Lost legacy - Star Wars Battlefront

I always thought I would be a hero in the Star Wars Universe. DICE obviously had other ideas. They don’t care about my generation, you know, those who actually grew up with the movies, bought the original figures, pyjamas and light sabres. No, we are the forsaken – to be cast aside for the new generation of CoD players who blaze their trail in pain, unmissable bullets and ‘leet’ ness that we are all meant to praise.

I don’t do game reviews on this site, normally at least, but there are times when you just have to speak out against the games industry and their dogged and backward thinking. You see, Star Wars Battlefront should be aimed at me. I play games. I live and breathe them. And as a forty something I probably have more connection with the Star Wars material and original toys than half the DICE developers could ever dream of. I was 7 when I first saw Star Wars and from then on I was hooked. Star Wars was my life and inspiration.  

So it comes as some surprise, when SW: Battlefront is marketing itself to people like me, as a casual friendly shooter. Oh no, my friends. Do not be fooled. This is just Call of Duty with a rather nice Star Wars makeover. I won’t deny that the makeover is superb – it draws you in and overpowers you with nostalgia, but it comes with a bitter ‘dark side’ twist.

You see, the very people who would love this game and who, it would appear the ‘mass market advertising’ is aiming directly at, are the real losers in this new rebellion of gaming. I like to think of myself as an ‘ok’ gamer. Hell, I have been playing since the days of the Atari 2600.  But when I came to Star Wars: Battlefront – yeah, I knew there may be a learning curve – but not one that serves you constant insta-death repeatedly when you dare to take on the unwashed masses.

I practise. I get you, DICE – you want us to learn and get better. And this is Star Wars. I love Star Wars so I will suck up your poor solo missions to perfect my art. And I have done that. But as I throw myself into the multiplayer fray I meet that brutal wall that I experience with all MP games – the soul destroying wall of gamers that seem to be injected with preternatural reflexes and skills. I can deal with that, to an extent,  and I try and learn. I may even, on occasion beat some of these 12 year olds and get my name near the top of the league tables, but is it fun? Is it fun when I am fending off death every second and more than likely getting sniped, taken down or just obliterated every minute or less? Am I supposed to find determination from such loss to drag myself back into the fray, or am I meant – as it sometimes feels like – to rage quit and bow down to those who have more patience than myself. (Bear in mind I have spent over 50 hours in the game.)

My problem is this. Modern games seem to be leaning towards the MP angle and their SP content is appalling at best. Star Wars is a phenomenon for the masses – we all love and breathe the universe. But for some reason DICE decided to make a punishing Call of Duty game for the elite squad of trigger squeezers (albeit one that has been  dumbed down) instead of thinking about those gamers who truly grew up with Star Wars from the start and would desire an experience that doesn’t involve being headshot by KillZONEZXXXX in the first few seconds of spawning.

Maybe I am getting too old for gaming. Maybe DICE is saying – sorry, all our DLC and season pass stuff is not for you, we are catering for the 20% of gamers that are unemployed or have twitter accounts, and play 24/7. You are just a lost legacy. Like Han Solo, Luke and Leia Organa. It is time you made way for the new generation… but it is a bitter pill to swallow.

I still play the game obsessively, because I fool myself that I can get better. But my averages are poor and the skills of my opponents leave me frustrated and reeling. The Battle of Jakku content is incoming and I imagine that it will be a visual explosion of excitement, but perhaps I’m learning that such spectacle is best left to the imagination and not to people such as KillZONEZXXXX who will dodge your bullets, matrix style, then make you eat laser.

Game over.

Perhaps for the franchise. We will see.

But the point of this – DICE and game developers, remember us oldies and casuals. Those who have played every Star Wars interactive iteration, from endless runs on that vector-based Death Star to stunning battles in X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter, we know that universe and we know how to play it. And idiots like KillZONEZXXXX were probably never a part of that or even care about it.

A fellow gamer puts it in more eloquent words than I ever could…

http://ift.tt/1PNn2G8

May the force find us once again…

M

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