Why have one iconic Star Wars game when you can have two in STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection?
STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection has become a long-time dream for fans. After thoroughly enjoying last year’s Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, we couldn’t wait for another Star Wars game to arrive. Any game would do a sequel, reboot, or anything. But here we are with a remastered version. Not only are the fans getting that, but it’s in the form of two iconic games compiled to provide twice the excitement. Both of which were two of the introduction’s all-out Warfare-type gameplay.
Let’s recall the years 2004 and 2005. You rush home after school, boot up the PlayStation 2, Original Xbox, or PC, and have a blast with your friends on both games as you play an abundance of intense galactic battles and thrilling campaign modes. Now, fast-forward to 2024, and we can relive that nostalgic experience with STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection on modern platforms.
If you haven’t played either game before, STAR WARS Battlefront (Classic) and STAR WARS Battlefront II, now is your chance, as you’ll get an incredible experience you’ve been missing out on. You can play either game in any order you please. That said, before we get started on behalf of the fans, thank you, Aspyr, for this gift.
Despite both games’ greatness, they weren’t perfect. The original had many noticeable issues, such as weak AI teammates and enemies and the game’s lack of cohesion. However, these issues were fixed for the sequel, and players had a much better experience. But surely, those issues that were notorious in the original are a thing of the past, and you won’t find any of them in STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection, right? We can find out together.
What’s crazy is that you may or may not know that you could already purchase both games separately. If you head over to the Xbox Marketplace, you’ll see that they both currently cost around $10 each. Mathematically speaking, you’d save over €10 if you went this direction and still get that nostalgia you want. But what does the STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection have that’s worth spending extra?
It makes perfect sense to start with the amount of single-player and multiplayer content you get from STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection. All original maps for both games are available, including bonus and console-exclusive maps like Rhen Var: Harbor, Yavin 4: Arena, and the highly memorable Jabba’s Hut. Plus, bonus heroes and huge locations are suited for great times with a whopping 64-player online matches, which we’ll discuss in a few moments.
Another feature in STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection for you to look out for is the expanded Hero Assault, which, for the very first time, where the Hero Assault becomes playable on every ground map. Kashyyyk, Naboo, Kamino, and more. This new feature provides a sort of a Hero vs. Villain concept. You can select a variety of characters and guide your team to victory. Select heroes such as Luke Skywalker and Yoda and villains such as Darth Vader and Darth Maul.
Explore the turn-based strategy mode, where your goal is to take complete control of the galaxy by fighting for it in STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection’s immersive Galactic Conquest mode. If you’ve forgotten or are unaware of the mode, let me keep you up to speed. In the original Battlefront, you conquer other planets.
You begin with one planet, depending on the faction you’ve selected. Then, you get to choose the planet from the list given to you; the planet you choose is the one you wish to attack. If you win, you’ll be allowed to choose another planet to conquer, or if you’d like, the one you’ve already taken before. But, if you lose, the faction you lost gets to attack you. The winner is decided based on which faction completely takes over the galaxy.
Battlefront II is somewhat the same, but the mode’s style is different. This time, you have to control fleets. You start with a fleet on top of a random planet, the normal soldier class, and around a thousand credits. There is much more on the table that makes this mode more interesting. Just remember that the date of the galaxy is in your hands, so you better do your best to win at all costs.
For the single-player, you get to relive the highly enjoyable campaigns and single-player modes of both games. Star Wars: Battlefront has four modes: Clone Wars Campaign, Galactic Civil War Campaign, Galactic Conquest, and Instant Action. You’ll engage in iconic battles loosely based on Star Wars Episodes I-VI. Moreover, you get to enjoy cutscenes containing footage from said movies.
Star Wars: Battlefront II features an autobiography of yourself as the unknown clone trooper joining in the rise of the iconic Sith Lord, Darth Vader’s elite 501st Legion of Stormtroopers. It also has five modes: Rise of the Empire, Galactic Conquest, Instant Action, the informative training mode, and Space Overview.
Along with the original’s mechanics, you’re getting additional gameplay mechanics, such as sprinting. There are also new special classes, and you can play Star Wars’s most legendary characters, especially the Heroes. However, each hero is specifically available on certain maps. Plus, you can only have one hero for each team, just like in the rebooted versions.
Remember when I mentioned the issues with the original Star Wars: Battlefront game? Well, with STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection, those issues are a thing of the past. Although they’re still not perfect, you’ll notice that your AI teammates are more reliable on the battlefield.
Both games’ popularity was mostly in the multiplayer modes, including split-screen. As mentioned, if you get the Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection, you’d get a massive 64-player multiplayer and create all kinds of mayhem. You can fight boots on the ground as jet troopers, Wookie warriors, and more. If you want to cause more destruction on the ground, you get to steer vehicles such as AT-ST, Speeder bikes, and more. Or whenever you’re in galactic air dogfights, you get the thrill of piloting starships, X-wings, TIE fighters, and more.
Plus, two of my personal favorites are the very slow but immensely powerful LA-AT Gunship, which allows you to take out other vehicles, including larger ones with its canons. And the Remote Turret Control allows you to take down vehicles with the Bean Canon, which fortunately has unlimited ammo. You’ll definitely love using both starships during Galactic dogfights.
Another thing to consider is that the visuals are better, as graphical upscaling has become a factor resulting in a more modernized presentation. Consider this: the original Star Wars Battlefront II was around 4GB. But if you were to install Star Wars Battlefront: Classic Collection, you’ll see that it’ll take up around 50-55GB of storage. Clearly, many graphical improvements have been made, making it look the best it ever has been. You can play both single and multiplayer with brand-new visuals.
Let’s not mention having to listen to the Star Wars theme tracks, as well as the voice acting with modern headphones. It’s amazing how better the audio becomes with modern technology. For this reason, the sound effects are better, and you’ll get sensations of being in genuine Star Wars battles. Especially, when listening to the vehicles, starships and weapons such as rifles and lightsabers.
Despite the great STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection, you may encounter some issues. There were a few graphical performance bugs here and there, but nothing to really fuss too much about. However, the biggest concern was searching for a match in Star Wars Battlefront II, and the game sometimes crashes. Especially when using the search filter. However, you can create matches or select the ‘Quick Match’ option without problems. Thankfully, you can join, create, and Quick Match in the original without much hassle, if any.
STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection is another remastered game that’ll satisfy our nostalgic taste buds. Other than the issue mentioned earlier, which simply needs a patch, with your increased knowledge of what this bundle contains, plus the improvements, fixes, and extra trimmings, it’s fair to say that it’s a much smarter move to spend extra for a package with more enhanced and polished versions.
