Not that long ago in this very galaxy

Ah the 2000’s was a glorious time for video games, no stamina bars, no triggers and bumpers for melee games, and ninjas could slice up an opponent just as well as your local demon hunters. Yea it was a good time made better by Pandemic’s release of Star Wars Battlefront. What is considered by most as just Star Wars ‘Battlefield’, Star Wars Battlefront released to great acclaim and spawned a sequel and a canceled third game.

Star Wars Battlefront Collection isn’t a remaster or a remake instead it’s a upconverted re-release of the original two Battlefront games for modern systems and PC. I am not going to lie, nostalgia is a helluva thing because I just knew that upon booting this up my experience was going to be like picking up an old, treasured blaster rifle and I was going to have so much fun again. No, it didn’t quite work like that. I had to readjust and readjust some more BUT after some tweaking of the controls and things I found my groove and boy is this collection damn fun.

MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $24.99

Star Wars Battlefront can be summed up as simply being ‘Star Wars Battlefield’. The main conquest game mode sees players fighting over tickets on various land and space maps and the first to deplete the other will win, sound familiar. Factions of course pull from the prequel and main trilogy saga so Rebels/Empire, Republic/CIS (the battle droids…you remember) and players will choose between classes. These range from assault to snipers and each come with a specific kit like the. Unlike the new game vehicles are found around the map and can be used as well instead of calling them in as spawns. Heroes are awarded to a player who is doing the best during each match, depending on the faction and map players can control Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and more.

Combat in this game remains a joy even with some of the weird issues. Once players tweak the controller to their liking they will be blasting and force throwing foes all over the battlefield. While I wish there was a way to change kits among classes, but there is enough variety here that most players will find a class that they enjoy, whether it be support or the engineer type class who takes down enemy vehicles and repairs teammates.

Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection includes both classic Battlefront games, all of the bonus maps, and even some alterations to play modes, like letting you play the Hero Assault game mode on all ground maps instead of being locked to Mos Eisley on Tatooine. What is also freaking awesome but at the same time not awesome about this release is the inclusion of online servers that support 64 players. “Why is that sad, Mr. Black Man” you may be asking, and that’s because there is no cross play available. Meaning that Xbox can only play with Xbox etc. etc., which will make the only time these online servers will be full is during opening weekend. The inclusion of crossplay here would have meant a larger audience to game with and help with the online longevity of the game. As it stands there is a pretty robust single player mode in the two games, the sequel has the better narrative mode as it sees the rise of the 501st. Which if you are in the ‘know’ then you understand that the 501st is Vader’s platoon of Stormtroopers; meaning these boys don’t mess around.

Another pain point is the AI in this game, I don’t recall it being so dumb. It won’t be unusual for players to be the top dog of their teams in kills when playing offline. But seeing AI soldiers spin in a circle while shooting, or others who would run forward ten paces, fire their blaster only to run back to their spawn spot and do it all over again. Its not hard to rack up kills, which again begs the question of why there is no crossplay, the real meat and potatoes of this game is playing against other people. Lastly the graphics on some of the characters models are just a god-awful mess. Asajj Ventress is of special note here, if you know the character she wields two lightsabers. Well, her character in the game has her holding them at such a weird angle that she is cutting her right elbow off as it just slides harmlessly over the lightsaber. And when she attacks instead of looking like the trained Sith/Jedi/bounty hunter that she is just looks like some kid who picked up two sticks and THINKS they are a trained Sith/Jedi/bounty hunter. I assure you it does in fact look that bad.

All that being said though Star Wars Battlefront Collection isn’t a terrible game by any stretch, its just very much a game of its time and sadly I just don’t see myself playing it with the same vigor that I did when these games originally released. I think Ryan said it best, when he said in the year 2024 with so many great games out currently and on the cusp, I don’t think I would play this like it deserves. And he’s not wrong, Helldivers 2 has been that new hotness but we have a little game called Dragon’s Dogma 2 on the horizon as well as Rise of the Ronin and others that could be huge games. Listen, I know it sounds as if I don’t recommend this game but that is quite the contrary. For as long as the servers can attract players this will be a blast to play with friends. But if nothing else I hope this does the sales numbers to show that THIS is the type of Battlefront game that fans want, not what EA released in the reboots. The whole time playing this I yearned to be able to play the cancelled and leaked Battlefront 3 game. A man can certainly dream.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.