Battlefront Beta Review

This week, I'm going to make a departure from unpopular opinions and talk about the beta release of the highly anticipated reboot of Star Wars Battlefront.  The beta was released yesterday in the late morning, and I spent a good portion of my day replaying every mission type available and trying each weapon and gadget possible.

In summary, Battlefront is awesome.

Innit purdy??

The first thing that springs to mind is how well this game is optimized (at least on PC, it's what I've got).  I don't have an amazing machine by any stretch, but it runs perfectly smooth at 60 frames per second on the highest graphics, even in the 20 v 20 battles with spacecraft, vehicles, and an unholy amount of gunfire.

The environments are exceptionally well done, and are more interesting than those I've seen in other comparable games.  The environments are also very three dimensional, meaning that you can be creative in your approaches and takedowns.

The gadgets are flashy and cool!

I also really like the in-game powerups.  As you wander about the map, you can come across random varieties of items that can help you tip the balance of a firefight, or allow you to secure an objective.  This ranges from thermal explosives, shield generators, orbital strikes, and hero upgrades.  Use the right one in the right situation, and you can be a hero.

Along with these comes your "hand," which is made up of three cards that give you additional abilities.  Cards are unlocked and equipped before a match, and depending on the terrain, scenario, or your personal play style, each can lend an advantage.  These include personal shield generators, jump packs, grenades, the dreaded cycler rifle, and many others.

I've given each of these gizmos a fair run, and I think they all have some decent utility, but could also use some balancing.  The cycler rifle, for example, can fire through shields, and kills in a single shot to the head, or does 90% damage anywhere else.  While the shot can often be difficult to get off, it's usually what kills me about two out of three times on the walker assault mission.  The seven second cooldown it has is what makes it unbalanced, if you ask me.

Some people also say the personal shield generator is also overpowered, but I would counter that by pointing out how difficult it is to find power charges in the battlefield, and that cycler rifles and grenades can still make short work of you.

FWOOOSSH

In summary, I'm going to buy this game.  Where before I sat the fence as a cynic and skeptic, I now know that this game is striving to be as "Star Warsy" as possible, and I love that.  It's what being a fan is all about; enjoying any and all Star Wars because it is Star Wars.

Good luck with the release next month EA, and may the Force be with you!

Unpopular Opinion #4: Not Hatin' Christiansen

Did you see what I did there?  That's one heck of a pun!

In case it's not obvious, the topic of this opinion is Hayden Christensen.  When people cite their hate for the prequel movies, this son-of-a-sith comes up almost as frequently as Jar Jar Binks.  Often people say that his romantic scenes were uncomfortable and all around difficult to handle, and that in general he was a lackluster actor.  It's difficult to disagree, considering that those statements are generally true.

I'm going to play the role of devil's advocate once again and point out that Christensen's performance ought to be placed in comparison to other characters in the star wars universe, and in particular, against the leading characters of the classic trilogy.

Like father like son, I guess...

My first observation is that if Anakin and Luke were in the same room together, it wouldn't take long before it became painfully obvious that they are kin.  Anakin often had the same sort of pealing whine to many of his lines that Luke did.  Luke, in the first film in particular, it's unceasingly helpless, mopey, and all around new to the galaxy.  Anakin follows the same sort of personality, though for some reason garners much more hatred from fans.

I think I need to go to the bathroom, at least til this scene is over...

Fans often say that the awkward romance scenes were a painful cause for the Christensen hate.  I would agree myself that those scenes are difficult to watch, and I often do the adult thing and browse the internet on my phone when re-watching those scenes.  I would propose, however, that we imagine what it would be like if we had to watch a Luke romance scene on the big screen.  I can't think that the romances would be any less awkward, considering Luke's almost comparable demeanor.  Thankfully, those scenes are left in books where they could be scripted to perfection, rather than stumbled over by the whims and interpretations of an actor.

Even a mother would struggle to love this face.

Another reason that I don't mind Hayden Christensen so much is that it makes the watcher like Darth Vader less.  Seriously, why do people love him so much?  He's iconic, but he's also evil. I don't mean evil in the "plays obnoxious pranks on coworkers" sort of way, but the "I'll murder scores of children and other good people to have a crack at saving my wife from death."  How flipping romantic.

Darth Vader is supposed to be a villain, and I think the original trilogy shrouds his deeds too much for people to really understand how wicked he truly was.  The prequels show the side of Darth Vader that nobody wanted to see:  The dark side.  Darth Vader never really killed anyone on screen in the original trilogy, so it's very for viewers to miss his sinister side.  I imagine that watching someone murder children makes you like them less.

I still have a career after Star Wars.  U mad br0?

In conclusion, Hayden Christensen wasn't great, but that doesn't matter.  Star Wars is Star Wars, and a fan loves every bit of it that they can eat up.  He wasn't my favorite, and like most of the Star Wars cast in years past, Christensen hasn't found himself any other starring roles.  Harrison Ford seems to be the only person to have broken that spell, and are we surprised?