The era ofStar Wars Battlefrontmay be over as EA moves on to newStar Warsfranchises. DICE has moved back to theBattlefieldseries, and support forStar Wars Battlefront 2has been cut off. Respawn is picking up the slack with multipleStar Warsprojects in the works, butBattlefront 3will most likely not be among them.Star WarsBattlefrontmay be able to make its grand return in a couple of years, but right now there is no indication that the series will continue. SomeStar Warsfans may be happy to see new video game franchises based around the IP, butBattlefronthas become a coreStar Warsfranchise, and it should not be put on ice.
Star Wars Battlefront 2’s launchwas marred with controversy as DICE adopted a loot box system that was heavily tied to progression. The game was accused of being pay-to-win, and it caused a decent amount of uproar from the gaming community. This was fresh off the heels of the 2015 reboot that was criticized for the lack of content and depth when compared to the 2005Star Wars Battlefront 2. DICE’s foray into theStar Wars Battlefrontbrand has been a very bumpy ride, butStar Wars Battlefront 2was at least able to recover and become a pretty goodStar Warsgame. If DICE or any EA other studio were to attempt this again, then it would need to make some big changes if it wanted to avoid the pitfalls of previous installments.
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A Hero and Villain Revamp
The dream of manyStar Warsfans is to wield a lightsaberand destroy their foes with devastating Force abilities. That is why theStar Wars Battlefrontseries lets players take control of some of the most iconic characters and lets them do battle against others. However, these heroes and villains have often been accused of being too overpowered, and they can really ruin the experience for those who are stuck playing as a standard trooper. DICE also made the decision to make the heroes points-based so that players would just sit and wait until they can claim the hero for themselves, and the studio chose to remove any sort of respawn cooldown.
Having these overpowered characters on the battlefield makes the gamefeel a lot more likeStar Wars, but there needs to be a revamp to the entire system if the studio is going to attempt the franchise again. One of the best ways to do this would be to emulate the way that the 2005 installment handled heroes. While the game may be dated, the way heroes worked is still a lot better than DICE’s system.
In the 2005Star Wars Battlefront 2, there was only one hero per team and each map had its own unique set of heroes. Once a player earned enough points, the game would prompt them to play as the hero, and if they rejected it then it would go to the next player. This system would work very well in a newer game, and it would help prevent three to four different Force users on each team controlling the battle. Accompany that with a decently long cooldown, and the heroes will feel a lot better to fight around.
Even More Capital Supremacy
One ofthe biggest modes inStar Wars Battlefront 2was the Capital Supremacy mode. This mode had players fight on the ground and capture command points before heading up into capital ships to try to destroy them. Matches could last for hours as the game would return players to the ground if the ship had not been destroyed, and it was a lot of fun. However, the focus of this mode was mainly on The Clone Wars. The Galactic Civil War era only had the ground portion of the mode and the First Order era only had three maps. Capital Supremacy was one of the most popular modes in the game, and it needs to be expanded upon in another entry.
The Clone Wars may be one of the most popular eras ofStar Wars, but it should not be the main focus of Capital Supremacy. For one, the Galactic Civil War should be given the capital ship portion of the mode. For some reason DICE chose not to let players fight through an Imperial Star Destroyer, and that was a missed opportunity. The First Order era should also be given more maps, especially ones themed afterThe Last JediandThe Rise of Skywalker.Star Warsis vast, and this large mode should not prioritize The Clone Wars.
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A Return to the Space Combat of Old
One thing that DICE seems to struggle with is the space warfare ofStar Wars Battlefront. Both games had a form of space combat, but it was only Starfighter Assault. This class-based space warfare mode is fun, but it does not compare tothe classicStar Wars Battlefront 2space gameplay. In that game, players took control of various ships and did battle against an enemy cruiser. They could land inside the enemy cruiser and destroy it from the inside, or they could fight on the outside and attempt to break through the shields. The mode was a lot of fun, but noBattlefrontgame since has emulated it.
Space combat is a major part of theStar Warsstory, and it should be a major part ofStar Wars Battlefront. The space modes should represent every era and be as fun as it was in 2005. Motive Studios mastered what it feels tofly a spaceship withStar Wars Squadrons, and the nextBattlefrontcould learn from that. Players should be able to fly through capital ships beaming down on them, across the trenches of the Death Star, and land inside cruisers to destroy them from the inside like Anakin did inThe Phantom Menace. This mode should not be an afterthought, but should be a core part of the game.
These features will not instantly makeStar Wars Battlefront 3amazing, but they will help.If DICE can provide fun gameplay, and a progression system that is not tied to loot boxes, then the game could get off to a better start than the previous ones. However, there is no indication that aStar Wars Battlefront 3is in the works, so fans will just have to sit and wonder what it could look like.
