Star Wars Battlefront is a tough pill to swallow. If you play it, you will no doubt enjoy the feeling of being within the Star Wars universe like no game has provided before, but it’s rather underwhelming amount of content is a slight worry to those who are used to more value-filled propositions like Halo and Call of Duty. Add to that a 50 dollar Season Pass and you are looking at spending $110 for the complete game ($145 for us Canadians). That said, I enjoyed the 10 hour preview available on EA Access – I just can’t decide whether or not I want to dump that amount of money when I am so completely satisfied with Halo 5. Here are what the critics are saying:

God is a Geek: Online-only titles normally entice players with a massive unlock tree too, but again Battlefront may find this a struggle. There are top of the line weapons, Star Cards and visual customisations to aspire to – want to be anything other than a human? You’ll have to wait until you’re level 40 – but this might not be enough for those of you used to Call of Duty or Battlefield. These are minor deviations from a sublime game however, and they’ll only become noticeable after you’ve sunk plenty of hours into it. At its core, Battlefront is a great shooter. Add in a perfectly crafted Star Wars dressing and an impressive amount of cinematography and you have my favourite multiplayer shooter in years. Accessible, well made and full of really, really cool moments, it’s hard not to love it. (8.5/10)

IGN: Star Wars Battlefront captures the essence of Star Wars beautifully, harnessing the most exciting and memorable pieces of the universe for a unique and spectacular combat sandbox. Aside from awkward performances and a poor original score, Battlefront is a master class in aesthetic authenticity. Beyond a few essential modes built for casual competition, however, Battlefront is unfocused, relying on excess game types to compensate for an absent single-player campaign. (8/10)

Game Informer: By no means should Battlefront be considered for its single-player or cooperative play. Both avenues are supported with bare-bones survival and battle modes – neither of which comes close to replicating the large-scale conflicts of the multiplayer component and end up having awkward lulls in the action. DICE succeeded in creating a Star Wars experience I always wanted to be a part of, but it didn’t hold my interest as a gamer long. It’s a game I plan to revisit often, but not for extended periods of time. Forthcoming DLC could certainly change this approach, but for the time being, the thrills out of the box are extremely limited. (7.5/10)

Game Spot: If nothing else, Star Wars Battlefront is an exercise in pure spectacle, laid out in all of its neon glory. I can’t help but smile when the Boba Fett guns down three fighters in a row from his Slave I ship, or a snowspeeder careens past with flames trailing in its wake. The first 10 hours are packed with these moments, and it’s worth playing just to watch them unfold. But Battlefront doesn’t go much deeper than its ambitious surface appeal. It front loads its best content, only to fade in quality as the hours roll by. Star Wars Battlefront’s skin is beautiful, but its legs are shaking, and threaten to buckle with time. (7/10)

Destructoid: Star Wars Battlefront feels authentic in many ways, but that authenticity is aggressively pursued at the cost of gameplay, and is often tacked-on. If you’re in the mood for a relatively shallow shooter with caveats you likely won’t be disappointed, but I wish that DICE had a little more time to polish it and add more substance. (6/10)

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