SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

December 2, 2015 by Karen Jensen, MLS

Video Games Weekly: Star Wars Battlefront

December 2, 2015 by Karen Jensen, MLS   Leave a Comment

videogamesweeklyI hope everyone has survived their Fall Break! As I wrote in an earlier post, Star Wars Battlefront recently came out for the holiday season and as predicted, it’s pretty popular at my library. However, it isn’t doing as well in sales because it is competing with big ticketed games like Fallout 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops III. As such, the gaming community has given it mixed reviews, depending on who has played earlier versions of Battlefront. I was able to play Star Wars Battlefront on our library’s PS4 with tweens and teens on International Games Day, and I LOVED IT. Without further ado, here is my review!

Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PC

Rated: “T” for Teen, for violence. There isn’t any blood.

Single or Multiplayer: Both. Multiplayer is way better though.

Series Quick Synopsis: Star Wars Battlefront is certainly not the first Star Wars video game. The first Star Wars Battlefront game was released in 2004, followed by sequels in 2005-2009. The 2015 version of Star Wars Battlefront is not exactly a sequel to the 2004 version but rather, a reboot.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

swbattlefront

This is why it has received mixed reviews; some players believe it’s a waste of money to buy the same game but with significantly better graphics while players like me are happy to replay old games for the sake of nostalgia. Take a look below to see 2015 compare to 2005:

Picture: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/axKN8h2ROso/maxresdefault.jpg

Solo and Co-Op Missions: Players have the option of playing through missions either as single player or co-op mode. There are different kinds of missions like training, survival, or battles. Training isn’t too long, probably about ten minutes. Training is the game’s way of teaching you the controls, which is great because it’s been a few years since I’ve played Battlefront!

Survival mode is where you and another player try to survive waves of enemies coming towards you. The longer you survive, the more difficult it gets. I played one survival battle with a teen, and we got decently far! This is for players who want to play with each other, not against.

At International Games Day, I had the tweens/teens play battles against one another on a split screen. Players can choose between a regular Battle or a Hero Battle. Hero Battle was the popular choice because players can choose to play as main characters like Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett, and Darth Vader.

Picture: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wW6ccK9RJ3I/maxresdefault.jpg

One thing I noticed is whomever plays as Boba Fett has a crazy advantage over everyone else. Boba Fett has a jetpack, which means he can fly around the map and get to higher ground. I was playing as Luke Skywalker and a teen was playing as Boba Fett, and he would fly on top of a ship to try to snipe me. Like the movies, Luke Skywalker has the ability to use his lightsaber to deflect shootings, but this is a special capability that has a time limit. So if you have teens playing against one another, be sure you enforce the rule that they have to change their “hero” after every battle.

Players win battles by getting 100 points. You win points by killing your opponents. The cool part about battles is you can choose to have AI bots in the game, or just play each other. So even though the teen who was playing as Boba Fett was sniping me, I still beat him because I was running around killing his AI.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The one thing that is missing from battles is…THERE ARE NO SPACE BATTLES! This makes me sad because space battles have appeared in previous Star Wars Battlefront games. They’re really fun, but I’ve heard rumors that a new Star Wars Battlefront has been green lit and will include space battles. However, you can play in space in multiplayer mode.

Multiplayer: Online multiplayer mode is probably Battlefront’s best asset. This does mean that players have to have an online account in order to play online, which can get annoying because that is an extra cost. Some justify that cost with the different kinds of accessible multiplayer modes, and players can play with 8-40 players. That’s right, 40! There are five different online player modes: Fighter Squadron, Supremacy, Cargo, Blast, Droid Run, and Walker Assault. I haven’t had the chance to play all of them yet because of the holiday…sorry! I’ll talk about my two favorite ones, and give you links to the others I haven’t played yet.

Fighter Squadron: This is a space battle where you can fly Star Wars ships. Players can play either in first person or third person. Playing in first person means you can see what you’re doing from inside the cockpit, which means your shooting will be more accurate. If you play with a third person view outside of the ship, you have a better idea of who is around you, but your aiming will be less accurate. Players get points for killing enemies: one point for AI, three for a human player. Players also can control hero ships, like the Millenium Falcon or Slave. Like most space games, the experience can make you dizzy, but it’s really fun!

Supremacy: Players go against another team in a 10 minute battle. Each team tries to take over five control points that are all over a large map, while taking enemies out. This is probably the most chaotic type of multiplayer game because there are 40 players on the map, and there are vehicles both on the ground and in the air. This multiplayer map is definitely for people who are looking for a challenge and don’t mind playing online.

Verdict: A good purchase for core collections. Patrons of all ages, not just teens, will enjoy it!

Questions? Comments? Tweet them at me!

By: Alanna Graves
Twitter: @LannaLibrarian

Pricing

$59.99 on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Battlefront-Standard-PlayStation-4/dp/B00W8FYFBA/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1448755442&sr=1-1&keywords=battlefront

Filed under: Tech Talk, Technology, Video Games, Video Games Weekly

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Star Wars

About Karen Jensen, MLS

Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

March 2017

Video Games Weekly: Abzu

by Karen Jensen, MLS

September 2016

Video Games Weekly: No Man's Sky

by Karen Jensen, MLS

March 2017

Video Games Weekly Disney Emoji Blitz

by Karen Jensen, MLS

December 2015

Video Games Weekly: Video Game Awards

by Karen Jensen, MLS

September 2015

Video Games Weekly: Video Game Genres 101

by Karen Jensen, MLS

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Surprise! Announcing CABOOSE

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Jump Into this Guest Post by Shadra Strickland About Her Latest Book: Jump In!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Kiss Number 8 | Review

by Johanna

Heavy Medal

What’s Coming in 2023, A Feedback Poll, and Goodbye for Now…

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

WRITING FOR YOURSELF FIRST, a guest post by author M. K. Lobb

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

18 Engaging, Informative Nonfiction Books for Middle Graders | Summer Reading 2020

Read the Signs: Middle Grade Fiction Centering the Deaf Experience

13 Middle Grade Thrills and Chills for Tween Horror Buffs | Summer Reading 2020

Three Action-Packed Adventures for Fans of 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'

Best Middle Grade Books 2019 | SLJ Best Books

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023