaughtered on Hoth, but I’ve never seen the Empire lose there, and I know many others have encountered something similar. In rounds when you’re on the Rebel team, you simply expect to lose, unless you do everything absolutely perfect to the letter and have a bunch of ace pilots in your roster. Meanwhile, the Empire pretty much just has to drive its AT-ATs forward like cattle and steamroll everyone.”
Both is precisely where I had the least amount of fun, and got my ass handed to me over and over again. It wasn't until I read Tassi's story that I made the connection that it was indeed during my time playing as a Rebel on the Hoth map. I mean, I know the Rebel's loosing on Hoth is as canon as Star Wars can get, that just doesn't translate into fun in an online shooter.
As to why I feel like giving the game another chance? Well it's because it looks so damn good. Ben Kuchera over at Polygon feels the same way.
“I’m a fan of the original films and have been since before I can remember, which makes it hard to judge whether or not something is “good” in any kind of meaningful way during a time when it feels like we can finally be hopeful about the world again.
I can say this: The first moments of Battlefront took my breath away.
It’s not just that the game is one of the most graphically impressive things I’ve ever seen on the PlayStation 4, although that detail certainly doesn’t hurt, it’s that every aspect of the game is saturatad by the world of Star Wars. The character models are amazing, as are the environments. The devotion to the sounds and even animations of each weapon and character has paid off. It feels like stepping into the films, at least until something unbelievably goofy happens.”
From the sparkle of half melted snow flakes, the spot on half-dirty character textures, to the sound design hearing AT-AT and Tie Fighters soar overhead, and of course the thrill of seeing a Star Wars Hero enter the battlefield, it's all just so well executed.
So I'm going to fire up the game one more time today and try to stay clear of playing as the rebels on the Hoth map. I'll report back and tell you how it went.