STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection Review | PC

Star Wars is a massive franchise with several games tied to its multiple worlds. Many of which are highly regarded as amazing experiences. Two of those games are the 2004 Star Wars: Battlefront and the 2005 sequel Star Wars: Battlefront II. These two games are so positively viewed by the fans and consumers that the newer Star Wars games are constantly being compared and torn apart against what those classics did or had. It is likely that clamor for these titles has finally driven the rerelease of the duo in a new package labeled STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection.

 

STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection is exactly what it says, a collection. There is not much in terms of new content, but there is quite a bit of content to fill in holes, such as extra playable characters that were previously DLC or maps that only worked on certain platforms. It is a lot of fleshing out what was already there without adding anything to really alter that original experience. That can be said for the overall package as well. Despite this being a new release in the form of a package with two games, the only thing that even remotely gives that impression is the title screen when the game is launched. But even then, launching the game doesn't really happen until choosing which game is going to be played; otherwise, it is just a very bland menu, dividing the play between the two games.

What isn’t disappointing is the experiences within the package of STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection. The core games are an absolute blast to play, but as mentioned previously, there isn’t anything extra here, and that includes polish. That means the textures are going to be a bit funky to look at, especially in the first title, and there are going to be a whole lot of animations that look very rough by today's typical standards. But in all fairness, those don’t change the actual gameplay of the games, and that is totally fine because the gameplay itself carries the whole package. It really is an obvious idea to make a game about the war part of Star Wars, and it works so well here.

The basic gameplay in both titles in STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection is essentially king of the hill. Capture locations and defend other locations your team already holds. There are lots of different modes to play with and experience, but at its core, this is what you should expect. That being said, with how the games are structured, that basic King of the Hill format makes things flow smoothly. The actual gameplay is about what most would expect, with the player controlling a unit that carries blasters and grenades. Things change up a bit when factoring in all the other elements that build the depth of the Battlefront titles.

 

On top of the basic shooting and grande throwing, there are different classes that have different abilities and weapons at their disposal in both titles within STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection. Different classes fill different roles. Some are simple, like a sniper class or a grenade launcher class, but then things get more complex with classes like the droideka that have the ability to roll around and shield itself or classes with jetpacks that allow for the player to soar into the sky and cover large distances very quickly. The player can swap between these classes after death or in certain locations, which allows for tactical thinking for different situations or maps. There are also vehicles and turrets that allow for another method of transportation or another method of switching things up for tactical advantages.

Although there are two games in STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection, these analogies and comparisons can largely be used for both titles, the major differences come from the story modes, maps, vehicles, and visuals. The sequel game is really just an upgrade of the first title, but not in a direct manner as to replace the original, allowing for the original to hold a lot of its value despite having another game in the package that's a little more recent. It is likely that despite this, the sequel title will end up being vastly preferred simply due to the game's more polished visuals and easier-to-locate tutorial. But it goes without saying that there is still value in the original title, even if there is a game that is going to draw a lot more eyes in the compilation.

One feature of the titles within STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection that ended up working surprisingly well was the ability to switch to a third-person perspective on the fly. Normally, it would seem sort of pointless to switch views mid-combat, but sometimes it feels better to do something like switching into first-person view for a combat encounter and then switching back to third for an escape or pursuit. It is completely optional as well, so by no means does a player have to switch at any point if they don't want to. Well, that isn't entirely true, as hero characters are always in third-person view, and most vehicles work a lot better when the whole thing is visible to the player.

 

On the topic of hero characters, in STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection, there are opportunities to switch to characters from the Star Wars mythos to mow down the competition. This includes characters from both sides of the war, like Luke Skywalker and Yoda, who are on the Jedi side, and Darth Vader and Darth Maul, who are on the dark side. These characters all have special abilities, much larger health bars, and very strong attacks. These characters are terrifying, just as they would be in the movies. To play as them, there is an active timer that, when up, allows players to switch into these powerful heroes. These heroes aren’t an automatic win as both sides can have a hero active, and knowledgeable players will know how to deal with and avoid or take down an enemy hero.

The online modes are likely going to be the most fun for a lot of players as these titles offer huge maps that can fit lots of players. It isn’t necessary to fill every slot with an active player as there will be computer players that fill empty slots that are not taken by a player. For the most part, the AI of the computer characters is ok and will actually act as a threat to an enemy player. Occasionally, it feels like they are blind and can't see enemies from afar or just next to them, but more often than not, the computers will actually pull their weight around. Obviously, the dynamic actions performed by a thinking player allow for more creative and interesting encounters, but having those computers allows for the lobbies to be open even when a full lobby can’t be made.

With these games being based on the very popular Star Wars series of films, there is bound to be a lot of content taken from those movies. A lot of the music and sound effects are taken straight from the films, and it honestly helps the games in STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection fit into the Star Wars universe. The only time that the ruse of content can get a bit on the obtuse side of things is when footage is taken from the films and placed in the game at a much lower quality. This is something the packaged rereleases could have fixed, but there are still plenty of crusty-looking clips from the movies found with this package. It isn't enough to damage the overall experience, but it is very annoying when it happens.

 

Despite the mild disappointment that there isn’t anything extra to go alongside the collection aspect of STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection, that really isn’t the point of this rerelease. What seems to have been the point behind the scenes is to put these games in a modern light. There aren’t any new additions, but there are modernizations to the games, like new servers and shorter load times. That’s all that really needs to happen when these sorts of rereleases happen; simply preserving what was there in the past and making the online features work in a modern space is all this sort of package needs to be successful. But that sort of thing also makes it hard to judge the games in a modern light, as the tech and comparisons have grown a lot in the last twenty years.

The STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection contains the original two Star Wars Battlefront games, but not too long ago, two other games came out with the same exact titles. Those newer games weren’t remakes but were rather interpretations of what the classic titles could be with a modern twist. The issue comes when the games were so different from the original titles that even when the issues were worked out, several fans would be disappointed regardless. It is likely this discourse that even left the STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection’s existence in the first place. But in reality, it isn’t fair to outright compare the games anymore. What the newer titles turned into ended up being completely different and simply took ideas and themes from the classics, including the names.

In reality, this duo of games has made a growing element of the gaming industry a little more clear. There is a large focus on making it so things sell, which, of course, makes sense. STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection was made to make money, and because so many people were asking for exactly what this title is, it is safe to assume that it will indeed meet expectations. But in the modern scene, it feels like there is too much of a focus on how companies can make an easy buck off of their players rather than selling a complete package right away, with DLC being additional and optional content. It is very different from the early 2000s, where what was on the disc was what the player got. STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection is a reminder of that era.

 

STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection is an echo of the past with some of the benefits of being in the modern era. IT would have been nice to have some extra content like behind-the-scenes footage or concept art as part of the larger collection, but by no means was it necessary. It would have also been nice to see some polished elements like textures or animations, but that wouldn't preserve the games as they were. Preservation really is the name of the game here, and that isn’t a bad thing at all. It is just easy to see that there is a bit of a struggle trying to jump right back into these titles with their less polished controls and visuals. This package isn’t for everyone, but it is available to everyone, and that's what really matters because these games are fun, especially with their online components up and running. 
 

Jacob Cowsert (@TweetJAJ)
Editor, NoobFeed