The Good, and the Bad of Battlefront 2015
Let me start by first off saying, well done EA. Just from getting a taste of Battlefront 2015 first hand through the recently released Beta, I can tell I will be "content" with the final product in November; now the reboot might not be near the same as the previous Battlefront titles as everyone had hoped, but I can say it will definitely be fun and addictive. Understand that my review is based from the game play I experienced in the beta and not that of the final product, but understand the point of the beta is for us to play and give our feedback to the developers. Now it does have it's "Ups and Downs" but I feel like we are getting a new product with mechanics built from the ground up. First thing I liked is you don't run out of ammunition, unlike the previous Battlefronts, but if you survived long enough completely deplete your ammunition then you were probably a bad@#!?, or couldn't aim. Now unlike the older titles your "Blasters" overheat and are put into a short cool down period (unless your in the tides of battle which make it seem like awhile) you do however have a very quick chance to instantly cool them down to save yourself from being defenseless. Now onto one thing I found unique was the "star cards" which are basically the equivalent of Battlefield's gadgets, which I like although I do hate the fact I must choose between a Jump-pack and a Thermal Detonator (which I find most unsettling). I feel a soldier should have some sort of hand-thrown explosive. By-the-way you never run out of those either, like the Blasters you have a cool down between uses; which is long enough to prevent that grenade spam we all dreaded in Battlefield. Now back to the Jump-pack (probably my biggest complaint), it's like a Jet-pack, but you instantly use all the energy at once for a single "boosted jump" in the direction your left joystick is pointed in, then it goes into a cool down. Now as you're boosting up into mid-air you can't really choose your direction of travel until free-falling occurs. I can't really settle with the Jump-pack, it really makes me miss the Jet-packs, which this is just a beta so there could be the possibly they will add the Jet-pack, probably just accessible at a higher rank. What I like with a Jet-pack is it would sent be into a cool-down just like the Jump-pack but you would have a energy-bar just like a Personal-Shield that would limit the distance and time you would be able to travel, even maybe travel a bit slower than a Jump-pack, leaving you more open to mid-air enemy fire? Finally here are my last two complaints: In Walker Assault, the rebels are most often doomed to defeat. They have a very slim chance, unless you have a good team but do keep in mind it is a beta and there is no squad or team voice chat. The last thing would be not having a secondary weapon, like the "Blaster-Pistol" which I hope to see added in the final version. I can't even think of a next-gen shooter that doesn't have the option of a secondary weapon or at least pistol, which is kinda useless in the new Battlefront since primary weapons are only sent into a cool-down but what about when you screw up trying to instantly cool-down your weapon and extend the cool-down time, have that final chance to whip out that "Blaster Pistol" as a last resort when facing a enemy head on. Now if none of these complaints are addressed or met in the final game, it will not effect whether or not I play. As I added in the beginning I am content with what I played in the beta. Thank you EA for the experience and see you November PS: Love how the tea-bag is back!