Star Wars: Battlefront Preview - E3 2015

The fine men and women of DICE have long been known for their exceptional skills in the first-person shooter genre. Developers of the perennial Battlefield series, DICE have been crafting military shooters with beautiful graphics and intense combat for years. So it seemed like a no-brainer when EA announced the Swedish studio would be taking the reins for reboot of Star Wars: Battlefront. Two years have passed as we‘ve waited for information regarding the next chapter of the beloved sci-fi shooter and at this year’s E3 we got our first glimpse of the gameplay and were able to go hands-on with the title, experiencing the first Star Wars action in a new video game generation.

Before getting a chance to play the game, me and about forty others are given a special briefing from Admiral Ackbar, who chimes in throughout the game and updates us on our objectives. For DICE’s E3 sample of Battlefront we are playing the Battle of Hoth, famous for its powerful AT-ATs, tow-cable firing speeders, and icy landscape. As the Rebels, our objective is to hold points on the map so that our Y-Wings can triangulate a bombing run, weakening the shields of the AT-AT and making them vulnerable to laser blasts.

For those expecting Battlefront to be more-or-less of a Battlefield clone, like the police-based Hardline which released earlier this year, you’ll be sadly mistaken. Vehicles and weaponry can’t be found and boarded like in other DICE games, instead they must be earned through completing objectives, getting kills, and locating power ups. It would seem these decisions have been made to add more balance to the game. Speeders, X-Wings, and other abilities did not exist in a finite number, but could be chosen at any time if you reached the correct power-up.

Our primary objective was to protect the shield generators from the imperial AT-ATs. The four-legged armored vehicles aren’t manned by players, but controlled by AI, trudging forward as if on-rails. Mostly, they act as a timer; we need to destroy them before they move into place.

As the large AT-ATs moved forward, me and my fellow rebels take up positions in our icy trenches to defend against the incoming Imperial attack. I played Battlefront from a third-person perspective. It felt easier to traverse the landscape that way. With a jet pack for fast movement and a terrain difficult to navigate, it’s easy to get stuck when using the first-person view.

Like most competitive shooters these days, Battlefront is about establishing capture points to funnel players into fire fights. This is exactly what happens as we try to take the points needed to establish our Y-Wing bombing run. I find one of the capture points in a X-Wing hangar and quickly set it up. I see Imperial Trooper entering in through the hangar door and quickly defend my position. The more I do for my team, the more upgrades become available to me. This can simply mean getting a better blaster rifle or - if I’m playing well enough - I can unlock a force-powered hero.

The battle over the hold point continues, and soon we are told that the Y-Wings can begin their bombing run. The armor of the AT-ATs is damaged and I rush through the hangar to get a chance to hit the vehicles with my laser rifle. However, even with the armor damaged, my little laser rifle can’t do much the giant walkers. I quickly fall back and start to look for another weapon which can better help the cause.

The majority of upgrades are littered across the no man’s land that the AT-ATs must cross to destroy our shield generators, so I head out there to try and find something which can better assist in dealing damage. Whereas most players had spent the first part of the game rooted on the ground, people were now starting to take to the air. Every now and again I see an X-Wing, TIE fighter, or speeder shoot across the blue sky.

I find a turret gun and use it to try and help our cause, but it’s positioned too far away and I’m forced to abandon it before long. Soon the armor of the AT-ATs seems to have been replaced or repaired because Ackbar is back on my comm telling me we have to help the Y-Wings set up another bombing run. This is much more difficult now that I’m out in the trenches, far away from the hold point I had captured earlier.

While on my way back, I can’t help but resist the urge to try one of the speeders and see if I can relive my Rogue Squadron days, encircling the giant AT-ATs in tow cables and bringing them down. It’s easy to find the speeder upgrade I have to reach as it’s sitting on top of a trench in no man’s land. But after I have found it, it takes about fifteen seconds to activate. This is far too long to be sitting out in the open and quickly I am taken out by the big guns of the AT-AT.

Briefly discouraged, but only further determined, I quickly head back to find another upgrade and this time I am able to summon a speeder without being killed. There’s no animations for climbing into turrets or speeders, your character just disappears and you’re suddenly in control of your new vehicle.

Battlefield is notorious for having unwieldy vehicles. While Battlefront is nowhere near as cumbersome with its spaceships, there is a strange mechanic which diverts power to either your weapons or thrusters. Walking the fine line between these two is difficult and not all that easy to control. Also, there are actions which are specific to location. For instance, I could only fire my tow cable when I was right alongside the AT-AT, so I had to take a couple passes to try and get myself in the right position. Unfortunately, during this I lost control of my speeder and crashed into the ground.

It isn’t long after that the AT-ATs are within range to blow the shield generator. Barely scratched by our efforts. The demo is over, the Rebels defeated.

I couldn’t help but feel that we had been put in a battle that was difficult to win. Maybe I have the movies too rooted in my mind, but it felt like since the Imperials won in the film, the battle was easier for them to win in the game. There’s nothing to verify this, but it was just a hunch I had. Maybe it will be easier to win as the Rebels on the forest moon of Endor?

Either way, Star Wars Battlefront seems a heartfelt attempt by DICE to resurrect a beloved Star Wars franchise. You can look for the game November 17th on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.