The thing is, lots of games let you shoot other people online. Anyone looking for a more robust first-person shooterВ will probably be more satisfied with Battlefield or Call of Duty.TheyВ will probably have seen everything they need to see in about 10 hours or so. Unlike other shooters such as Battlefield or Call of Duty there isn't much in the way of unlockable skills or weapons. What you get out of Star Wars Battlefront, then, depends on what you're looking for. (DICE/Electronic Arts) For Star Wars fans first, obviously You can play as main characters, including Luke Skywalker, in some of Battlefront's mission types, but the novelty wears off before long. Stop for even a second to admire the scenery, and someone else will probably shoot you in the back. It's a shame that these gorgeous vistas are used solely for spastic online multiplayer. Sullust, mentioned in passing in Return of the Jedi but never seen, is a welcome surprise: a volcanic world with lava flows and azure rivers streaking across a blackened rocky landscape in equal measure. Endor's thick forest and babbling brooks feel ripped from other exploration-heavy games like The Witcher 3. We've been here in literally dozens of Star Wars games before, but they have never looked this good. Three are instantly recognizable from the original films: the deserts of Tattooine, the icy Hoth and the forest moon of Endor. Battlefront launched with 13 maps on four locations. (DICE/Electronic Arts) GorgeousВ (wasted?) level designД«esides the superbly authentic sound design, the levels are the real stars of the show. The charming trashcan-like 'gonk' power droid is the star of Battlefront's capture-the-flag mission mode. Seeing the Emperor jogging through theВ snow on HothВ is preposterous. Seeing Luke throw half a dozen Stormtroopers with his Force Push is fun the first few times. Each comes with his or her own unique abilities, but they never really mesh with the foot soldier run-and-gun foundation. Some modes let you play as heroes and villains from the films: the Rebels have Luke, Leia and Han Solo, while the Empire has Darth Vader, Boba Fett and Emperor Palpatine. In Walker Assault, the Rebels have to take down massive Imperial AT-AT walkers before they reach the opposite end of the map, while the Empire has to defend them. In Supremacy, each team has to occupy the most strategic points on the map, up to a maximum of five, while keeping the enemy from doing the same. The star attractions are Supremacy and Walker Assault, chaotic 20-on-20 battles that take place on gigantic maps. Most of the action in Battlefront is a shoot-em-up between Rebel and Empire infantry. They're absurdly overpowered, but it feels appropriate in what is admittedly a casual mode. Power-ups in FighterВ SquadronВ allow you to pilot the Millennium Falcon or Boba Fett's Slave I. It will spark memories of the excellent Rogue Squadron games in some fans,В but only one mission type renders it a fun distraction at best. Most of the nineВ multiplayer game types you'll find follow the conventions of online shooters that gamers have become used to in the last decade or so.Д«lastВ is a standard deathmatch, in which the team that gets the most number of kills within the time limit wins.ДЇighter SquadronВ puts you in the middle of a dogfight between X-Wings and TIE Fighters.

You won't find a whiff of the newer, prequel films in Battlefront. EA and DICE hedge theirВ bets with theВ legions of fans of the original trilogy.

Players gather in multiplayer games that pit foot soldiers from the Empire and Rebel Alliance against each other. The Millennium Falcon and Slave I are absurdly overpowered in the Fighter Squadron mode, but if you're sticking to the fiction they probably should be. It overflows with reverence for the source materialВ - but does that make it a good video game in 2015? Star WarsВ Battlefront, published by Electronic Arts and developed by DICE, is the latest marketing salvo launched just ahead of the new film, The Force Awakens. And, if you listen closely, the crackling hum of a lightsaber indicates the nearby presence of a certain Jedi. TIE fighters scream as they strafe the battlefield.

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Soon after you join the battlefield, blaster rifles fill the air with the familiar, metallic echoing pew-pews innovated by Ben Burtt and guarded closely by Skywalker Sound. R2-D2's beep-boops spatter over the minimalist menu. John Williams's timeless score blares as the title card recedes intoВ the screen just as it does in the classic films. The first thing you'll notice in Star Wars Battlefront is the sound.

Star wars battlefront sullust