I\u2019ve just been Force choked to death by Darth Vader. And you know what? I enjoyed it. Not in a perverse, dress up as a Jedi and strangle yourself while beating off way, but in an absorbed, nostalgic sense. I\u2019m quite happy to be finished off by the Dark Lord of the Sith (again, nothing weird) when it\u2019s all part of the authentic and immersive Star Wars Battlefront experience. In fact, I often find myself dying in this game because I\u2019m too busy staring at the utterly breathtaking scenery. \u2018Look at that Star Destroyer reflecting on the moonlit lake\u2019 I\u2019ll think to myself, and boom; I\u2019m dropped by a blaster shot to the head. I once let Boba Fett torch me with his flamethrower without even returning fire, because I was more interested in the sand cascading down the side of a nearby rock. It\u2019s frighteningly beautiful; probably the best graphics I\u2019ve ever seen. But just like a Stormtrooper\u2019s helmet, there\u2019s not much going on beneath the glistening exterior of this widely anticipated title.<\/p>\n
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After about a week of playing, I\u2019ve seen it all. I\u2019ve witnessed AT-AT Walkers collapse to the ground, like a simpleton tripping over their shoelaces. I\u2019ve nonchalantly electrocuted scores of Rebels as the Emperor, as if it were like taking out the bins. I\u2019ve piloted the Millennium Falcon and momentarily pretended I was actually Harrison Ford. I\u2019ve even spent time chasing Ewoks into their huts in the treetops of the luscious forest moon of Endor. And it was all thoroughly satisfying. This is the first time I\u2019ve ever felt fully immersed in the Star Wars universe. But what else is there to do once you become bored of repeatedly shooting people the exact same way? The answer is nothing.<\/p>\n
The decision to not include a campaign mode in Battlefront is rather like packing a rucksack without the rucksack. What you\u2019re subsequently left with is a sandwich, a change of t-shirt and anything else you might put in a bag, scattered all over the floor. That\u2019s what the game modes feel like: lost components of a failed attempt to make a proper backpack. Admittedly, there are plenty of multiplayer variants to choose from, plus a number of training, battle and survival missions, but regardless of your objective, it always plays like a simple deathmatch. If you\u2019ve got a slow trigger finger, you\u2019re better off watching The Empire Strikes Back in the dark and having your mates make TIE Fighter noises as they whoosh past you. Or just buy surround sound like a normal twat.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a matter of how long the magic of Star Wars can keep you enthralled. For me, using the jetpack to jump over the snowy trenches of Hoth, bumbling over the uneven landscape of a Jawa refuge, and simply gawping at the rain-soaked vegetation on Endor \u2013 all the while, being backed by John Williams\u2019 original score \u2013 will never get old. Why? Because I love Star Wars, unlike you, you bloody Gungan.<\/p>\n
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