If Christmas is slowly starting to be felt, the whole Earth is especially impatient to know the rest of the adventures of Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren. But before taking a tour of the dark rooms, players will be able to treat themselves to a hearty appetizer with Star Wars Battlefront 2. If the game arrives with the heavy task of erasing the errors of the previous episode, EA and DICE have listened to the players in order to deliver the best possible experience. Supported by the Motive Studio team, DICE finally delivers a solo campaign worthy of the name, to everyone's delight. But if solitary Star Wars fans will be able to have fun with a new episode, the Swedish studio has also worked hard to offer a much more engaging multiplayer. Whether at the level of ships or ground combat, everything has been redesigned to offer players ever more spectacular confrontations. Like it or not, multiplayer remains at the heart of Star Wars Battlefront II, but this time it's worth the effort.
STRENGTH & HONOR
The first striking thing when you arrive on the online menu of Star Wars Battlefront 2, the game modes "Walker Attack", "Supremacy" and "Fighter Squadrons" have disappeared. If these three game modes were the main artery of the first episode, they have not completely given way since they are found in the new "Galactic Assault" mode. Here, players compete on maps of 40 players (20 against 20) where each side must complete different objectives. Depending on the map, the objectives may vary, but very often, it will be a question of capturing or protecting strategic points. If it was possible to move all over the map in the "Supremacy" mode, here players are forced to move on a small portion of the map. However, when an objective is completed, the conflict moves to another area and new missions must be completed. Thus, the clashes are much more ferocious and concentrated, which gives rise to epic battles where the shots of blasters fuse in all directions and the explosions of rockets are linked tirelessly. On some maps, you will even have to destroy heavy vehicles such as AT-ATs or droid troop carriers. 
The objectives are therefore quite varied and each map has a unique scenario which breaks the repetitive side of these online games. In addition, by amassing battle points, you will be able to take part in combat in the air by piloting ships, which should allow Earth troops to advance more easily. Likewise, it is possible to use certain ground devices, such as TS-TTs or Landspeeders, to provide considerable support to mobile units. If all this may seem a bit messy said like that, once in play, the player is constantly amazed. The game mode prints a more dynamic pace and the unlocking of zone allows to focus the attention of the players on the taking of objectives. The squad system, similar to that of Battlefield 1, also promotes team play, with players earning more battle points by moving with their partners. From then on, we end up with a really impressive "Galactic Assault" mode. Each battle offers its share of surprises and after several hours of play, the desire to return to combat is always present. With this mode alone, EA and DICE are hitting hard, and that's just the beginning.
"COME, ROCKER TO OUR SIDE"
Air combat has also had the right to a total overhaul. Space is finally becoming an exploitable playground and the arrival of Criterion, to help improve ship handling, brings a real breath of fresh air to this portion of the game. Once again, the battles are much more intense than before and discovering certain areas like Endor, where the Death Star debris floats in space, and Kamino, an aquatic planet struck by gigantic lightning, is a real treat. We take advantage of the terrain conditions to sneak around and avoid the shots, while trying to align our guns with the enemy. If the keyboard controls are not always effective, with the controller it's really enjoyable and after a few hours of play, you really start to think you're an experienced pilot. The locking system so dear to the first episode is abandoned in favor of aiming using the right stick, which requires much more precision. From then on, it becomes more difficult to reach your target, but it also allows you to get out of complicated situations yourself. Here too, each side has its own objectives, in order to give more relief to these colossal conflicts. However, during our games in the "Assault of the Hunters" mode, it's hard not to feel a certain frustration when you're in the camp of the defenders. Indeed, in this situation, you will often be forced to eliminate a certain number of enemies in order to achieve victory. If the task is not impossible, far from it, it still gives a significant advantage to the other side. However, the more experience you gain, the more this feeling fades and a simple update should make it possible to erase this strange feeling.
To accompany these two main game modes, you can also have fun on the "Heroic clashes", Strike and "Skirmish" modes. Like the first opus, the "Heroic clashes" mode allows players to compete by choosing only from among the different heroes offered in the game. If we will come back to this point later, the presence of many major characters from Star Wars makes this mode much more interesting. The balance is there and each hero has assets that allow him to shine on the battlefield. In short, if you're more the type to swear by Lando Calrissan or Bobba Fett, this is the perfect game mode. The most impatient players will be able to catch up with the "Skirmish" and "Strike" modes. The first is a team deathmatch, 10 against 10, relatively classic while the "Strike" mode is close to the "Capture the Flags" mode (8 against 8). If these two game modes are much more conventional, they still have the advantage of being shorter than the previous modes presented without offering less action. Finally, you can also find the Arcade mode which allows you to face waves of enemies alone or with friends with the cooperation mode. On this side, the DICE teams have gone all out and there is something for everyone. Diversity is key and you will see that in terms of content, the studio has not been idle.
THE STRENGTH OF CONTENT
A real defect of EA's first Battlefront, the lack of content will have been more or less fatal to the game. If many fans fell for overpriced DLC, the others had rather cursed about it. For this new opus, it seems that the same mistakes were not made, the developers having planned a ton of content to satisfy the most demanding fans. Starting with the number of maps since in total players will be able to enjoy 11 maps from the launch of the game and on this point we must congratulate the developers of DICE. Whether on Jakku, Hoth or even Naboo, all maps offer a level-design of the most appreciable. The atmosphere of each zone and era is transmitted to perfection and the most curious will not be able to help observing the multitude of details that abound right and left. Other more exotic locations, such as Kashyyk or Kamino, offer real diversity during the games and give the game a unique atmosphere. In Galactic Assault mode, the maps are pretty well cut and allow you to consider the fight in many ways. Certain areas attract the crowd, but it is possible to sneak between the lines in order to find discreet shooting points.
On the side of heroes and villains, there too, the studio has gone into overdrive with 14 characters available. If the classics, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Leia, Palpatine, Han Solo and Bobba Fett are still there, many characters join the cast. Lando Calrissan and Chewbacca, who had joined the first episode via the DLCs, are included, but other icons of the saga like Rey, Bossk or Darth Maul also appear. At first sight the choice seems quite wide but in reality, you will have to roll up your sleeves before being able to take advantage of all the heroes present in the game. Indeed, if some are available from the start of the game, other characters must be unlocked by completing various objectives. However, if the effort required is considerable, the resulting reward will be even greater. The heroes confer a real advantage when evolving in Galactic Assault mode and it is possible to chain kills at breakneck speed. In addition, the sensations in play are simply excellent, especially among the Jedis who benefit from very fast and quite confusing movements for the enemy. But above all, what joy to be able to sow terror with these heroes, so successful is their modeling. Whether in terms of faces or clothes, it borders on photorealism and the animations of each hero are excellent.
L'EMPIRE DU PAY-TO-WIN
As you have no doubt seen, Star Wars Battlefront II draws happily from each trilogy in order to build its game and the ships have been entitled to the same preferential treatment. Thus, players have a wide choice of vehicles during their assaults. Of course, the list will be limited on each map, in order to respect the era in which the conflict takes place, but this is not felt at all during the games. To top it off, you will also be able to choose different hero ships. Some, like Luke Skywalker's X-Wing, are just basic ship skins, but others are much more appealing like Bobba Fett's Slave-1 or Darth Maul's Scimitar. These display a fairly impressive level of detail and the view in cockpit mode immerses you even more in the action. Admittedly, the handling of the ships is more difficult with this view, but it is definitely worth it, if only for the spectacular side of the clashes.
Finally, when we talk about content, how can we not mention the improvement cards? Available via Supply Crates, these will allow you to make your soldier, heroes and ships more powerful. Some cards grant passive buffs while others allow you to change your character's various special abilities. To do this, you will have at your disposal more than 300 cards to collect, which offers a wide choice of customization for each soldier. However, it may take you a long time to unlock everything. Some boxes make you get doubloons and the rather high price of the latter does not facilitate the task. To speed up the process, you can always buy crystals using real money, but this gives the game a pay-to-win aspect, which is not necessarily pleasant and somewhat spoils the challenge. On the other hand, if some do not adhere to this system, the others should see a certain advantage in it. Indeed, all the content offered through updates will be offered free of charge to players, whether they are heroes, new maps or new maps. A positive point for the game which tries to free itself from these cursed DLC which caused so much harm to the license. Moreover, when we see the success of a similar system on FIFA Ultimate Team, we say to ourselves that it does not seem to displease the players.
THE RETURN OF SOLO, HAN SOLO
In addition to the multiplayer mode and its huge content, EA has also thought of players who prefer solo adventures with a campaign centered on Iden Versio and Inferno Squad. If the campaign will not keep you busy for long, count between 7 and 8 hours to finish the single player mode by taking your time, the latter is nonetheless thrilling. Well paced, the single player mode manages to transcribe the essence of the saga while telling us an original story that allows us to see the fall of the Empire from a whole different angle. If some scenes are quite blue flower, others offer a striking spectacle where we witness fierce clashes between the Empire and the rebels. Unfortunately, it would probably have taken a few more hours to make the most of the characters that appear during the adventure. Some icons of the saga are there, but the secondary characters introduced with this campaign lack depth. It's a shame, because the scenario is really well put together and has a few surprises in store that won't leave you unmoved. Finally, if you have a penchant for multiplayer, know that completing the single player campaign will not be in vain since it will allow you to obtain a good package of credits and crates containing rare cards. So, if you are disappointed with the campaign, you will still benefit from it. Admittedly, everything is not perfect, but the latter has the merit of existing and the arrival of new missions linked to the fate of Iden Version, during season 1 of the game, will lengthen the duration of the single-player mode significantly.
On the other hand, on the visual side, DICE performed almost flawlessly. The sets of each planet are majestic and it is with amazement that we discover all the chapters of the single player mode. The campaign takes us to the four corners of the galaxy and we discover many beautiful places throughout the story. The various battles in which we take part are simply epic and up to the movies. Clearly, at the end of the credits, we always want more! Likewise for the multiplayer modes, each map is breathtaking. The sets are teeming with details and display an impressive level of realism. The soldier animations are still great and it's a real treat to see multiple Storm Troopers flying through the air from a frag grenade. Explosions live up to the rest of the game and give a sense of chaos and real warfare just the way we like them. We perceive the immensity of the conflict as never before although, sometimes, all this excess of smoke and explosions can make the whole thing a little unreadable. Afterwards, as we know, the war, the real one, does not give any gift.
A NEW HOPE
On PS4 Pro the game runs at 1080p/60fps without ever flinching and if some visual effects are absent, compared to the PC version of the game, the latter is nonetheless very beautiful on the Sony console. On PC, with a Geforce GTX 1070 and 16 GB of RAM, the game runs at 1080p/ 60fps (Ultra details) and truly takes off the retina. The lighting effects are perfect, especially on Jakku where each beam of light seeps through the carcass of a huge Destroyer. The level of detail, on consoles and PC, is impressive and allows the universe of George Lucas to express itself like never before. On the gameplay side, the gameplay with the controller is excellent with the ships while the keyboard / mouse combo turns out to be a little more off-putting. On the other hand, it regains the advantage when fighting on the ground. If the controller does the job perfectly, we can't help but feel a certain heaviness in the controls of our character. Increasing the sensitivity of the joysticks will correct the problem somewhat, but if you like ultra nervous FPS, you will have to go back. Here you will have to move forward with caution so as not to expose yourself to enemy fire, as your health may leave for a moment. What's more, life regeneration is quite slow, so it's best to focus on teamwork to maximize the potential of your attack. On the other hand, the heroes, but especially the Jedi and Sith, are formidable and allow you to play it much more nags. The carnage is often there and the sensations once the controller is in hand are simply excellent.
During your games, you will also have to choose between four classes of soldiers or three types of ships (depending on the game mode). Among the soldiers, you will have the choice between the Commando, the Heavy Soldier, the Officer and the Specialist. Each of them fulfills a particular role and allows you to access a specific type of weapon, like the Specialist who operates with sniper rifles. In order to access a wider choice of weapons, you will have to complete certain stages by playing with each class. Thus, to unlock a second weapon, you will have to achieve 50 kills with, for example, the Commando class. Thus, the more a player plays with a particular class, the more he will be rewarded. Each class has its own advantage and allows you to approach battles in different ways. The many cards to collect allow you to customize your soldiers as you see fit and give you access to very interesting new abilities. The gameplay of the game therefore evolves as your level increases and the acquisition of new skills or weapons allows you to completely change your style of play. On the other hand, we are really sad not to be able to customize the visual of its soldier. In order to stick historically to the facts of the saga, our outfit is imposed by the map on which we evolve. Similarly, you can no longer customize the face of your character or even choose the alien race of the latter.
