Get Your Act Together, EA

The Failure of EA's Battlefront II

By Zane Wetzel

Looking back on it, I think one of the most memorable games that I played growing was Star Wars: Battlefront II on my trusty Playstation 2. Featuring a campaign that spanned from the height of the Clone Wars in the Prequels (which I did like as a kid. Don't shame me) up to the start of Empire, plus several different arcade modes that took place across iconic locations in the movies, Battlefront II was a game worth its weight in gold for any Star Wars fan. So when I heard that EA was going to be making a modern reboot of Battlefront in 2015, I put my full faith in it. Their first attempt was lackluster, at best, but I was willing to give EA the benefit of the doubt when they said they were going to be making a sequel in time for The Last Jedi. 

In several ways, Battlefront II was a step in the right direction from the previous installment: EA kept their promise and added a campaign, and they even added the space dogfights that players (like me) had been hoping to get in the 2015 game. Those two things were among the biggest issues that I had had with the 2015 Battlefront that kept me from really getting invested in it beyond the first few weeks after release, and I praise EA for taking that into account with the sequel. They even went a step further by having voice actors from the popular show Star Wars: The Clone Wars reprise their roles as the Clone Troopers and the Battle Droids; personally, I thought that that was a nice aesthetic touch that made the game feel like a genuine part of Star Wars Lore.

That being said, however, I feel that Battlefront II was unable to live up to the 2005 versions full capabilities and that it can be better than it already is. Some of the issues I have with the game, I am not alone on: I have already seen blogs on the Internet and social media campaigns addressing some of the issues that I have. Other issues, however, may just be my own personal preference regarding what I remember from the 2005 Battlefront II and why I think they should have been included in the modern version, most of them being gameplay elements that have been forgotten.

Issue #1- Lootboxes and Premium Content

When it was discovered during the Beta that EA had made the decision to add lootboxes into the game along with in-game currency that could purchased using real life money, they got a ton of flak about it. I believe that one of the main issues that people had with the lootboxes was that their contents were completely randomized and could range from relativley common prizes to the one-in-a-million legendary reward, though more often than not, it was the former. Players could grind for hours to get lootboxes and never get the items that they were looking for, which could be incredibly frustrating. In an attempt to compensate for this, EA gave players the option to purchase lootboxes using real-life currency, but the problem of randomization still remained present, which incensed players even further.

As mobile phone games have become popular in recent years, a lot of game developers have adopted the concept of "freemium games": games that are free to purchase and play, but contain content that can be purchased using real life currency. I got addicted to freemium gaming for a while myself, and I can honestly say that it is an effective tactic. You know that you can eventually complete most of the game without having to purchase any of the premium content, but the temptation of being able to get it done in a shorter amount of time or to unlock some cool new feature can be very strong. Despite this, I have been willing to accept it as a part of the concept.

However, when EA tried to push that through in Battlefront II, two things struck me about it: one, I feel like EA was being greedy to the point that they weren't even trying to hide it. The game already costed $60 when it was first released. That's a significant amount of money to spend, especially for those with a limited income such as myself. To have to spend even more money to get the best content seems like an insult to the gamers. Secondly, if EA is willing to resort to in-game purchases to make money out of Battlefront II, it makes it seem like they have little confidence in its ability to perfom well, and the game will suffer because of that.

Issue #2- Lack of Mechanics from the Classic Games

One of the biggest issues that I had personally with EA's version of Battlefront is that it fails to incorporate many of the gameplay mechanics and modes that could be found in the 2005 Battlefront II in favor of the typical mechanics found in modern FPS games. Chief among them, I miss being able to lead an entire fleet to conquer the galaxy in Galactic Conquest, and I miss the unique gameplay that space battles offered where you could land inside the enemy's ship and deliberately sabotage them. Even the campaign from the 2005 version seemed more interesting: you played as a clone trooper as he recounts his career of fighting, both for the Republic in the Clone Wars and then as a stormtrooper for the Empire. This was a fun way to help tie together the prequel trilogy to the original, and I thought it was interesting to be put into the shoes of a nameless grunt and see the events of the films and beyond through his eyes. In contrast, it feels like EA led us to believe that the singleplayer would have us play entirely from the Empire's perspective, only to instead have the main character defect to the Rebellion halfway through the story (because no one with a consicence wants to stay with the Empire). It felt like a huge cop out and a letdown, overall

What they can do better

Now, don't get me wrong, Battlefront II has the potential of being a great game, but the issues that I mentioned, along with others that I did not have time to mention, are holding it back. If EA really wants to keep making Star Wars games like they have been, then I think that they are going to have to address some of the problems and make revisions to them. Here's what I would

1. Ditch the premium content- We already paid $60 for the game, and they want us to pay even more just to get access to the best in-game content? It feels like we are being swindled out of our money and is a big turn off to players
2. Overhaul the lootboxes- instead of putting in things that could be considered essential to the game, like new weapons or heroes, just make them accessible from the getgo. Save the lootboxes for the little things, like a new costume for your favorite hero, or a new color for your soldier's armor
3. Add more hero characters: There are already plenty of iconic heroes and villians from Star Wars that can be played (Rey, Luke, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Vader), but I know that you guys can do better than this. Add more iconic characters from the films or even outside of them. I would love to be able to play as Captain Rex or Ashoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and I'm sure plenty of fans out there would want to do the same thing.
4. Take inspiration from the original games: the company that made the original Battlefront games, Pandemic, has long since disbanded, but maybe EA could look back at their version of Battlefront and see what they did that worked and what didn't instead of trying to make a Star Wars game that is modeled after Battlefield
5. Bring back Galactic Conquest- That was one of the best parts of the original games, and I miss having that.

I am grateful that EA decided to bring Star Wars back into the genre of FPS games: it's something that suits the franchise perfectly, and I still think that there is a great deal of potential that's left untapped in the games. They just need a better idea about what it is that they need to do before they head in, and need to listen to the gamers about what they want . I know that they can do better than what they have already done and make the Star Wars FPS game that fans have been waiting for for so long.