EA’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 does a lot of things right. It allows video game players of all ages to immerse themselves into the world of Star wars in a way never before. The stunning presentation and gameplay is enough to grab any fan whether they be hardcore fans like myself or casual viewers who only ever dabble into the films. And unlike the first Battlefront game back in 2015, this new installment actually includes a story mode that helps takes players behind the mask of an imperial stormtrooper and bridges the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens in terms of what happened after the warm and happy ewok party that seemed to signify the end of a galaxy wide conflict but instead only set the stage for its grand finale. The trappings are all there for a truly captivating game. Which makes the way EA screws over its players with a pay to win setup and slow pandering progression system. In order to upgrade and progress your soldiers and gear up must spend in game credits earned by playing the game. You then buy crate’s that have any random upgrades in order to make your player more powerful. The problem is that the credits you earn by playing are so few that you have to log in hours upon hours of playtime to even sort of feel like your making any progression. The only other option you have is to spend real life money on Crystal Packs, these packs allow you to quickly modify your player to higher levels of skill and thus dominating the battlefield with little to no effort put into getting there. Which is frustrating and alienating to those grinding hours of game time to achieve the same thing, along with Pre orders and pre paid bonus packs giving players who pay to win an early Starter boost against other players. Another big problem with this bad progression system are heroes locked behind ridiculous paywalls. When buying a Star Wars game, at least for fans like me, its a forgone conclusion that I would get to play as some of the legendary characters such as Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. However, most of our favorite iconic heroes are locked from use unless you spend the in game credits you earn while playing to unlock them. The problem with this is that you earn so little credits playing that you have to grind even longer to forgo upgrading your regular soldiers for a chance to unlock a hero. It’s the worst kind of pandering imaginable, and In a game titled Star Wars, it’s confusing as to why I should have to grind away for hours, or spend more real cash, to have something that should just be available in the game for the full price I already spent on it. On the bright side of things the game itself is in fact wildly entertaining. Using all Ears of the Star wars universe to portray its epic battles on the ground as well as in space dogfighting massive Star destroyers and navigating the trenches of the death star. Speaking of the hero’s the ones that are free all have their own unique abilities and stand out from one another. Also ranging from Era to Era, letting me dominate as Darth Maul or Yoda to Princess Leia and Boba Fett, even to Newcomers Rey and Kylo Ren from the Force Awakens, and thankfully there are even more on the way. Theres so many ways to play and to have fun, I was never bored while Playing Battlefront 2, which is something I can’t say about its predecessor. There’s a lot of improvement from graphics to sound effects to ship controls and the work truly shows, It’s just that the problems, namely the slow and tedious progression system and the alienating pay to win setup keeps the game from truly meeting its potential. The Developers have already taken steps to rectify this after massive fan outcry following release, removing the ability to purchase Crystal Packs all together and i feel this is a good step in the right direction. Only time will tell whether Battlefront 2 will be the first to make some break and change in the game community that’s plagued by this pay to win system of thinking or whether players will continue to have to suffer through the new age of DLC and paying out of pocket for content promised when we first took out our wallets in the first place.
