Star Wars Battlefront (2015 video game)

"Star Wars: Battlefront III" redirects here. For the cancelled project, see Star Wars: Battlefront § Star Wars: Battlefront III.
Star Wars Battlefront
Developer(s) EA DICE
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Distributor(s) Lucasfilm
Producer(s) Sigurlina Ingvarsdottir
Designer(s) Niklas Fegraeus
Artist(s) Ken Brown
Composer(s) Gordy Haab
Series Star Wars: Battlefront
Engine Frostbite 3
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4[1]
Xbox One[1][2]
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Action, shooter
Mode(s) Single-player,[6] multiplayer[7]

Star Wars Battlefront is an action shooter video game developed by EA DICE, with additional work from Criterion Games,[8] and published by Electronic Arts. The game, based on the Star Wars franchise, is the third major release in the Star Wars: Battlefront sub-series, and is considered a reboot to the previous games, instead of a sequel.[9] The game was released worldwide in November 2015, and received mixed reviews from critics.

Gameplay

Players have the ability to control characters from the films, such as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

Star Wars Battlefront is an action game played from either a first-person or third-person view; players can switch views whenever desired, similar to previous games, except when controlling "hero" characters or their personal guards.[10] Players traverse planets from the original Star Wars trilogy, such as Endor, Hoth, Tatooine, and Sullust, as well as environments from the sequel trilogy, and additionally Jakku. To navigate the world, players use a variety of vehicles, including both air and land-based vehicles, such as speederbikes and AT-ATs.[11] Battles are planet-based, restricting players from exploring space. The game's weapons, characters, gear, and abilities are customizable.[12] As new weapons are unlocked, players have the ability to share them with their teammates.[11] Battlefront does not feature iron sights, but allows players to zoom in for better accuracy.[13]

The game lets players choose to control either a Rebel Alliance soldier or an Imperial Stormtrooper. Other playable characters from the films can also be controlled, such as Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett, Leia Organa, Han Solo, and Emperor Palpatine.[14][15] Non-playable characters such as R2-D2 and C-3PO make appearances.[16] The game includes cooperative missions, which can be played offline, but excludes a campaign mode. Players can complete the missions both independently and with bots or another player; the game supports split screen on consoles.[17] The game's online multiplayer mode supports up to 40 players in one match and consists of 15 multiplayer maps. These maps feature five locations from the Star Wars universe: Hoth, Tatooine, Endor, Sullust, and Jakku.[18][19]

Development

A group of 30 attendees at the EB Games Expo 2015 play a match on a single server in Star Wars Battlefront.
A player of Battlefront during Madrid Games Week, 2015

In May 2013, publisher Electronic Arts obtained exclusive rights to develop Star Wars games for gaming consoles, and its subsidiaries DICE, Visceral Games, and BioWare started work on Star Wars games.[20][21] DICE first acknowledged the game at Electronic Arts' E3 2013 press conference, along with a teaser trailer.[22] The game is built with the Frostbite 3 engine; studio head Patrick Söderlund stated that the game would be "DICE's interpretation of what Battlefront should be", while still incorporating elements from the previous two games. As such, DICE did not brand the new game as a sequel to Battlefront II, but a reboot of the franchise.[2][23] Söderlund said that the game almost wasn't developed, but that staffers at DICE lobbied to be given the project; he called DICE's development of Battlefront "a match made in heaven".[24]

In June 2014, it was revealed at EA's E3 2014 press conference that the ice planet Hoth and the forest moon of Endor would be playable maps for the game.[25] In late October of that year, it was revealed that the game would be released Christmas 2015, tying in with the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[26] In early March 2015, the first gameplay footage of the game was shown at a private retail event and received a standing ovation from the audience.[27] In April 2015, at Star Wars Celebration 2015 in Anaheim, California, the first gameplay details and the second trailer was released.[28] The first downloadable content of the game, entitled Battle of Jakku, was also announced during the event.[29]

In April 2015, EA announced that Battlefront would release in North America on November 17 and in Europe on November 20 of that year.[3] It has been stated that the release date for Europe will now fall on November 19.[30] It was confirmed that the game would not feature the Battlelog system, but to use a new system developed by Uprise, an Electronic Arts subsidiary based in Sweden, which has previously worked on the Battlelog system of Battlefield 4.[31] On June 15, further gameplay was shown at E3 2015 depicting the Walker Assault mode on Hoth from perspectives of both the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire using various weapons, items and vehicles such as the AT-AT walker, Snowspeeders and TIE Fighters ending with playable characters Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader engaging in battle.[32] Another gameplay trailer featuring cooperative missions was also shown at the event.[33] An open beta of the game was released for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 8. The beta includes the Walker Assault, Drop Zone, and Survival mission modes.[34] The beta was originally set to close on October 12 but was extended to October 13 for testing of "extreme scenarios".[35] The beta was played by more than nine and a half million players.[36] According to Electronic Arts, it was their largest beta.[37]

Fellow EA developer, Criterion Games helped DICE develop the speeder bikes for the game.[38] Visceral Games also assisted in an undisclosed capacity.[39]

Downloadable content

Star Wars Battlefront features downloadable content (DLC). The first downloadable content, titled Battle of Jakku, was revealed during Star Wars Celebration 2015 and was made publicly available for download for free on December 8, 2015.[40] A Season Pass was announced on October 12, 2015 and includes four DLC packs. An "Ultimate Edition" was announced which includes the Deluxe Edition version of the game and the Season Pass.[41] Aside from the contents of the Season Pass, additional content will be released for free, which includes new maps and star cards.[42]

Battle of Jakku is the first DLC for Star Wars Battlefront, which launched publicly on December 8, 2015. Players who pre-order the game received the Battle of Jakku DLC a week earlier, on December 1, 2015. It became free for all players on December 8, 2015, and features two maps set on planet Jakku.[43] Outer Rim is the second downloadable content for the game, which is set to be released in March 2016. It adds maps set in Jabba the Hutt's palace in Tatooine and a factory area in Sullust. The game will be available for free to players who have purchased the game's Season Pass. Outer Rim is the first of the four DLC packs planned for Season Pass owners.[44] Set for a Summer 2016 release date, the second expansion pack is titled Bespin and will allow players to fight in the setting of Cloud City, Bespin.[45] The third expansion pack, titled Death Star, will be released Fall 2016 and will mark the debut of the Death Star in the game. [45] There will be a fourth expansion pack coming in early 2017. Nothing is currently known about it.

Tie-in game

Star Wars Battlefront Base Command

Base Command is a companion app available on Google Play and the Mac App Store. Base Command can be played with or without owning Star Wars Battlefront. Players defend the Rebel base from the Galactic Empire using Star Cards featuring vehicles, weapons, and power-ups. In the companion app, players can earn virtual credits, which can be used to unlock star cards, weapons, and character customization in the main game.[46][47]

Reception

Pre-release

Leon Hurley of GamesRadar had a positive impression of Star Wars Battlefront beta. He praised the game's gunplay for its being "strong" and seeming "great" but heavily criticized Walker Assault, one of the game's modes, for its difficulty of winning it as a Rebel. He compared the game's visuals to the Star Wars films' realistic clashes. Moreover, he praised the accuracy of Stormtroopers for its being "at least 100% true to the movie" and called wave-one soldiers "exceptionally special" while pointing out the flaw that the game had an unusual balance of Star Wars heroes and villains. For example, Darth Vader would be splatted by any passing ship while Luke Skywalker would have "far more luck on the 'looking epic' side of things" such as successfully destroying an AT-ST solo. Another flaw which he had pointed out is the "weird" and "infuriating" timing of ending scenes in which screens overlap the ends of matches.[48]

The game's lack of a campaign for the single-player mode was criticized.[49] Steven Storm of Ars Technica praised the visuals, stating: "DICE has at least captured the look and feel of Star Wars, perhaps better than any other game with the license before it."[50] He likened gameplay to the "standard Battlefield formula of walk, get shot, respawn, and repeat...".[50]

Post-release

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic(XONE) 75/100[51]
(PS4) 72/100[52]
(PC) 72/100[53]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid6/10[54]
EGM7/10[55]
Game Informer7.5/10[56]
Game Revolution[57]
GameSpot7/10[58]
GamesRadar[59]
GameTrailers8.1/10[60]
Giant Bomb[61]
IGN8/10[62]
PC Gamer (US)72/100[63]
VideoGamer.com7/10[64]

Star Wars Battlefront received mixed reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[51][52][53] Mizuho Securities analyst Neil Doshi noted the negative reviews, but predicted that the game would prevail as a financial hit.[65] Game Informer magazine criticised the game's perceived repetitiveness.[56] Dan Ryckert of Giant Bomb gave Battlefront 3/5 stars, praising the game for capturing the Star Wars feel but complained of the game's lack of content on release.[66] While both the PS4 and Xbox One maintains a healthy amount of active players online, the PC userbase has seen diminishing numbers.[67]

Sales

On May 5, 2015, Electronic Arts announced that the company was expecting the game to sell nine to ten million units before the end of the company's 2016 financial year on March 31, 2016.[68] After the release of the game's beta, the company now hopes the game to sell at least 13 million copies by the end of March 2016.[69] The company shipped 13 million copies by the start of 2016.[70]

Star Wars Battlefront debuted at number one in the UK for retail non-digital sales according to Chart-Track in its first week of release, and became the fourth fastest-selling title released in 2015. It marked the biggest launch of a video game in the Star Wars franchise, and exceeded the sales of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the previous record holder, by 117%. It was also the fastest-selling online PlayStation 4 video game, breaking the record previously held by Destiny.[71]

In early December 2015, GameStop president Tony Bartel told retail investors that a number of key November games had sold less than the chain had expected. Star Wars Battlefront was one of three titles listed, along with Halo 5 and Assassin's Creed Syndicate. Peter Moore, however, has defended Star Wars Battlefront's launch sales and has spoken out to investors to say that Electronic Arts was still standing by its target of selling 13 million copies by the end of March 2016.[72]

According to analyst Michael Pachter, the game has sold 12 million units, as of December 31, 2015.[73]

Awards

List of awards and nominations
Award Category Result Ref.
The Game Awards 2015 Best Shooter Nominated [74]

References

  1. 1 2 "Star Wars: Battlefront is a celebration of the original trilogy". GamesRadar. April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Yin-Poole, Wesley (June 13, 2013). "Star Wars: Battlefront is "DICE's interpretation of what Battlefront should be"". Eurogamer. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Dunning, Jason (April 17, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront Release Date Fully Confirmed, Free Battle of Jakku DLC Detailed". PlayStation LifeStyle. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  4. ↑ Salter, Ben (April 20, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront launching in Australia after US release". MMGN.com. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  5. ↑ Sheriden, Conner (November 5, 2015). "Take a tour of Star Wars Battlefront's planets and game modes". GamesRadar. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ Good, Owen S. "Star Wars Battlefront Will Have Offline Singleplayer, Won't Use Battlelog". Polygon. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Co-Op And 60 FPS, But No Campaign Or Space Battles". Inquisitr. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  8. ↑ Purchese, Robert (November 27, 2015). "Burnout studio Criterion helped make Star Wars Battlefront's Speeders". Eurogamer. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  9. ↑ Colwill, Tim. "Star Wars Battlefront will not be "Battlefront 3", but something new". Games.On.Net. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  10. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (April 17, 2015). "Star Wars: Battlefront has 40-player cap, no campaign". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Star Wars: Battlefront is a celebration of the original trilogy". GamesRadar. April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  12. ↑ Felson, Wes (April 17, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront "focusing on planetary battles," not space combat". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  13. ↑ Sheridan, Connor (May 5, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront has no ironsight aiming". GamesRadar. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  14. ↑ Jones, Gary (May 7, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront's Boba Fett and Darth Vadar hero system details REVEALED". Express.co.uk. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Heroes and Villains of Star Wars™ Battlefront™: Play as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Boba Fett and More". Star Wars. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  16. ↑ Nunneley, Stephany (April 17, 2015). "Star Wars: Battlefront has 40-player battles, play as Darth Vader and Boba Fett". VG 247. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  17. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (April 17, 2015). "No Campaign Mode for Star Wars: Battlefront". GameSpot. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  18. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (April 17, 2015). "New Star Wars: Battlefront Gameplay Details Released, Trailer Arrives". GameSpot. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  19. ↑ Matulef, Jeffrey (May 4, 2015). "Star Wars: Battlefront will feature 12 multiplayer maps". Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  20. ↑ Sarker, Samit (May 6, 2013). "EA and Disney sign exclusive deal for rights to Star Wars games". Polygon. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  21. ↑ Goldfarb, Andrew (May 6, 2015). "EA Acquires Exclusive Star Wars Game License". IGN. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  22. ↑ Thier, Dave (June 10, 2013). "EA Announces New Star Wars: Battlefront Game". Forbes. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  23. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (June 10, 2013). "Star Wars Battlefront in development at Battlefield studio DICE". Polygon. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  24. ↑ Robinson, Andy (June 24, 2013). "Interview: EA's Patrick Söderlund". Computer and Video Games. Future plc. p. 2. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  25. ↑ Petit, Carolyn (June 9, 2014). "E3 2014: Star Wars: Battlefront--We'll "See More Spring 2015"". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  26. ↑ Jordan Devore (October 28, 2014). "Star Wars: Battlefront Now Set for Holiday 2015". Destructoid. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  27. ↑ Scammell, David (March 4, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront gameplay footage receives "superb ovation" at secret showing". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  28. ↑ Nunneley, Stephany (April 17, 2015). "Star Wars: Battlefront – watch the lovely reveal trailer here". VG 247. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  29. ↑ Dyer, Mitch (April 17, 2015). "Star Wars celebration: Free Battle of Jakku Battlefront DLC revealed". IGN. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  30. ↑ Ingvarsdottir, Sigurlina (October 12, 2015). "More Than Nine Million Players joined us in the Star Wars Battlefront Beta". starwars.ea.com.
  31. ↑ Maiberg, Emanuel (April 18, 2015). "Star Wars: Battlefront Won't Use Battlefield's Battlelog System". GameSpot. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  32. ↑ Jon Hicks (June 15, 2015). "Watch Five Minutes of Star Wars Battlefront". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  33. ↑ Mitch Dyer (June 15, 2015). "E3 2015: Star Wars: Battlefront – First Co-op Multiplayer Details". IGN. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  34. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 1, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront beta out early October". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  35. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (October 11, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront Beta Extended, Here's When It Now Ends". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  36. ↑ Everett, Matthew (November 9, 2015). "More than 9.5 million played the Star Wars Battlefront beta". EA Star Wars. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  37. ↑ Hussain, Tamoor (October 13, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront Beta "Largest in History of EA"". GameSpot. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  38. ↑ "CriterionGames on Twitter". November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  39. ↑ Purchese, Robert (November 27, 2015). "Burnout studio Criterion helped make Star Wars Battlefront's Speeders". Eurogamer. Gamer Network.
  40. ↑ "How to get Battle of Jakku DLC". Star Wars EA. EA. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Star Wars Battlefront Season Pass". Star Wars EA. EA. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  42. ↑ Chalk, Andy (January 27, 2016). "EA unveils Star Wars Battlefront freebies and Season Pass info". PC Gamer. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Star Wars Battlefront Jakku Pre-Order Offer". Star Wars EA. EA. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  44. ↑ G. Macy, Seth (January 26, 2016). "Star Wars Battlefront Season Pass Revealed". IGN. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  45. 1 2 Dornbush, Jonathan (January 26, 2016). "Death Star, Bespin coming to Star Wars Battlefront via season pass". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  46. ↑ "Star Wars Battlefront: Base Command". Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  47. ↑ "Base Command". Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  48. ↑ Leon Hurley (October 9, 2015). "The Best and Worst of the Star Wars Battlefront Beta So Far". GamesRadar. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  49. ↑ Balestriere, Vincent (August 17, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront' Has No Single-Player Campaign, And That's A Shame". International Business Times. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  50. 1 2 Strom, Steven (October 10, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront beta provides a delightfully unbalanced battle of Hoth". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  51. 1 2 "Star Wars Battlefront for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  52. 1 2 "Star Wars Battlefront for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  53. 1 2 "Star Wars Battlefront for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  54. ↑ Carter, Chris (November 17, 2015). "Review: Star Wars Battlefront". Destructoid. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  55. ↑ Plessas, Nick (November 17, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  56. 1 2 Reiner, Andrew (November 17, 2015). "A Little Short For A Stormtrooper - Star Wars Battlefront - Xbox One". Game Informer. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  57. ↑ Peterson, Blake (November 16, 2015). "Star Wars: Battlefront (2015) Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  58. ↑ Mahardy, Mike (November 16, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront Review". GameSpot. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  59. ↑ Hartup, Andy (November 16, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront review". GamesRadar. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  60. ↑ Jones, Brandon (November 17, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront Review". GameTrailers. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  61. ↑ Ryckert, Dan (November 16, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront Review". Giant Bomb. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  62. ↑ Dyer, Mitch (November 12, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront Review". IGN. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  63. ↑ Kelly, Andy (November 18, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront review". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  64. ↑ Burns, Steve (November 13, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront Review". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  65. ↑ Patrick Seitz (November 17, 2015). "EA's New 'Star Wars' Game Gets 'Disappointing' Reviews". Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  66. ↑ http://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/star-wars-battlefront-review/1900-728/
  67. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/11/23/its-no-surprise-at-all-that-ps4-battlefront-players-dwarf-xbox-one-and-pc-combined/#1228d4057ba3">
  68. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (May 5, 2015). "Star Wars: Battlefront Expected to Sell 9-10 Million Copies". GameSpot. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  69. ↑ Scammell, David (October 30, 2015). "EA ramps up Star Wars Battlefront sales expectations". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  70. ↑ Osborn, Alex (January 28, 2016). "13 Million Copies of Star Wars Battlefront Shipped". IGN. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  71. ↑ Crossley, Rob (November 23, 2015). "Star Wars Battlefront Awakens Atop UK Chart". GameSpot. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  72. ↑ Tom Phillips (December 3, 2015). "EA defends Star Wars Battlefront sales after GameStop claims launch "underperformed"". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  73. ↑ Passalacqua, Michael (January 2, 2016). "Star Wars Battlefront Sells 12 Million Copies in First Two Months". IGN. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  74. ↑ "Nominees | The Game Awards 2015". The Game Awards. Ola Balola. November 12, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.

External links

Media related to Star Wars: Battlefront (2015) at Wikimedia Commons

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