Star Wars: Battlefront II (XO) – the Force has got a lot stronger with this one

Last year’s most controversial video game completes its transformation into one of the best Star Wars tie-ins gaming has ever seen.

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A short time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, an evil empire attempted to unleash a weapon with enough power to destroy the entire games industry. In our original review of Battlefront II we predicted that the game would become the most influential of 2017, and perhaps the whole generation. And in terms of the way video game publishers approach microtransactions and DLC that’s exactly what’s happened. The only surprise is that in the end it’s the plucky rebels that have won the day, not the bad guys.



Last year’s sudden obsession with loot boxes is a long and complex story, but the short version is that in the run-up to Christmas multiple publishers suddenly became obsessed with the concept. Not just EA with Battlefront II and Need For Speed Payback, but also Microsoft with Forza Motorsport 7 and Warner Bros. with Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War.

The implementation was different in each game but the overall problem was the same, in that the games were being made purposefully more difficult, or less interesting, unless you also paid for loot boxes which contained random in-game items. Which was on top of the general problem with loot boxes, in that they prey on the easily addicted and kids spending their parents’ money.


Battlefront II was especially abhorrent though because instead of a traditional progression system the only way to improve your character was through loot boxes. Meaning that your progression was purely based on the luck of the draw. And that the rich (or foolish) could instantly give themselves an unfair advantage. But now all that has been removed and it’s time to give Battlefront II a reappraisal.

The changes to Battlefront II started even before it was released, with EA going to the unprecedented step of removing microtransactions from the game just a day before it was due to launch. That removed the pay-to-win element, but it still meant progression was entirely down to luck. To their credit though EA recognised they were on the wrong side of history and over the last several months they’ve been trying to lessen the random element, until now it has been entirely removed from the game.

The new progression system was implemented back in March but the final step in the game’s transformation came this week when microtransactions were finally added to the game, but only for cosmetic extras. That means loot boxes are still part of the equation, and you still get a free one every day, but all they contain is victory poses, emotes, and new costumes. In other words, an approach very similar to Overwatch.

The progression system still uses Star Cards, which grant you either new skills, weapons, or passive abilities, but now they have to be unlocked and upgraded by using Skill Points which are earned every time you level up. Each class and vehicle type has its own cards and levels, so while this probably isn’t how things would’ve been organised if loot boxes had never been intended it does provide the game with a perfectly fair and balanced set of skill trees.

Star Wars: Battlefront II (XO) – Ewok Hunt doesn’t always go the way you expect

EA’s original argument in favour of loot boxes was that the money they brought in would allow them to provide free DLC to everyone. So no season passes and no partitioning off of the community, into those that had bought the new content and those that hadn’t. That’s still the case, although we find it bizarre that you can’t just select which map you want to play on. Which means it can take an hour’s worth of playing to actually see any of the newer stuff.



Thankfully that’s not the case with the new limited time mode which has been released to coincide with the addition of microtransactions, as it’s available straight from the main menu. It’s called Ewok Hunt and turns the game almost into a survival horror, as a team of stormtroopers try to survive in the pitch black night of Endor as they’re stalked by the little furry monsters.

The stormtroopers only have a quickly discharged torch as extra equipment but ewoks can see better in the dark and have something called wisties (which must be the first time anything from Caravan of Courage has been referenced in a video game) they can throw at people and which work like a sanitised version of white phosphorus. Ewok Hunt is a great little mode and we hope there’ll be more like it in the future (surely the time has come for a cathartic massacre of gungans).

But other than the DLC the gameplay itself has not changed. And that’s where Battlefront II still has at least one intractable problem, in that its gunplay has always been disappointingly ordinary. The weapons lack feedback or any sense of weight, and it really doesn’t feel like what you imagine using a blaster would be like from watching the films.

The first person combat is still entertaining, since the mix of modes, hero characters, and vehicles is generally enough to take your mind off the slightly bland weapons, but it stands in direct contrast to the pitch perfect starfighter sections.


Battlefront II has always been essentially three games in one: a brief but enjoyable story campaign, an online first person shooter, and a third person space combat game call Starfighter Assault. And up until now we’ve felt terrible for Starfighter Assault being dragged down by everything else.

But while there’s still not enough maps to go around it’s a wonderfully unique game mode that hits just the right balance between complexity and accessibility. It’s also a style of game you never see in modern big budget titles and so good it absolutely demands being spun off into its own game.

For now though, there is only Battlefront II. The last five months have been a roller coaster ride for the game, but in the end it all seems peculiarly appropriate for a Star Wars tie-in. Despite the all-consuming evil of loot boxes there was still good in the game, and now at last it has been redeemed. Although unlike Darth Vader, its turn to the Light Side doesn’t end in death but what should be a bright and constructive future.

Star Wars: Battlefront II In Short: A revamped progression system and the demotion of loot boxes to a purely cosmetic role finally gives this ambitious Star Wars game the redemption it deserves. Pros: Superb graphics and amazing attention to Star Wars detail. Starfighter Assault is excellent and the story mode is a good effort. Plenty of game modes. Cons: Mediocre gunplay in the first person modes and Starfighter Assault doesn’t have enough content. No ability to select maps in multiplayer. Score: 8/10

Formats: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, and PC

Price: £59.99

Publisher: EA

Developer: DICE, Criterion, and Motive

Release Date: 17th November 2017

Age Rating: 16

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