Star Wars Battlefront game, a 'beautiful homage' to films
Battlefront lets fans live out their childhood fantasies, but is it enough for gamers?
The new Star Wars Battlefront video game, released this week, has already been praised for its stunning imagery, but is it purely for die-hard fans?
The multiplayer sci-fi shooter game is based on the original film trilogy, but has also been created as a tie-in for the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens film. It is the third game in the Star Wars: Battlefront series, but is considered a "reboot" rather than a sequel.
Battlefront lets players choose to control either a Rebel Alliance soldier or an Imperial Stormtrooper, and other characters from the films can also be controlled, such as Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett, Princess Leia and Han Solo. Players can also customise their characters, weapons and abilities, and switch between first or third person views, as they engage in battles on planets from the Star Wars universe.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Reviewers have been largely positive about the new game, though Nathan Ditum in the Daily Telegraph notes that Battlefront has also been criticised "long and loud for its lack of single-player campaign".
Instead, says Ditum, it offers "a focused multiplayer showcase set in a meticulously constructed recreation of the onscreen world of Star Wars". A chunk of the audience will want a deeper, more emotional interaction with this world, says Ditum, but for many others "there can be no more emotional an interaction than simply stepping into this resurrected childhood fantasy".
Liam Martin at Digital Spy says: "Obi-Wan be praised, unlike most officially licenced games, it's not a Galactic-sized let-down." In fact, he says, it's the "closest you'll come to living out your Star Wars fantasies".
The new video game features huge maps, a selection of ground and air vehicles and "more lasers than an all-night rave in a dodgy warehouse", says Martin. The multiplayer battles with up to 40 players are chaotic, action-packed and intense, but the game is "accessible enough for anybody to jump in and feel like a hero".
On Gamespot, Mike Mahardy says Battlefront reminds him of why he loves Star Wars. "Its skirmishes unfold across iconic planets, with gorgeous landscapes and sweeping vistas on a massive scale."
Battlefront is "an exercise in pure spectacle", says Mahardy, with a nuanced, detailed world of images and sound enveloping you at every turn with windswept forests, rain glistening on drooping leaves and icy crystals on cavern walls. It feels more like a homage to Star Wars than a substantial Star Wars game in itself, he admits, "yet, what a beautiful homage this is".
Here's the thing, says Jason Evangelho on Forbes. Battlefront is a great Star Wars fan experience but a mediocre game. It's a beautifully realised Star Wars sandbox, full of loving nods to the original movies, he adds, but as a shooter with substance, engrossing character progression, and addictive gameplay "it misses the mark".
Battlefront is released in the UK tomorrow.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Mary Poppins tour: 'humdinger' of a show kicks off at Bristol Hippodrome
The Week Recommends Stefanie Jones and Jack Chambers are 'true triple threats' as Mary and Bert in 'timeless' production
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Jaguar's stalled rebrand
In the spotlight Critics and car lovers are baffled by the luxury car company's 'complete reset'
By Abby Wilson Published
-
What the chancellor's pension megafund plans mean for your money
Rachel Reeves wants pension schemes to merge and back UK infrastructure – but is it putting your money at risk?
By Marc Shoffman, The Week UK Published
-
The Count of Monte Cristo review: 'indecently spectacular' adaptation
The Week Recommends Dumas's classic 19th-century novel is once again given new life in this 'fast-moving' film
By The Week UK Published
-
Death of England: Closing Time review – 'bold, brash reflection on racism'
The Week Recommends The final part of this trilogy deftly explores rising political tensions across the country
By The Week UK Published
-
Sing Sing review: prison drama bursts with 'charm, energy and optimism'
The Week Recommends Colman Domingo plays a real-life prisoner in a performance likely to be an Oscars shoo-in
By The Week UK Published
-
Kaos review: comic retelling of Greek mythology starring Jeff Goldblum
The Week Recommends The new series captures audiences as it 'never takes itself too seriously'
By The Week UK Published
-
Blink Twice review: a 'stylish and savage' black comedy thriller
The Week Recommends Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie stun in this film on the hedonistic rich directed by Zoë Kravitz
By The Week UK Published
-
Shifters review: 'beautiful' new romantic comedy offers 'bittersweet tenderness'
The Week Recommends The 'inventive, emotionally astute writing' leaves audiences gripped throughout
By The Week UK Published
-
How to do F1: British Grand Prix 2025
The Week Recommends One of the biggest events of the motorsports calendar is back and better than ever
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Twisters review: 'warm-blooded' film explores dangerous weather
The Week Recommends The film, focusing on 'tornado wranglers', stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell
By The Week UK Published