The Never Ending Disappointment of Star Wars Battlefront

Eight months ago we finally received a new Star Wars Battlefront game. The anticipation was just about as intense as I have seen when it comes to new video games.

I can remember other big video game releases in which it seemed like everyone was beyond excited for its eventual arrival.

Unfortunately, when the game dropped the enthusiasm would inevitably follow as over time more of us began to realize how disappointing the gameplay was.

As it has been mentioned a million times Battlefront is a carbon copy of Battlefield.

The lives of the characters are expendable, there’s no real strategy to playing and luck seems to be more valuable than skill.

What’s even more maddening is I believe Battlefield games are 10x better than Battlefront!

The fact that the environment is in play as in some buildings and other materials are capable of being leveled is fantastic.

In the world of Star Wars Battlefront, you shoot a powerful rocket launcher at small crates and nothing happens besides a small little black mark.

In Battlefield you get the fantastic option of customizing your weapon’s add-ons to increase its power. In Battlefront whatcha got is what ya got…

Not to mention the fact that Battlefront was released with four maps!

To be fair, the expansion packs have been very entertaining and interesting to say the least but you know what? You had to dish out some serious dough for that! Not cool!

Just look at this graphic as this version of Battlefront is compared with the old one…

How ridiculous and offensive is that? The obnoxiousness is endless!

Maybe one of my biggest gripes with Battlefront is the fact that there are so many useless game modes.

The way I see it, if it’s not supremacy, sabotage, occasional walker assault and once in a blue moon fighter squadron, it’s not worth playing.

It’s also pretty clear that the original blueprints for Battlefront as in games one and two that were released in ’05 and ’06 were consulted for about 10 minutes…

What irks me too is the changing of the way bases are captured.

In the old days of Battlefront, the game would start and you could immediately go after your opponent’s main base. Not only was it more difficult and took longer to convert to one of your own but if you did complete the task of taking the base, you would have a serious advantage.

This game gives you one option: one base at a time…

Awful. God awful.

The creativity, the strategy and the free-flowing play all went out the window.

This version of Star Wars Battlefront has about only one advantage on the old ones and that’s graphics and sounds.

There’s no denying the stunning aesthetics of this game. The colors are vibrant, the explosions are epic and the sounds throughout the game are very impressive.

But besides that, I honestly can’t think of much more they got right.

Okay maybe the additions of new hero and villain characters such as Dengar, Nien Nunb, Greedo and Lando are awesome, I won’t deny that.

But man, DICE really dropped the ball on this one.

As the DLC continues to be released, I find myself constantly thinking “will they just change the game to the old one already?”

I know I’m slightly ranting here but I also find it mind-numbing that the old school classic look of the scoring bar was taken out completely.

It was so simple yet so effective and perfect. The system now with just bases and time is played out.

I also think some of the Hutt contracts are useless and too difficult to get.

The quest you must endure to unlock some of these items are painstakingly annoying!

I just want to unlock new guns and use them in the heat of battle, not randomly throw smoke grenades or kill an enemy as I’m standing in this specific area or something.

It takes away from the overall idea of you’re playing the video game for fun and not a contest to win.

What separated the new and the old Battlefront games in my eyes however is the fact that one had a form of a story mode or a player vs computer ability as the newer one had an extremely repetitive and boring survival mode.

The recently added game mode of skirmish is severely lacking. It seems that even when DICE goes to fix its problems they still can’t get things right.

For example, I played skirmish walker assault last night and you know what happened? I got the hero icon right away and played as Nien Nunb…I ended up surviving the entire game and going 189 and 0…

You might say that sounds fun and maybe it was at first but you know what? It was pathetically boring.

I guess what I’m trying to say is Battlefront I and II were 10/10 games for me and so many others. This new Battlefront, even with the updates is so weak and seems to stay on the same level of disappointing.

It’s way too one dimensional as it’s lacking so much material that was there over 10 years ago!

They could have simply taken the old game, upgraded the graphics and added some characters and boom! All would be good.

Another crazy mishap that Battlefront boasts is the restrictions of having original trilogy-based characters only…

Now I understand that supposedly DICE was not granted permission to use Episode VII characters but what happened to the prequel heroes and villains!?

It’s well documented that many Star Wars fans took exception to Episodes I-III (which is crazy in itself) but the characters in those movies are epic and deserve to be everywhere.

From Darth Maul and General Grievous to Plo Koon and Mace Windu, it’s painful to not see them in this game.

Just spoof up the graphics and let the awesomeness commence!

As for now, I guess we’ll just have to settle for what we’ve got: a mediocre moneymaker that has the title of “Star Wars” on it.

I’ve always been an eternal optimist but in this case it’s pretty difficult.

Here’s to better games in the future! Please!

-Sith Pacify out

 

 

 

 

 

 

Official Sith Pacify Power Rankings: #22

The 22nd character for the Official Sith Pacify Power Rankings is…Plo Koon!

Plo Koon Overall = 89

Jedi Master Plo Koon was an accomplished individual who was an experienced fighter as well as a dynamic starfighter pilot.

But not only was the great Plo Koon physically gifted, his intelligence and character superseded all the combat accolades the Jedi Master could ever achieve.

Plo Koon’s own Master once referred to him as “The most humble, polite, stubborn, and difficult Padawan.”. 

But this is only a glimpse of Plo Koon’s character as there are numerous tales of him lending a helping hand to Jedi younglings.

Heck, Plo Koon was the one who discovered Ahsoka Tano! And she’s not even in the rankings yet?? How does that work!

Let’s find out.

Characteristics

• Inner Fortitude (Strength, 92/100)- Plo Koon’s best characteristic was his ability to connect to those young and old, strong and weak, big and small. He always gave a humanitarian-like effort to help those in need and council them whenever he could. Plo Koon had a big heart and it did not go unnoticed. His battlefield prowess is clearly evident, but his ability to reach out a helping hand is heroic.
• Combat Skill (Strength, 90/100)- It’s not everyday that you deal with a Jedi Master who is an elite swordsman as well as a very strong starfighter pilot. The versatility of Plo Koon in a conflict puts him in a unique category. Plus, you can’t ignore the fact that he was a highly successful Jedi General in the Clone Wars. From taking on pirates to destroying battle droids, Plo Koon is supremely talented in warfare.
• Wisdom (Strength, 94/100)- At the age of his death, the Kel Dor male was 363 years old. He began his journey in the Jedi Order as a Padawan and eventually worked his way up to the illustrious Jedi High Council. His knowledge of the Force was terrifically potent that it is only overshadowed by one other ability, his teaching capabilities. Whether it was giving instruction on life or teaching the ways of war on the battlefield, Plo Koon’s wisdom touched many lives.
• Honor (Strength, 87/100)-When I think of Plo Koon, his dignity and prestige are one of the first thoughts that come to mind. He’s deadly when necessary, always powerful through the Force and loved and respected almost everywhere. His humility is unparalleled, it gives you an idea why he’s so respected. Even Senators throughout the Republic seemed to be pulling for this guy! It’s not very common you see that.
• Blindness (Weakness, 65/100)- No not physically. It seems that Plo Koon was another Jedi Master that just could not see through the cloud of the Dark Side that Yoda talked about. One of the reasons he is so high on this list is because his brilliance ends here. With his inability to survive Order 66, Ahsoka Tano deserves the honor of being ranked higher than her old teacher since she was able to survive. Honestly, I don’t think Plo Koon would disagree with that statement either.
• Order 66 (Weakness, *)- When you think of everything that Plo Koon was and stood for, it is very very difficult to really find another weakness. I don’t even know if the word “weakness” is appropriate here. Maybe the word “disappointment” fits better? I have “Order 66” down as a weakness because I strongly believe that if he was able to survive the clone trooper’s betrayal, he would have been able to severely help the people of the Galaxy and hey, maybe with the combination of Plo Koon and Yoda, the Jedi could have been victorious against Sidious.

Intangibles 

• Force Abilities (Strength, 95/100)- Plo Koon’s comprehensive knowledge of the Force is something that is well undocumented. One of his many talents is an impressive mastery of a forbidden Force technique known as the Electric Judgement. Basically this power was very similar to the Sith’s use of Force Lightning. His understanding of the Force also allowed him to create small whirlwinds as well as a dense fog over a limited area, freeze tiny rivers and lakes, and raise or lower the temperature of his surroundings enough to incapacitate an opponent.Now THAT is impressive.

Final Word

In the end, Plo Koon was taken from the Galaxy far too soon. He was an incredible soul with the powers to be one of if not the strongest. It’s extremely unfortunate that he was cut down at the ripe age of 363…In all fairness, the Jedi Master lived a colorful, caring and special life. His humanitarian efforts are so immense that it would humble even the most decorated Jedi. Like I said earlier, if Plo Koon survives Order 66, I have no doubt in my mind he is in the top 10 of the Official Sith Pacify Power Rankings.

-Sith Pacify out