Star Wars Battlefront II - Windows [Digital]

This game is absolutely beautiful. It honestly feels like you are living in the Star Wars universe. It's gorgeous! The story campaign is alright. You travel all over the galaxy and see some really striking scenes. The story itself isn't terrible but it's not amazing. Online multiplayer is a blast but there are several things holding it back. Lootboxes as everyone is probably aware of is terrible. They removed the real money purchases for a limited time (no ETA when they come back) so thats good. However, the balance to unlock stuff is horrible. It's designed for you to purchase lootboxes. When a game is designed for you to purchase lootboxes the "free to play" method is always handicapped. It feels like it takes forever to unlock stuff. Also, there is a HUGE server rubber banding issue. I have a GTX 1070 and get minimum 100 FPS. It's usually 120+ when playing. That is really good FPS on a game that looks this good. However, NONE of that matters when the servers have a horrible rubber banding issue (Rubber banding is when you character is walking and he lags back like 10 spaces where he was a few seconds ago). In the space ship battles it makes flying impossible. It's a blast to fly around in space dodging debris and other fighters, but if you end up in a rubber banding server you constantly crash into things. You will be flying straight clearly through debris and next thing you know your ship "teleport" back and you crash into something you just passed. All in all I do feel like this game is worth a purchase if you are a Star Wars fan. If you don't care so much about Star Wars and were looking for a fun shooter then look elsewhere. The campaign is enjoyable and does some fun fan service. The online multiplayer is a blast IF you get into a good server. The lootboxes have really messed up progression with unlocking stuff for your character. This game had so much going for it. I give it a 3 out of 5. I feel like it does enough to be a great Star Wars game for fans but it falls short of being something truly epic.

Review as of 12/14/2017 - You may or may not know of the controversy surrounding this game but there was a good amount just before launch. The game uses lootcrates in game that randomly award you star cards that are then use for progression. These crates were available for purchase during launch but the real money currency has since been disabled. Everyone is hoping EA doesnt bring them back. Regardless, the progression system is currently still bad but DICE is working on an overhaul (hopefully) that will fix the game. Otherwise, the gameplay and atmosphere that DICE has created with this game is downright amazing. You will never get a space combat arcade game or Star Wars ground combat sim as wonderful as this. I enjoy it but Im glad I didn't pay full price. Buy at your own risk but know that it will take some time for the game to really come into its own and become what it was meant to be. I have faith in DICE but it will take time. They really need to not mess this up. I do recommend this to any big Star Wars fan but not at full price!

Like many others, I was pretty turned off by Battlefront 2 when it first came out. The heavy emphasis on microtransactions really degraded the feeling of progression you've come to expect from a multiplayer-focused game, and it just didn't feel balanced or fun after a few hours. Coming back to this game a year later, I'm finding it much more enjoyable. A lot of new maps and DLC content have been released for free, and the progression has been largely reworked to reward players who are actually playing. Some microtransactions do still exist, but they seem to be only for cosmetics and aren't really in your face all that much, making them easy to ignore. While it's far from my favorite multiplayer shooter, the visuals are still jaw-dropping, whether you're a Star Wars fan or just a fan of video games. I do think however, that the game really only holds up long-term if you're a big Star Wars fan. The mechanics and overall feel of the gameplay aren't very deep or involved compared to something like Battlefield or even Call of Duty. The campaign is very shallow and forgettable, but fans of the lore like myself will no doubt enjoy seeing how it ties to the rest of the canon and still get something out of it. While I may not stick with it for very long, it was absolutely worth the $15 sale price that I paid, and it becomes a much easier recommendation at that point.

The graphics are great and game play is good but a sketchy progression systems leaves me questioning what I am trying to achieve during my playtime. The movement of getting rid of loot crates/pay to win style games seems to be stemming from this triple a title.

Game looks great and plays pretty decently when the servers are working. Lots of lag at night because the servers suck. Progression in the first 10-15 hours feels good because of easy achievement/credits but this soon dries up and you're stuck grinding hours to get a 1% chance at an epic card (of which there are maybe 3 useful ones per class). Totally set up to rope you into using microtransactions to progress. Ridiculous system that doesn't reward playing well but only time spent in game.