Over the weekend, Star Wars Battlefront II held an open beta across Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC, giving fans an opportunity to check out what EA and DICE have cooked up for the sequel. Their first installment of Star Wars Battlefront released in 2015, and though the game sold well and was generally well-received, it lacked the content that would have made it a true successor to previous Battlefront games first developed by LucasArts in the early 2000s.For Battlefront II, EA indicated that they've listened to players' biggest complaints, creating a single-player campaign, including more co-op, and moved starfighter battles from low-orbit to outer space. Yet, for as welcomed as these changes are, there are other decisions the developers have made that are absolutely baffling - to the point they may have actually broken what was shaping up to be a fantastic sequel.
Where The Game Succeeds...
Surprising no one, Star Wars Battlefront II is a stunning game to play, perfectly recreating the look and feel of the Star Wars universe. This attention to detail was already evident in their first Battlefront, but it's amazing the difference only a few years can make. Though only a few multiplayer maps were available during the open beta, they are each an incredible recreation of their setting.
As for the gameplay, much will be familiar to anyone who's played the 2015 Battlefront. Players can switch from either first-person or third-person views and customize their load outs from the available weapons, as always, but this sequel now includes four available soldier classes - Assault, Heavy, Officer, or Specialist. These classes inject matches with more variety, at times forcing players to switch up their tactics or rethink how they'll approach an enemy. It isn't a perfect system, and certain classes are more useful in certain modes while less so in others, but offering players the option to play a support role as opposed to solely offensive shakes things up a bit. Star Cards still exist, providing players with powerful bonuses and abilities (more on that later), and the vehicle and hero perks which used to get picked up as items in matches are now purchased with Battle Points. These points are earned by inflicting damage to opponents and participating in objectives, and the purchased perks are only usable once per match. The idea of making something like playing as Darth Maul a perk that's earned rather than acquired by luck is a good idea, in theory, but the jury is still out on how well this works in practice. (For my part, I never earned enough to unlock a hero character, with those who did almost always being the best player and that match's MVP. So while less random, it isn't necessarily more fair.)
Both Galactic Assault and Strike Assault aren't wildly different from multiplayer modes available in 2015's Battlefront, with Galactic feeling akin to super-sized games of Turning Point and the smaller Strike Assaults playing a bit like capture the flag. These multiplayer modes are wild and chaotic, dropping players into frenetic fire fights. Each comes with a different set of objects outside of shoot the enemy dead, giving some sense of direction and order. By far, though, the mode which has improved the most in Battlefront II is Starfighter Assault. As previously mentioned, these are honest-to-goodness space battles. Not only has their setting been redesigned, but the controls feel more responsive and easier to get a handle on. (For example, rarely could I hit a ship in Battlefront's Fighter Squadron, but in Starfighter Assault, I managed to shoot down several. It's a marked improvement for myself and the game.) There are classes among the starships, too, like the agile Interceptor class which includes the A-Wing and Tie Interceptors, and choosing the right one for the mission at hand can make all the difference.
The Star Wars Battlefront II beta demonstrates that EA and DICE are interested in addressing many player's concerns from the first game, beefing up the modes available, adding in classes, while still offering content for those less interested in joining in the multiplayer madness. But for as good as all we've outlined above is, other additions to the game zap just enough of the fun and can make playing Battlefront II feel tedious.
Cutting to the chase, the biggest problem Battlefront II has is its reliance on loot crates - blind boxes of random rewards. These loot crates are rewarded to players regularly, and sure, it doesn't take all that long to accumulate a nice stockpile of crates. The problem however, comes from the fact that absolutely everything necessary to advance a class, a hero, and even ships comes in those loot crates and only those loot crates.
This decision makes progression entirely random and chance-based. Leveling is tied to how many Star Cards you collect for a certain class or hero, not how much time is spent playing as that class or hero. Looking to upgrade your grenade? Then you better hope to open up a loot crate with a grenade Star Card specifically tied to the class you wish to upgrade. There's a very real possibility players will overtime amass huge collections of Star Cards for classes or character they never play, while their preferred class is left with bupkis. The same goes for unlocking new weapons, ships, and heroes because they too only come in loot crates. Any and all leveling is tied to the chance offerings of loot boxes, creating scenarios where some players are dealt huge advantages while others are not. There is a crafting system but it hinges on collecting enough Scrap. How do you get Scrap? Loot crates! Scrap is earned for duplicate rewards from loot crates.
Tying progression to randomly-generated loot crates is infuriating enough, but the crates are not only earned as rewards - they can be purchased, too. For the beta, extra loot crates were only available for purchase with in-game credits, but it's only too easy to see this mechanic opening up to include real-world currency once the full game launches. And were this only for cosmetic upgrades like new emotes or victory poses (items which are also found in loot crates), that would be one thing, but these loot crates reward items which dramatically effect gameplay.
Star Cards are the main venue through which a character can be upgraded, and the impact of certain Star Cards can be enormous. For example, there are Star Cards which will increase health by 50% or 60%! Others boost rate of fire, increase shields, or give players extra grenades. These are handy, sure, but they are also remarkably over-powered. Boba Fett, for instance, has a Star Card that can decrease the damage he takes while in midair by 100%! That's ridiculous, and to have such a bonus acquired only through random chance is absurd. Compound that with an ability to purchase these loot crates for a chance at increased rewards and you're looking at system that is pay-to-win, plain and simple. The advantages earned from loot crate rewards have a such an impact on the effectiveness of a class or hero or ship, so much so that players without a full load out of Star Cards will be outmatched easily.
If this is really how advancement and leveling is handled in Star Wars Battlefront II, then the game is already broken. Where is the fun in grinding over and over for the chance at scoring a Star Card your preferred class can use let alone needs? Why let progress be tied soley to random rewards? Why have Star Cards that can give players such tremendous advantages, then increase the odds of unlocking said Star Cards behind a paywall?
Playing the open beta for Star Wars Battlefront II illustrated what a great sequel this game could be, building off a solid foundation from its predecessor while responding to fans' biggest complaints. But then EA goes ahead and introduces a reward and progression system based solely on random and purchasable loot crates? It's absurd, tantamount to gambling, and is sure to create way more backlash than choosing to again leave out Galactic Conquest ever could.