Bulletstorm is finally a remaster worth paying for

Alright, so yes I'm actually hyping up a remaster. This is a bit odd, and unusual, but I think the game is getting a bit more flak than it deserves, and I'm just sitting here wondering why. It feels kind of like Doom again, where people want to ignore all the positive things that matter like its gameplay, and instead... bitch about how Duke isn't dead yet, or whine about how nobody bought the game so it doesn't deserve a remaster, or just "ew, gearbox." I don't understand these people, and how they're so full of venom that they're intolerant of options, or can't support extra work being done for a cult followed FPS. While at first I was pumped at the idea, I decided to stand back and wait a moment just to be sure this game was really happened the way it was being pitched. Now with more trailers out, I'm pretty sure of it. This might just be the first time in the best of my memory that I go and pay about full price for a game I already went out and got, and you know what... I'm weirdly excited about that. So why not have some kind of voice to actually bring in something positive about the game?

Alright, so first off, I'm talking from the perspective of someone who will probably pre-order this. If you run out and pick this up late, and don't get the Duke Nukem bit I'm discussing some of, that's a shame. Really, it is, I think it sucks that's a part of the pre-order bonus, but it's not like this is some sketchy game you can't look up, this is an old product that some people have loved being put out yet again with added content. It's probably worth pre-ordering if your into this FPS, and if not, well you can tell. The only problem is if they somehow screw up this port for some reason, and with physical effort being designed into it to make it even better, I doubt they'd just turn around and drop it to die as some sickly cash-in. Including the fact that they paid the voice actor of Duke Nukem, and programmers, to retroactively inject him into the entire 10-15 hour campaign!

He's all outta gum again

So, let's cover what this game was to begin with and why it's worth it to me to see it on the PS4. Bulletstorm was a First Person Shooter that reveled in skill kills, creative gunplay, fighting off monsters and mutants on a colorful sci-fi tropical apocalypse, and was full of all sorts of crazy, foul-mouthed nonsense. You played as a space pirate who had wrecked his life, endangered his friend, and was crudely trying to get along with a women who comes from your enemy's side. Meanwhile you run around with up to 3 weapons that ranged from a pistol with a flaring charge shot, a four barreled shotgun, a remote detonating sniper rifle, and a weapon that can best be described as the bouncer from Ratchet & Clank just to name a few. Oh, and you always had a heavy boot kick & tether function to play with physics and wreak maximum havok. The environments, your boot, your weapons, and all the crazy mutants were a very interesting system of constant danger and creativity with points raining in at the best of moments. Oh and don't think it was any short ride of danger either. The story went on for hours and hours, at least up to about 12 for me, and kept me engaged long into a week. The story, contrary to the idiotic critics who claimed they couldn't find one, was an interesting revenge plot with a bro-driven team dynamic of unlikely pals and a struggle for them to keep their sanity as they made their way to the dastardly villain. Still don't take it too seriously. This was the game where you could get drunk with a chaingun in a disco bar, while listening to disco inferno blare over the action as a bunch of crazed mutants charged after you. If that ain't selling you on it, I don't know what will. Bulletstorm was old-school arcadey FPS fun remixed with modern conventions, and even my military FPS centric father loved the game, and only played this back when the PS3 servers were down and hacked long ago. (So, it's a fun gory vulgar action game for the whole family.) Sadly... it didn't perform all that well when we were at a time where this kind of game was desperately needed. It's sequel (which it ended on a note where one seemed necessary) seems to be scrapped.

So by some miracle, it's being re-released in better high-res glory for a second chance by a studio that fittingly loves wacky, violent sci-fi shooters. Oh, and they happen to hold the rights to Duke Nukem, a character who had his influences showing on the game long before the game originally released. Say what you want about gearbox for their past deeds, I know I'm not happy with them on everything, but this is their perfect spot for the time being; releasing a game like Bulletstorm, with Duke Nukem adjusted in as an optional campaign character. However if somehow having a completely new character and dialogue to play as in a revived missed classic of the last generation isn't nice enough to you, they went further. They're bringing back DLC, co-op online, and adding new echo maps, then there's new game + overkill mode where you can potentially unlock unlimited ammo as a perk, and then there's the next major overhaul in weapons: a weapon wheel. Yes, weapon wheel, as in you get all the weapons to carry instead of three. You know, I was actually defensive about that the first time around, suggesting 3 weapons was okay because this game actually has a strategy and system to it all that makes sense and challenge in doing it. But I'm glad there's now this, and you can tell that "challenge" or strategy to go fuck itself and just enjoy an FPS the way it was originally meant to be played: all guns, any time, enjoy the carnage. Thank you gearbox.

Kicking things into high gear

I'm usually bitter at the idea of remasters costing about the same price as a new release. Not the kind of "this release offends me!" bitter most gamers talk about with remasters, but the kind where I'm disappointed in a team, and look away from a perfectly good remaster so that it can fall to a decent price. This time though, I'll make an exception. This game wasn't played by enough people, is incredible, I've been wanting to replay it again, and now I'm left stunned and looking in with all the positive changes it has. Sure some of those are needed through a pre-order, but heck I'm 85% sure this game will be worth a day 1 buy anyway, so fine. I think with all the added features, and how much I want to play it again, it's worth a fresh price point. That goes double if you're one of those who sadly missed out on this awesome gem. Meanwhile if you don't want it, or whine about Duke for having the nerve to... appear as an option(?), just calm yourself down a bit and go play whatever you do want. The rest of us will be enjoying this game, and thanking Gearbox for actually doing something right. This'll be the first time I've bough something that didn't tank to $5 since... the original Borderlands really. It's deserved though, because again, I think they've done something right and awesome here. My only wish is that it would get here sooner, which is odd for a game that's technically released.

Even for profits, DLC is mistreated

Okay, so obvious disclaimer: I do writing and rants, I am not some professional marketer, and perhaps I'm missing some weird secret sauce science that defies some deeper common sense logic. Maybe they've got the true ability to manipulate the weird, and human nature is just far more unpredictable than my claims would make things seem. Either way, along the recent discussion (and some anger) over Zelda's season pass. The bit going around, seems to divide it up into 3 categories: The first DLC, the 2nd DLC, and the stuff they cut directly out of the release to congratulate you for being a blind sap and buying the DLC later. Reminds me of how another company runs their season passes. Not just one though, a few silly ones. I won't waste your time merely being another whiny consumer that tells you what I wish to be or not in your game for free. Instead, I'm dedicating this article to discuss something I probably said in smaller detail before: why it's even stupid in business.

Selling the thing that doesn't exist

It's incredibly easy to discourage people from buying a seasons pass, or even pre-ordering certain games. Why? Because it doesn't exist. It's less easy for pre-orders though. Usually, die-hard fans will stick to it, and retailers will encourage it more happily. However with a season pass... that's extra. That's literally extra on top of something that does not exist, at least not unless your Dark Souls 2 announcing it way after release. Unless you know your game stinks, you really have no reason to rush people toward unfinished content for an unfinished game, especially if you're giving away the possibility that the DLC is helping to leave the unfinished game unfinished even at launch. That just doesn't make any sense. Nobody really wanders off to buy season passes pre-launch, unless they're super hardcore fanboys/girls. Then, they'll still buy it no matter what, so you lost nothing by letting them wait it out a month, or even a freakin' week. Just a week, can you manage that? Nope, you got to try and sell people something that doesn't exist, before the game even exists, all the way two months or more out before the release. Doesn't sound like the smart way to entice people, especially in Zelda or back on Shadow Fall's case where the console wasn't even out before it was advertised. So... you're asking them to essentially pre-order and invest in 3 different things to exist, each of which will take you some time to get through to even think of the next one! If the numbers are good here, my compliments to the sorcerers that managed to convince you to buy things that don't even exist, but all I'm seeing and feeling is how stupid it looks.

Showing all your cards

Okay, so you say you make DLC in part to keep the game from being turned in so fast? You want to keep the game relevant with people? You want people to hang onto it, and pay for more? So why are you telling me the entire game's plan before it exists. Going off of the last point, it's quite silly to sell people on something that doesn't exist, and then you're also wasting your time and effort on marketing for the thing that doesn't exist. Make up your damn minds on your goals here! Are you going to assure people there's content and relevance with new surprising updates that hit fast and sudden, or are you going to tell them what you're making before they can even touch the first damn game? Furthermore, you look like a complete fool if the base game flops and you're sitting there peddling future fun for the game everyone hates. Now if you didn't declare your plans, maybe you could try to turn around and spin it as a way to fix up the games, or even just decide whether or not it was worth trying to pull more money in at all and secretly snuff the DLC. But no, you got to tell everyone it's all going to be there for an addition $40 pass nobody is actually going to buy before they even know what the damn game is. Then when it flops, or they see what it's really like, or they can see a "everything edition" coming, they'll dodge it and wait... because you made yourself so fucking predictable. Nice business there guys!

Here, I'll even tell you how to cheat!

Look, I said I'm on your corporate side of this article, not mine. To be honest, I've always got that in mind, and I think out what business moves make sense. Companies need to make money, and sometimes it's not as simple as just selling the core game... even though you should expect that to work most of the time, otherwise look over where you're wasting resources. Still, let's say you just really want extra money, and you're desperate and don't care about pissing people off. Well here's the sad reality, it's better not to piss people off, because some of those lost sale threats are legit. But you're desperate, so I'm not going to tell you to back off on your tactics, just adjust your approach. You want to lock a difficulty behind a paywall, Nintendo? Okay. You want to make content to lock up and sell later Capcom? Okay. You decided to strip out a bonus mode from the game, delay it's finishing polish, and sell it a month later? Okay, I'll be cool with that and not complain a single bit. That is, if you don't tell me about it until convenient.

You see, this is where I really don't get the whole DLC mess. This stuff ain't rocket science here, and publishers have been able to get away with even less subtle disguises just fine, by even being disguises in the first place. However with all the controversial DLC, they all have the common trait that it's announced and fussed over before the game is even out. That's a huge problem, and in case you haven't been following along, all my points lead up to this. You wind up showing all your cards, gave away your announcement press before the damn game was even out, and all so you could somehow pathetically beg people to pay for an extra that doesn't exist, to a game that doesn't exist, at a time before people even know if they like it or not. That's ridiculous! Now by contrast, if you waited a month, or heck two weeks, maybe even one fucking week after the launch of the game, you not only put yourself back in the presses, but get to tell people "Hey that game you love? We suddenly remembered there's more of it coming if you can pay for it!" If you're making a game people send back before even then, you probably weren't going to convince them to stay by saying there will be stuff eventually they'd have to pay more for. However, if this pays off, you surprised everyone, and the people who declare crooked practices will look slightly more about being edgy. "Oh they were hiding this the whole time!?" some would say (oh, and don't just slap it on the disc either, or else they'll find that and be proven right). Others would be just shrugging it off, and thinking more content. Meanwhile there was no pre-game outrage. There was no cancelled angry pre-orders, nor anybody telling you how you fell into the dark path, or fans saying they got used. Instead there's just "Hey, expect this down the road, and if you're really liking the game so far and know you'll want more... there's a season pass to nab it all!"

Instead, you smugly declare before everyone that you have a difficulty mode being prepared to sell later to them before the game, new console, or newer mechanics are there. Are you proudly arrogant, or just doubling down on stupid!? Seriously, this is the big thing I don't get with this DLC nonsense. I don't care about a hard mode that much. So why am I writing the article? Because it feels so smug, so arrogant, and yet so stupid that publishers like Nintendo think it's actually a good idea to sit there and advertise this stuff before anything is even manifesting as an enjoyable experience. Wake the hell up, this is an entertainment industry! You need to entertain and keep people happy, and then you can so easily persuade them to buy your crap right after that. That feels like such simple, easy, and reasonable common sense, yet it apparently isn't when every single company and game outside of Dark Souls 2 does it!? At least that game waited a month to figure out what they were doing for DLC, and then waited to put out a season pass. It sounded relatively popular as well, and not a single complaint was thrown up. People were asking for DLC before it was even announced. That's great business, not this Zelda shit. I'm not even asking you to be that honest about it though, just hide it, and it'll have the same exact look and effect. Instead you're exposing yourself for what it truly is that people call you out on: a company so eager and greedy they have no self-control but to run out and beg for money on top of the other money before the consumer can see a single ounce of return. Maybe I'm missing something in all this, but I figured it was worth a try to explain this rather than just the standard angry consumer. I'm trying to think of profits, and you're still fucking it up, games industry.

You're just putting a target on the suits

Now Playing: Worms W.M.D. + Song of The Deep

Yup, been disconnected unfortunately as I move into a new house, but that won’t stop me. I typed this up online, and have been enjoying some new games raw off the disc. That said, be aware my experience across most of these games have come without updates and I’m not sure what was rushed out with a patch later mentality or changed up later.

Worms

All I’m left to say is… it’s about damn time. You’ll have to excuse me, as I know this will end in a rant that has me getting something off my chest that nearly became it’s own article. Team17 has run worms into the ground. I don’t mean that in a way to say the series was stale, but rather they constantly flooded the market full of sub-par offerings of it with some excuse or gimmick proudly at the front instead of actual reasons or positive features. The games themselves, and the future of the franchise, felt dead and yet dragged out every year to shoot some more. On top of that, the sub-series I love (the 3D worms) haven’t been made anymore, and the HD remake screwed up in one of the basic fundamental concepts it was supposed to be offering. Ever since Worms World Party on down, the worms have been stripped of ever having concrete features one could actually expect. If it isn’t about turn based artillery strategy, and worms, it could go missing in the next game. Never mind whatever strategies, utilities, elements, features, or even basic functional support you expect, they could all disappear then reappear the next game with other missing things. It’s as if some retarded magician was running the games with an act in practice.

Worms 4 Mayhem remains one of my favorites, and offered an absurd amount of options. I would have enjoyed the amount that stayed there, but that’s where it took a sharp spiral off instead (with open warfare). The last tolerable one was Open Warfare 2 back in 2007 (W:A2 was alright as well, but hardly kept me invested). Since then there has been eight games, not counting the sloppy remasters or spin-offs like golf. Oh, and by the way it took from Worms 4 all the way up until W:A2 (2009) for Team17 to realize the entire element of fire was missing, so they used it as a part of the advertising like “Look at this new thing we got!”. It took them eight games, and I would keep checking in occasionally to see where they got things right. Shortly after W:A2 gave me feint hope, grabbed Worms Revolution to see what they did. Not even allowing me to make a damn secondary team, and essentially eliminating half the fun to local multiplayer. Ugh, this would be like if every COD played russian rullet with what game mode they’ll include. Oh, next game loses it’s campaign! Now the zombie mode, but we remembered half the campaign. Okay, now multiplayer is 2vs2 only, it’s for new comers and to test out a physics gimmick. Yeah… that’s the worms experience. ...and now we got to W.M.D.

Finally! A game I think will match Open Warfare 2, and also does some fantastic new things just like what it presented. It’s not perfect at every corner, but it’s good enough that I can sit back, look at it, and say… this is fine, great fun, and I’m glad I’ve added this to my experiences in the series. They even finally returned the ability to have 8 worms, which they hardly ever do anymore. The only things I notice are missing are (and I’m not counting completely crazy one-off features, like create-a-weapon):

• Team flags. Actually took me a while to even notice, and I guess I care that little.
• Various custom options, randomization options, which is… essentially about as easy to come and go as new and old weapons, so that’s expected and reasonable.
• Level editor. The biggest thing, but I can still do without. I still wish it was here though.
• Handicapping a team.
• Selecting sudden death styles (seems to be default flooding)

That’s practically it. Now get a load of what new things are, because it goes way beyond the art. Actually, if anything, the art is the least appealing addition. They still move and act identical, giving the exact same basic aesthetic. However everything else is pretty awesome, like:

• Vehicles! Tanks, mechs, and helicopters, as well as mountable special guns. They’re handled really well, and whoever came up with them is awesome!
• Crafting. Yes, crafting is actually in worms. Weird, but it’s done real well, and there’s a ridiculous amount to experiment with, and some fun rule-sets people can probably come up with.
• Buildings. You now have these hard layered structures that can obscure line of sight, and protect worms.
• Tutorials now double as trials, and the campaign/deathmatch function has a special set of challenges to check off. This adds to replay, and gets achievers to really rethink their levels a bit. A short face off on the latest level actually took 10 minutes because I had to complete it without using the super-convenient mountable guns.
• Challenge boss-like levels you have to unlock by finding hidden collectibles.
• You can actually play local with up to 6 teams, and no limitations on worms per team, meaning (for the first time ever) there is simultaneously full 8 worm teams and more teams allowed at one given time. You could have up to 48 worms on a map. That’s… way past any reasonable and sane 2D worm battle, but you can do it if you want. Thanks T17!

Now considering all the weapons present, the fact that each is essentially doubled or tripled with crafting, all sorts of fun gags and good voice schemes, and 90% of the options I like, then yes with the added new additions I’d say this is a fairly fantastic new entry into the series. On top of that, a lot of finer touches are present to feel like they really worked on this instead of just shoveling it out. Vehicles have their own added dialogue through a speaker like some military radio, then there’s that extra care given into making tutorials a real part of the game, and then they even finally put the foreign language speech banks at the bottom so you’re not shifting through them when looking for comedic ones (which is a first as far as I’m aware). The polish is down to near perfect, with very minor gripes like the victory dance taking away the helmet for some reason, but that’s okay because they somehow crammed 48 worm battles on this thing so you can have some stupid armageddon runs when you’re bored. Compare that to revolution and their 3D/4 remake which barely functions, and you can see they tried more. I’ve been laughing, blasting, creating, experimenting, and destroying for hours and I don’t see myself stopping soon. It’s been a while since we had a worms game this good, so… thanks for finally doing it right Team 17. Now… hopefully we won’t have to wait another 8 games for a good successor.

Song of the Deep

I was patient with this one, and with particular reason. As much as I love Insomniac, they aren’t perfect at everything even within their own familiar IPs (All4One). So I’m hesitant with a game that decides to be an indie-like metroid style game under the sea. Not a single one of those sounds up my ally, and so the game wasn’t appealing beyond a starting cheap price point, but even then… you don’t go lighting $1 bills on fire just because it’s cheap. However I still kept my eye on it, and now I’ve found time and the will to go diving into the sea with it. It’s… kind of how I expected it to be now. Way better than the core pitch of the idea, but it was made obvious by the reviews that this was more of a physics puzzler than a true metroid style game.

There’s no super convoluted color schemed door way, where you suddenly have to go half the game before you loop around back with a magic red key that opens red door to get the power that you needed back in the 2 hour mark of the game. None of that nonsense, at least for the most part. If it’s here, it’s hidden well so you’re not in that feeling. Instead the routine is you move along, and every couple of minutes you’ll hit some block you must cross using a special condition. Like waiting for a friendly creature to guide you through a timed obstacle sequence, or balancing a bomb escort to the door you need to blast. One of the weirder, but cooler things was trying to use remaining anchors in a ship graveyard to slowly pull yourself up against a strong current.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot of combat despite the type of game this is. You’ll enter areas and sometimes be swarmed with what I can only compare to a serious sam style encounter, but more for this game. No it’s not dozens running across a field at you, but you might find yourself entering a circular area and suddenly finding it filled with 3 jellies, and two spike shooting things. Then right as you dispatch them and think you’re leaving, 4 more show up, then two more go in as if they were late to the 2^nd wave party. Its a bit absurd for a game where your core combat mechanism is mashing the square to send out a little punchy arm, and the most rewarding attack is supposed to be using that arm to pick up and tediously throw an object. It’s essentially like a shooter where you have to reload after every single shot, and realize with 10 enemies in your face you’d rather just stab them. The combat design makes no sense with it’s own pacing and level design. Oh, and mercy on your poor soul if you don’t upgrade that punch attack as soon as you can afford it.

That odd observation aside, the game is still alright. However if anything, that’s just the reason why I was hesitant: It’s just alright. It’s not a huge energetic empowering joy ride, it’s not some heart-gripping soulful journey that connects with my inner-being, it’s not clever, and it’s not super compelling, it’s just… a decent game for what it is. And what it is, is a small indie-like sidescroller physics platformer project made off on the side of a team that I love for giant 3D games with complex and interesting worlds and fun goofy characters (or in the case of R1/3, a hardcore FPS). This one doesn’t even talk so much as gets narrated on. So… yeah. This is a fun game, but I’m not in a big hurry to get it all done, and it’s not entirely my thing. However for what it’s worth, I’m glad one of the founders of one of my favorite developers got to make a small passion project of theirs, and I can see where some of the heart went into it. I’m also real happy gamestop backed it hard enough to have merchandise, and then brought the giant submarine pop figure down to $5. It’s a fun enough game that I’m glad I have it and added it to my collection.

Controversy corner: Gamestop's circle of death, avoiding tekken, and Battlefront 2

Duck and cover! Its a 3-hit controversy time!

Hide the children and elders, or your elderly children (I don't know, just being safe here), it's time for another rendition of ugly controversy around the web. This time, mostly smaller stuff I'm opinionated on, but there's a fairly big one everyone else is circulating with. Let's get that over with first...

Gamestop's circle of life:

In the biggest news of this article, we've had the revelation of a long-existing scam within the business of gamestop. Now I'm not one to often suggest the death of gamestop, and in fact I have even started to write articles on their defense against the hyperbolic whining of the vocal minority among the internet. Typically the hatred is steeped in "oh no, I went there this one time and they asked me to pre-order something!" or "They asked me to sign up for a program!". You know, such inhumanities as communicating with customers and making the same business and program offers nearly every other store does. Oh, and some will tell you their used game sales are the devil, because choices be damned. However, this isn't some wimp crying because he had to have social contact with the cashier, this is actually a real and true scumbag move, and looking back... I think I might even dare say I see how gamestop will die.

So they have a circle of life program in place. This essentially ranks employees based on how they sell to or work with gamers. They get bonus points or a better value to their name if they sell you on one of gamestop's exclusive revenue methods: Pro Rewards, insurance policies, net pre-orders, or of course... used-games. Hardware counts in this as well. It's such a heavy part of their work model, that employees see it as essentially a life-support they need to keep up with and struggle on. Don't make enough, and people get cuts. Its closer to the idea of a salesman selling property or a car, than it is a guy selling you a normal product. They want to see the good numbers from you. This leads to them... making arrangements in their local stores. New games go missing, new hardware also missing, and oh yeah, we still got to ask you about our additional programs and if enough people say no at one time, it could mean the guy is fired. This has even applied in an example given, that sometimes a new game will hit a publisher sale and yet go "missing", while used ones stay back for a hiked price. Yes, you read that right, you're being lied into paying more for used... which for the record, you should be smarter than that to refuse.

So... my thoughts are quite obvious. I've lost quite a bit of respect for the store, and feel compelled to stop going there. Feel is the key word, truth be told I'll still go, and I'll still continue my habits of buying new whenever I can and staying informed on sales and whatnot. I'm not the type of person to let myself get ripped off by that. However my further thoughts is that... it kind of opened my eyes to the idea gamestop really is dying. I already don't typically shop there for new games anymore, as Amazon has a 20% discount. Best Buy is also even beating that awesome deal, paying less and winning in-store points for using their system. Then there's talk of Bestbuy and Wal-mart sometimes giving you better trade deals, beating gamestop at the source of their used game system they cherish so much. Between all this, the only two smart things going for gamestop is their involvement directly in the industry, and their plentiful shelves. Then again, even that sometimes fails them. If I were to run out and buy Worms WMD, I would look toward wal-mart, because everywhere else I know doesn't have 'em. Might as well just order it through Amazon. OH! There's that other name again. Gamestop, your slipping, and if they can't get their heads together and realize doing their job as a retailer is more important than their used vs new sales numbers, they will one day fall as people stop going to them for any kind of business related to newer releases.

Tekken 7 is too much

In addition to fighters still costing a bit much IMO for what they are, they've found a new way to irritate me and send me away: size. I've said it twice before, using COD as an example. However that was a massive shooter. That was a game that has a full campaign, arcade mode, secrets on top of secrets, an over-stuffed multiplayer system, a horde mode, all with a ton of different values and mechanics. Here we have a fighter game. Two people beat each other up. There's plenty of characters, tiny scenes, and stages, but each and every one of those contribute to a small part of the game. So... somehow it winds up being bigger than a lot of freakin' open world games, and about matching Black Ops 3's size at 42gb. No it's not as insane as Infinite Warfare's 90gb, but it's insane for what it is. At this rate, you have to be die-hard into arcade fighters to grab this game. For me, I'd regularly wait a price drop, and get some fun. However... I think this made me realize Tekken Tag 2 for the Wii U is good enough, because it doesn't eat up a giant chunk of my console just to keep for some casual enjoyment. Compress your games developers! In cases like Infinite Warfare, and Tekken, it's the difference between a sale.

Battlefront 2, the lackluster strikes back

So funnily enough, Dice has shown they learned nothing with the way a new Battlefront game was discussed. While sounding somewhat welcoming in how they name off changes, they are far away from specifics, and practically denounce one of the few vital improvements of their existing game. Out of all their added support, Skirmish was the most exciting. It introduced actual bots, but on further inspection, it's extremely limited down to two modes. The only actual traditional bot mode, is walker assault. The other is dog fighting. They couldn't even be bothered to support their deathmatch mode. Meanwhile, they're talking ambitiously about their next game. They'll have a campaign (something modern Dice hasn't done so well at), and "characters" from multiple time-lines. What the heck does "characters" mean as an emphasis!? Does this mean I'll be able to actually play Battlefront like normal, choosing all sorts of cool and historic starwars battles, and able to take on the droids in the jedi temple, before moving on to stomping on the rebels in hoth? Probably not, because "characters" aren't armies and options. "Characters" are anything from cameos to token hero members added to the roster. I mean that's certainly progress. If I can see Darth Vader in the campaign and play some flashback where he's anakin skywalker, that'd be a neat idea. If Darth Maul is a random silly options for a rebel & empire hoth battle, that'd be fun. Still, it's not Battlefront. Stopping bot support at a mode with on-rail AT-ATs isn't Battlefront. Staying silent on Galactic Conquest isn't Battlefront. Being restricted to one time era is not Battlefront.

Battlefront was a total all-out fan service war game for star wars, inspired by Battlefield back when shooters were backwards with depth being in the core mechanics rather than the surrounding fluff. It took place across tons of planets, let you choose different eras and battle it out, hid little secrets away and nice easter eggs like Darth Vader's breathing in the tree cave on Dagobah. The only restrictions were the lack of a level-select on campaign, and the fact that not every level was playable by both factions (but most were, including some that made no sense like the death star). The real Battlefront 2 had space and land battles. They had hunting mini-games where you battled as the wild life or gungans, and then of course Galactic Conquest which was an elaborate long-term strategy mode where you slowly captured the entire galaxy while building up an army and sets of advantages and sabotages. That started back in 2004, on a system that couldn't even process enough unique NPC skins to not do duplicates all over the place. Now we're in 2017, and you tell me you can't even be bothered to support a bot deathmatch mode on a game that already lacks nearly every single other damn thing.

There's a difference between reinterpretation, and just being lazy. You want to scrap classes for a loadout system? You know what, fine, try that. I'll take it. You want on-rail AT-ATs? Sounds lame, but I get their thought process. Hero battle? Cool, nice idea there that expands upon a very limited design in SW:BF2. Now where's the rest of the game? Where's the bots, the space battles (in STAR wars), essentially all the modes that were around before, the campaign, and the entire freakin' time line that actually had the cool CGI battles people loved in an otherwise controversial prequel series? It's all gone. They couldn't even be bothered to give it the proper balance, and match care as they do their main series Battlefield. That is lazy. The modern Battlefront is the poster child of the cynical quip that graphics are prioritized over gameplay. For all the flashy looks, amazing sound and laser gun aesthetics, it's an empty husk of a game people once cherished from over a decade ago. ...and just when you think they might improve, the truth shows back around, as they come out telling you they forgot their skirmish bot mode patch existed and won't be supporting it further than the tiny baby inch they gave. I'd love to congratulate them on putting it in to begin with, but then again that's the thing... they didn't. It was a late after-thought they barely shoved in long after the game lost a lot of it's market value, when it should have been better and more from the very starting shot. Now they sit there telling us to get hyped for the next one. Well, they'll have to actually match a game from 2004 first. Until then, my reaction to the idea of buying their modern interpretation of the series is a clear...