Star Wars: Battlefront is a franchise near and dear to my heart. My time with these games will always make me feel nostalgic. So I was surprised and delighted to see the announcement of Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection. I was ready to return and relive part of my childhood. The remaster promises 64 online multiplayer, updated graphics, and bonus content. However, Aspyr failed to deliver a functional Star Wars: Battlefront franchise remaster.
Not Like The Simulations
Battlefront’s gameplay is simple. You have different classes ranging from assault, heavy, engineer, support, and special classes. You have different spawn points; you take over every spawn point or reduce the enemies’ forces to zero. It is the quintessential battlefield clone but occurs across Star Wars’ iconic battlefields. Shooting feels more arcadey than your typical battlefield game, and you can swap between first and third-person perspectives. In Battlefront II, you can access heroes and villians from the franchise, such as Darth Maul or Luke Skywalker. Characters with lightsabers feel powerful, sometimes too powerful compared to those with a blaster, but not invincible to take down.
There are also various game modes to choose from between the two titles. Battlefront I offers Galactic Conquest, where different factions fight over control of the galaxy by fighting on different planets. Controlling a planet offers bonuses during the battle, like extra health or sabotaging vehicles on the battlefield. There is a campaign, but it’s just playing the standard mode on different maps. Battlefront I was a foundation point, but it feels slightly barren compared to Battlefront II.
Battlefront II has a more robust campaign that follows an elite squadron of clone troopers from the beginning of the Clone Wars through the empire’s fall. It is an interesting take on the events of the franchise from the perspective of characters who fought for the republic and the empire. The campaign offers unique objectives not seen in other parts of Battlefront. Hero assault pits every hero against every villain in what becomes a button-mashing fiesta. There are also Capture the Flag and Galactic Conquest returns as well. Both games offer split-screen multiplayer for those looking to play with friends locally. However, it’s only a two-player split-screen, which is weird because the original Xbox version offered a four-player split-screen option, a choice I found most baffling.
A Bad Feeling About This
Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection promises an all-in-one experience for some fan-favorite Star Wars games. It has been updated with 64 online multiplayer games, Hero Assault on all ground maps, and the DLC. Unfortunately, my time with the game was riddled with bugs, crashes, and instability. Playing on Xbox Series S, my first multiplayer game ended in victory; however, transitioning to a new map caused my game to crash. I’ve also had my game crash due to overwriting a save file. I’ve had to quit to the main menu of my Xbox because it wouldn’t recognize my controller after a quick resume. Even when I could get into multiplayer games, my games were laggy and unstable, so my blaster fire would register later. It would also take me pressing refresh multiple times to find a server or restarting my game to find dedicated servers.
Unfortunately, this remaster is plagued by bugs despite the gameplay being fun. When I could play, I had a lot of fun blasting through waves of enemies, capturing command posts, and reliving a childhood favorite. I’m hopeful that patches will fix this game soon. That server stability will improve the online experience because the main selling point of this collection is the online multiplayer, and it failed to deliver a smooth experience. While PlayStation and Nintendo Switch players might not have any other way to access these games, players on Xbox and PC can buy these games for cheaper than what the remaster offers, with a less buggy experience.
No New Hope
Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection should have been a slam-dunk remaster. Instead, Aspyr broke two games that just needed a little polish. If you’re looking to re-live the experience of single-player campaigns or galactic conquest, this collection might be worth picking up. For those looking for an online Star Wars shooter experience, this is not the remaster you are looking for. While I can only hope that patches will fix this game’s problems, I don’t know if they will help it recover from the rocky launch. I would avoid this game until there are massive improvements.
