This is it. This is the mother load. The most requested Hands On we've had at a convention or press event ever. We were fortunate enough to go hands on with the latest game in the Battlefront series, developed by DICE and published by EA, its time for Star Wars Battlefront.
EA did an amazing job of world building all around its booth at E3 this year, from the sports themed areas for Madden, Fifa, and NBA Live to the huge banner walls they had for both Mirrors Edge: Catalyst and Star Wars Battlefront. After the initial waiting line, we were lead into another area that was themed like a Hoth bunker complete with “ice” walls and snow as well as some familiar characters. Before the hands on demo started, we were escorted into another room where we had the opportunity to take photos with a C-3PO statue and a Rebel Pilot.
We were then shown a short two minute video based on the demo's content. Admiral Ackbar introduced scene that had been set for us; as members of the Rebel Alliance, it was our job to stop the AT-AT and AT-ST Walkers from moving in and taking out our base. This could be done by enabling two uplink stations at the same time to bring down their defenses or by using snow speeders to disarm their defenses, using tow cables to take them out just like we saw in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
Enough about the world building, we know what you all want to know! Does it feel like Star Wars? Does it feel like Battlefront? I'm pleased to say that based off of the 20 minute demo I played, that answer so far is a resounding yes. There are no class creations here like you would see in Battlefield, but the class “loadout” system remains intact for the most part. We were given two different loadouts to play with our character; a more fast paced, close combat loadout with thermal grenades, a rocket boost to get out of trouble quickly, and a personal shield along with a more long range combat option with a group shield and lock on rocket launcher.
The game is incredibly beautiful. More beautiful than it has any right to be, honestly. DICE has said previously that they spent a lot of time on world design and that they took the time to make sure that everything from the blades of grass to the color of the sky and the models of each character were correct and were "giving fans the Star Wars experience they deserve". They didn't fail in that aspect. Seeing everything in front of me from Speeders flying overhead to the Snowtrooper in front of me about to murder me with a rocket to the face had me in awe. The level of detail in everything is unparalleled in any game right now. DICE really has set the bar high here.
Running around and dashing through the snow planet of Hoth took me back to the first time I saw Empire Strikes Back. Firing on Imperial Snow Troopers with my long range rifle was a hugely satisfying feeling. You don't need to re-load weapons in Battlefront as you would in Battlefield but if you fire for a sustained period of time, there is a cool down timer that activates for a few seconds before you can fire again. Think of this as a way to keep the game fair for all players so one can't just endlessly reign fire down upon enemies forever and ever. It took a bit of getting used to, but once I got the hang of it I was slaying Snow Troopers with the best of them.
The lack of an aim down sight option didn't bother me as much as I thought it would have, being so used to it from other shooters. It was actually quite refreshing to have a different style of play from a Call of Duty or Battlefield game. When you have a scoped weapon, you can aim down the sight of that weapon and continue moving as you would in any other game but this at times was almost a deterrent to my movements and ability to stay out of the range of fire from my enemies.
Switching between first and third person makes a triumphant return to Battlefront as well and it is quite seamless doing so. I swapped from firing down my sight at an enemy that ducked around a corner, to the third person view where I was able to see just a little farther beyond and corner him to kill him. It was incredibly satisfying and more importantly, it was FUN. I had more fun in my time with Battlefront in those 20 minutes than I have in most shooters I've played in recent years.
Flying a X-Wing or Snow Speeder works a bit differently than Battlefield as well. Instead of having a set location for vehicles from the start, players can pick up tokens that are scattered around the map. These allow you to summon a vehicle at a time you'd like rather than having to fly one around from the outset of play. It is a neat way to keep the game balanced across ground and air combat and works quite well. It is easier in some ways to fly in Battlefront than in any previous games I've tried flying in. The controls seem tighter and more responsive than the jets or helicopters in Battlefield 4 and for someone who disliked flying in previous Battlefield games, the fact that I highly enjoyed flying in Battlefront speaks to how much detail DICE has put into the title.
Sadly, I wasn't able to spawn as a hero character during my playthrough so I can't report on how those play similar or differently to the original Battlefront games but from what I have seen in videos and heard described from the developers, the process for spawning hero characters remains mostly the same from previous Battlefront games and they each have a unique ability to their character that we will just have to wait for more information on.
Bottom line: I was highly impressed with my time with Battlefront. The game looks and feels like a Star Wars game while bringing a new twist and new features to the classic Battlefront formula that gamers know and love from the original games. This will be one to watch when it releases on PC, Xbox One, and Playstation 4 November 17th, 2015.