Star Wars Battlefront 2: The next utter disappointment.

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Let’s start off with the positives.

The graphics, sound and gameplay are solid 8/10 and can’t really complain.  We start the story off with a very typical Star Wars story and feel.  The characters are good and this game explains a bit more of how the Empire crumbled (not so easy).  It also explains how the Empire lost more support – by targeting Empire loyal planets.  And it was the Rebellion that came to the aid.

The Arcade single player offers a little bit of fun and multiplayer is also somewhat enjoyable.  I didn’t get the pre-order early release and starting to think that maybe I should.  Once I started playing online.. I got the huge feeling that I was lacking behind.  Every time someone killed me, they knew the maps and had some pretty good abilities (cards) on their character.

That was it.

So the flaws….

Single Player:

The story got worse in my view..  need to destroy 2 AT-ATs? Sure..  you’re in an X-Wing but let’s land and take them down.  There are dozens if not hundreds of fighters in the air right now.. surrounded by large capital ships but no one can spare a moment to help down take the 2 AT-ATs.. instead..  let’s land.  That’s right – any excuse to land.

The trailers didn’t match up.  There was certain cut scenes shown in the trailers that didn’t match how the game cut scenes went..  I was disappointed because it felt like they made a better impact compared to the game (two particular scenes: Naboo of hope and Endor).

We didn’t spend enough time with the main character nor did it really feel like it was long enough.  Instead they gave us a few maps that felt more.. multiplayer related with the Star Wars heroes…  - no joke..  they totally felt like *let’s add these in somehow*..

Multiplayer..  this is what the game is all about and it really does (did) pay to spend money.  Buying a ton of packs which encourages others to compete.. and those cards really do make a huge difference.  I’m now on rank 11 and the boosts turn your poor-average character to a average-very good.  Since boosting I’ve gone from consistently finishing in the bottom half to finishing top half.  I’ve even finished top quite a few times – especially in the fighter matches.  And there’s another problem – you can’t choose exactly what you want to join.  I’d prefer to stick to the same map over and over – to learn it.  Learning these wide maps is very difficult.. there are cracks and tiny areas you can get to.  Also how do you play with your friends? You can’t.

Arcade mode.. waste of time.  They are basic matches and only tier 3 offers any kind of a challenge.

The online store has been shut down – good.  This is not what Disney is about and EA can do it with Fifa but not Star Wars.  Especially when the majority of this game wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for multiplayer.. EA attempted to turn this in to one cash cow which I do not believe is right. 

So.. with everything in mind.. this is yet another Star Wars disappointment.  I will say this though, it’s an improvement…  but really does explain how it didn’t take long to get this game built.  It doesn’t offer much more than the 1^st one and the single player campaign is average at best and really does leave a bitter taste after such a positive start.  This is a good game at times but thanks to EA – they’ve put little effort in turning this in to something we will remember.  You look at the normal battlefield games – the single campaign is usually created with a big effort.  Each level has meaning to the story.  Star Wars doesn’t even allow you to create your own matches and nor with bots.....

*Update*

So I’ve done a bit of reading.. turns out my review is the reflection of many.   I’ve tried to find out how much this game had in regards to budget.. but no luck.  I would like to see if it was ‘big’ because if I’m honest.. I really don’t think so.  The game isn’t as big compared to Battlefield or its predecessors..  I’d compare this as slightly better than Battlefield 1942 which had no story line. 

Would I recommend in buying it? I’d wait 6 months and then get it.  It will be cheaper and will probably come with some more DLC (probably cheaper or free).   Now I won’t whine about the cost of the game because game sellers do not want to sell something for £15 which is a brand new big game.  Believe it or not – the sellers are the ones that push the prices up.  Something gamers don’t realise… otherwise the game would be sold online through Steam only..

So EA..  thank you again for providing another ‘okay’ money cash cow game.  That too many fans will get bored of after a few weeks.  Games like Counter Strike are gone.  They offered fun, low cost and didn’t require any progressiveness to keep you playing nor allow you to dominate too easily.  The game lasted for many years.

It's sad but this is not the Star Wars game we was looking for and certainly just another cash cow game produced by EA with no real heart for the fans.

Review: Star Wars Rogue One

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For the those that don’t want spoilers – Either this movie is a  spectacular 4 star or something could be missing.

For those that don’t care about spoilers read on.

I guess I will start with the fact this movie was spoilt by me as a result of the cinema I was in plus a few other real life issues.

First 5 minutes of this film frustrated me where it felt like it was jumping between segments and time periods but once that is over and finished.  I feel this was perhaps a very special movie.

I’m going to start off with the negatives a bit too quick: 

They all die, Princess Leia smiling after all those deaths, Vader dropping himself to our level and physically getting involved.  Unlike A New Hope which at the end saw Vader get in to a tie fighter there was no reason as to why he did.  “Several fighters have broken off from the main group – come with me”.  This line was missing.

A few more touches from A New Hope “I have the death sentence” remember that line? He appears.

Killing off Saw far too quickly, he was a very interesting character and he had such little screen time.  In fact I felt we could have had a bit more of Chirrut as well perhaps even Bail Organa.  Not to mention how Jyn’s mother decided to commit basic suicide………..

Did I mention they all die?  I hated that.  I thought perhaps some would survive to go along with all the Bothan’s that died to bring us the next Death Star plans.  I’m not a fan any more of the whole “let everyone die” not from the likes of X-Men 3 and certainly not from Star Wars.

Now the positives

Governor Tarkin is back and I have to say what an impressive showing he was.  No fear, total control and had class.  Certainly explains why the Emperor gave control of the Death Star to him.

This movie makes you think more about A New Hope especially in regards to the politics of the Galaxy.  There are a few mentions here regarding the secrecy of the Death Star – after all during ANH Vader didn’t want the Senate to know they had boarded the ship chasing after the plans.  This film also makes you think about why Vader didn’t know the Emperors plans to dissolve the Senate.  Vader is after all recovering in that tank we all get to see in the trailer.

The movie is impressive on real sets, special effects and characters while still providing a very good story line where let’s face it – we know what it’s about.

K-2SO what a character.  Not only is the humour funny as a Star Wars fan but even non fans will laugh at his jokes.  They real snap witty ones.  You can’t help but fall in love with the characters of Baze and Chirrut, that perhaps you would like to of heard more on why these two are together.  Although I’m still unsure about Cassian especially how they introduced him.

The special effects deserve a total pat on the back, not only does the entire movie feel real but it feels much more like a WW2 movie seeing good people die fighting for freedom.

Other than that missing one line for Vader, this movie has raised questions that could they very well do a standalone film for him?  If they want to – they really need to do it soon.  James Earl Jones is not getting any younger.  And let’s face it there is much to explore with him – potentially they can give us a standalone direct after Episode 3 where he is hunting Jedi.

The end battle sequences were very impressive and realistic but it’s how it was all happening which was brilliantly done.  Although Jyn could have done a bit more for us.. she is a character I would love to have seen more of including most of the major cast.  It was such a shame that they will not be doing a sequel for them.  I think for me that is the biggest disappointment.  Knowing that those characters are done with – although we’ve already seen one making a Star Wars Rebels return this to me is not the same.  I personally think they dropped the ball on this one and because of that I can’t give this movie a 5/5 or better than Empire Strikes Back.

This movie has a short few complaints and for a Star Wars movie that’s quite impressive.  Considering these movies are going to be heavily scrutinised as well.

The character depth wasn’t perfect in this film but what do we get with a Star Wars movie that doesn’t rely on a trilogy to present us story and characters.  This was an independent movie that tied in to the franchise and they did it well.  That little niggle will always hurt me where they all died because I really do want more.  BUT as I said this was about a single movie not a trilogy.  When you look at real feedback on negativity for this movie you see just little tweaks here and there.  Considering the scope of fans this movie has and how easy it is to just whine and complain all day – it again did a very good job.

This movie deserves an incredible 10/10 for effort from practical effects to actress/actor choices, characters and how well it blends in to the Star Wars franchise.  You will always see a New Hope from a different point of view.  The movie itself though deserves 7/10 perhaps an 8/10 which is no easy feat for Star Wars.  If you are new to the franchise this movie might seem just like another good Sci Fi movie but for a fan this movie will feel the franchise is in safe hands.

Fan Theories – How wrong were they

So that tank, with the dark cloak person kneeling was in fact a nobody.  Jyn was in fact just some random daughter of a scientist with no real ties to the Jedi.

All those fan theories that we had seen were wrong – as always.  Why? Because they never look for the most simplest explanations.

Disney/Lucas Films

Let’s face it with the majority of people they were not happy over this.  People were sick of Lucas doing Star Wars films to disappoint us and it was even worse when he sold it to Disney.

I was never one of the critics even with their Force Awakens question marks – one of which I personally feel was more JJ’s fault because he gave us a movie that we should have had instead of Phantom Menace.  I remember once watching JJ talk about the original Star Trek when he was releasing the 1^st remake.  He said Star Wars was like a rock song while Star Trek orchestra, this mademe think that he prefers a movie to be non-stop moving.  You’re moving so quick that sometimes you forget about plot lines and story.  He showed this in that Star Trek remake (more so in the 2^nd Darkness) and this was again demonstrated in Force Awakens.  For the average viewer the movie was great an fantastic but for the fan, the attention to detail to the plot and locations (something Lucas was I have to say really good at) was seriously missed.  JJ and everyone though gave great attention to the parts Lucas doesn’t like practical effects and actress/actors.  I think Rogue One was built around the original trilogy, taking in to considerations of Force Awakens and the prequels.  All those movies helped to shape this one.  The small mistakes made in Rogue One I think didn’t appear previously (like killing everyone off, jumping quickly from one location to another in a short time) but it just goes to show how important it is to get it all right.  And once more I feel Rogue One did very well.

All of this has shown one thing that Star Wars was never just about Lucas, it was about a group of people working together and giving us a broad of things that made Star Wars special.  George believed it was the different worlds, others thought it was the space scenes, others the story and characters.  It’s all of it.  I really do think Lucas should have been an advisor for Force Awakens so they wouldn’t of gave us that “similar” feeling.  Just like the prequels the movie needed slight alterations (okay Attack of the Clones needed much more than tweaks).  If George had other people who were more in power around when he was making the prequels we would have 8 fantastic Star Wars movies.  At the moment I will say this – we have 4 fantastic movies with another 2 with a few question marks.  The 4 being EP4, 5, 6 and Rogue One.  The 2 being EP3 and 7.  Rogue One feels like Star Wars.

Still I really do feel Star Wars is in the right hands.  I still question if the Han Solo movie will be as enjoyable compared to Rogue one or even Force Awakens.  I’m not a fan of the whole scavengers/scoundrel/smuggler story lines not in games and certainly not in Force Awakens.  It may actually be the one movie I don’t go to see in the cinema.  To be fair I will probably go and see it….  It’s Star Wars.  It must be seen on the big screen.

One thing Rogue one has done though it’s made me feel more confident in Disney and has really wet my appetite for more Star Wars stories.  And let’s face it that was the aim – to make us want more.  It’s just such a huge shame that those fantastic characters won’t come back.  That we won’t get more of them.

Review: Star Wars the Old Republic

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Huge Star Wars fan on top of RPG and Sci-Fi.

Going to start off with some quick positives with it’s free to play and not necessarily a ton of restrictions if you want to enjoy the game for what it is.

The graphics are quite good with large surrounding areas and it never feels like that everything is copied and pasted.  Every world seems very different and looks incredibly beautiful.  There is certainly a scope of feeling that this is a very big game.  Special mention for the introduction movies that not only feel like Star Wars but gave impressive moments.

Plenty to do with tons of quests, story quests, flash points and other bits and pieces.  I really felt like that I could never get all this done in a billion years.

The characters

I have to say this to me was a positive especially when I chose a male character that had a female companion.  I created a bond and a relationship between these two.  We get a lot more background story about relationships with Jedi’s.  Although this was explored during the prequels we didn’t actually get much other than a very poorly acted love scene which felt very uncomfortable to watch.  This time around the relationship doesn’t feel uncomfortable but it’s quite fun to follow.  There’s plenty of characters to come across, the good the bad and the ugly.  Some are companions some are not while others you end up killing.  The Star Wars universe as ever is full of our usual type of characters.  This is certainly a good thing.

Story

This was a big let-down I have to say for a Jedi Knight, I found a lot quite predictable and poorly constructed.  The ending to chapter 3 I must say was incredibly unsatisfying.  I wasn’t impressed that the introduction movies gave us this big war but it turns out that the story is based on after the war.  Yet for some reason there is heavy conflict going on so are we at war or is there a truce?

Story is another big thing that’s important to Star Wars and it’s a failure so far in my eyes for this game.

Space Battles

One thing the majority of Star Wars games got right was the space battles.  So tell me why this was screwed over?

There is no real 3d environment to fly around in instead you follow a path.  So each engagement is pretty much exact the same.  You can’t suddenly decide to turn around and engage a bunch of fighters or bombers instead you are presented with what’s in front of you and it’s up to you to prioritise the targets.  This means even the difficulty missions are still very easy but the worst is – boring.  The music is very repetitive and even now I can hear the generic song that doesn’t feel Star Wars.  All the epic battles we’ve played in Star Wars games they failed miserably on this one.  Yet this was the one thing Star Wars fans tend to enjoy the most among lightsabre battles.  They really dropped the ball on this one.

Music

On one side some of the music created is very good but it doesn’t always feel like Star Wars.  During the movies the music was running effectively nonstop to what was on the screen.  This gave the audience a feeling that this was a grand epic story.  No matter how small the characters or what we witnessed the music always went along with the flow.  Sadly another part missing from this game is that music playing nonstop to what’s happening without the endless feeling of repetition.  The battle music is usually the same, space music is the same…. And that’s how it goes.

The conclusion for this game is although there is plenty to do you will feel the two biggest important things have been created badly – Story and Space Battles.  IT honestly feels like they spent so much time creating the introduction movies and graphics of Star Wars but they neglected the other important things.  Considering how much this game cost to make.. you have to ask your self if the person responsible is still in the job.  Even if they made cut backs on the worlds available and released them later.  You can’t ignore that the fundamentals of Star Wars are missing in this game.   Worth playing but long term subscription isn’t worth it.  I’d play it for a couple of months like I did last time and return to see what’s been added.