Star Wars Battlefront Hero gameplay is extremely underwhelming

Earlier this year when I got to play Star Wars Battlefront I loved it for one simple reason: it made me feel like I was in the middle of one of the films. Sure the glowing pickups that let you summon heroes like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader into the field broke that immersion, but it was fine because, well, you got to actually play as the two Force-powered killing machines. But after actually seeing them in action, I’m going to have to re-think that.

A handful of lucky people got some hands-on time with Battlefront a few weeks ago, and the most important footage to surface from the event was easily a duel between Luke and Vader on Hoth. A duel that Luke eventually lost, only to have some ungrateful rebel d-bag come and teabag his head in front of the Dark Lord of the Sith. Shouldn’t he be, you know, killing stormtroopers or something?

Despite the fact that it’s a clear representation of what will definitely happen online, it’s not the reason I’m not liking any of the Hero gameplay above. The animations for both Luke and Vader look extremely stiff, to the point where it’s actually uncomfortable to watch Luke run. (Run Luke, Run!) The lightsaber attacks also look loose and unpredictable, with wild slashes hopefully finding a mark while the camera figures out just what the hell is going on.

At least abilities like Force Choke and Push look extremely overpowered and fun to use. Although not if you’re on the receiving end of them.

It just seems like Battlefront really knows what to do when it comes to shooting (be it first or third-person), but doesn’t exactly know how to handle third-person melee combat. It’s awesome that both heroes can engage in a fangasim inducing duel, but I do hope some of this gameplay is neatened out before launch next month.

Last Updated: October 6, 2015