Who would've thought I'd be here reviewing this three years later? I said it plenty of times, but let it be known that I am a huge outsider to the "Star Wars" franchise. Be that as it may, as an extreme lover of gaming, I'm willing to play a game based on source material I’m not familiar with/fond of if the game interests me. In the case of "Star Wars Battlefront II," though, a lot of my interest in this game stemmed from the fact that...well, it was free on PlayStation Plus this past June. Yeah, that's about it. Though, I must also say that I was intrigued when I heard so many people say that the game had been improved immensely from the horror show that was its launch. Having played through the game, has it? Well...I guess? If you're a diehard multiplayer gamer, maybe, but otherwise, as someone who is more of a single-player gamer that enjoys campaigns...the game is definitely still a mess.
In terms of the positives, I can definitely say that "Star Wars Battlefront II" looks great. Visually, it's excellent all around, and the sound design is very good, making this a game that certainly looks and sounds the part of a piece of "Star Wars" media. Beyond that, though...I mean, I guess the game is playable? I didn't find too many bugs to speak of, the controls are solid enough, and occasionally the multiplayer can have its fun moments? Yeah, that's the best that I can say about the gameplay as a whole in this game: it's functional. It works for what it's going for, and I guess on the outside, I can respect that EA and DICE managed to reverse course and actually improve the game for its player base.
That's about the most that I can say in terms of positives for the game, though, and no, this isn't gonna be me lowering the score because of the microtransactions controversy, because honestly, a lot of that flew over my head when the game came out in 2017. My fundamental issues with the game lie in other areas, for example, the single-player campaign that I mentioned earlier. I'll be honest with you, what's disappointed me more than some of the microtransaction drama and PR stuff that plagued the game early on is how much EA hyped up the campaign for the game, only for it to turn out completely pitiful. Even as a non-fan of the "Star Wars" series, the story is predictable and sloppy, the campaign itself is short, and honestly, while I'm glad so many people like the gameplay as a whole in this game...I'm sorry, but I don't. This game is UNBELIEVABLY bland, and there is not a single thing to the gameplay that I personally found special or gripping whatsoever. It's just a generic third-person shooter that's been painted over with a "Star Wars" theme to make it seem more appealing when it's really not. The shooting honestly feels really unfulfilling to me, the space battles feel like DICE kinda just saying "here, damn" and not really caring what fans want, the mission structure is completely generic, and honestly, the only time I had fun with the game was when I got to play as Luke Skywalker and wield a lightsaber. And even then, that's one level out of the 13 in the campaign (counting the prologue). I can assure you that it is not worth playing the campaign solely for that one level. The game will often throw massive waves of enemies at you all at once and try to masquerade it around as "difficulty" when it's really just awful game design. At its core, while I'm glad so many people have fun with the game, my fundamental issue with it is that, at its core, the game is sleep-inducingly bland. Even for the short length of its campaign, it often feels like it overstays its welcome, and it's easily one of the dullest experiences I've had with a game.
Yeah...this was really bad. Has it been improved from its disastrous launch? Sure, I guess, and the fans seem to think so, which is great, but honestly, this game feels like it doesn't matter. It still just feels bland, generic and shallow, almost like it desecrates the "Star Wars" series by applying its characters in a half-assed way over a formulaic, paint-by-numbers third-person shooter without any of the spirit of charm that's helped this series endure for so long. I've heard a lot of people talk about how Disney destroyed the "Star Wars" franchise, and while I wouldn't know because I haven't seen the recent films, I think EA has certainly not done the series any favors. At this point, they're lucky that "Jedi: Fallen Order" was such a great game and that Respawn saved the day and gave them a diamond in the rough. Honestly, if you want a great "Star Wars" game, go play that. "Jedi: Fallen Order" is a far better entry in the series, and far more worth your time than this shallow bastardization. Skip "Battlefront II" and live in comfort knowing that you're not missing much.
Final rating: 3 out of 10 "Awful"