Star Wars Battlefront is one of the most controversial games of the last year due to its lack of content and failure to actually be similar to the old Battlefront titles. I have been a die-hard supporter of the game since it came out and have put 60+ hours into the game and don’t regret it. The Bespin DLC that came out last Tuesday only solidifies the point that Battlefront has a reason to be around.
Star Wars Battlefront’s Bespin DLC gives players 5 new maps, 2 new heroes (Lando Calrissian and bounty hunter Dengar), one new vehicle ( the Cloud Car), a new game mode called Sabotage, 2 new blasters, and 3 new Star Cards. And despite a few hiccups along the way, I can safely say that this expansion of Battlefront’s multiplayer has been delightfully well done.
The new maps are probably the best maps Star Wars Battlefront has to offer thus far. Bespin serves as a wonderful setting to wield giant 16 vs 16 games (which is how every game type is in this DLC). The new maps offer wide ranges to wield combat as well as incredibly type corners, such as in the Carbonate Freezing Chamber map, which is a wonderful disaster of grenade spamming (in the best way possible). The maps just feel right. I’ve never been a huge fan of the bigger game types in Star Wars Battlefront. I preferred to play Heroes Vs. Villains, Drop Zone, Blast, and Extraction. The Bespin DLC and its maps have altered my opinion. I’m in love with modes like Supremacy, Turning Point, Walker Assault, and the new mode Sabotage because of these new maps. I feel like I have a fighting chance while playing on these maps where as I always played horribly on the original maps. The game modes just feel far more balanced in 16 vs 16 varieties and the maps aren’t just me constantly dying for no reason because I have no idea who is shooting at me. These new maps are balanced and feel right. On top of that, just like every map in Battlefront, these new ones are absolutely gorgeous and wonderful to look at.
The 2 new heroes are pretty cool but aren’t really the most exciting part of the new DLC. Lando is pretty fun to play as and is more of a technical styled hero, similar to Greedo in the last DLC. Lando’s blaster is also a single-fire gun where as Dengar’s gun is fully automatic. Dengar is more fun to play as and is a bit overpowered as of right now. He’s basically a huge tank who can shoot rapid-fire bullets if he wants to with one of his abilities. It’s not as though Lando is awful to play as in comparison, but the biggest draw to play as heroes in Star Wars Battlefront is because you get to play as some one far more powerful than the normal soldiers everyone else has to play as. Dengar plays more like the brutish type of hero I want to use, where as Lando takes more time to get kills with. I was more excited to play as Lando, but clearly Dengar is the guy to play as.
The Cloud Car is somewhat disappointing. Frankly, I don’t really enjoy vehicles in Battlefront very much anyhow, but even still it doesn’t deal enough damage to justify its usage. At least the Cloud Car looks cool as hell.
The new game mode is one of the most exciting things about the DLC. Sabotage is one of my favorite game modes thus far. Essentially, the Rebels have to plant 3 bombs while the Empire attempts to stop them. The Rebels have three hero pick-ups on the map to help them plant those 3 bombs. After the 3 bombs are planted, the Rebels also have to control one final extraction point and then the Empire gets 3 villain pick-ups on the map – giving the Empire one last shot at trying to stop the Rebels. I’ve really seen it go both ways during the couple games of Sabotage I’ve gotten to play. It’s one of the most frantic and hectic game modes the game has to offer and that’s a very good thing. Thermal Detonators and Dioxis Grenades are spammed in every corridor and it’s a frantic chase to dodge them and dodge bullets while you’re firing like a manic. This is the type of fast-paced, frantic gameplay that makes Battlefront so much fun. It’s constantly throwing stuff at you and it’s awesome.
On top of that, the other modes available to play for the DLC are Walker Assault, Blast, Turning Point, Drop Zone, Supremacy, and Fighter Squadron. All of the modes feel right at home in Bespin and in a 16 vs 16 variety. My only gripe is lack of including Heroes Vs. Villains, which I simply don’t understand. In the Outer Rim DLC, they changed Heroes Vs. Villains to make it so 4 players got to play as heroes or villains on each team and it became a 16 player game mode rather than a 12 player game mode. I was anticipating the Bespin DLC to do the same thing, in the sense that it would become a 20 player game mode and each team would get 5 heroes and 5 villains. My hope is that DICE eventually makes the decision to include it because I simply don’t understand why they didn’t.
Probably the most interesting Star Card I’ve gotten to use thus far is the Shock Grenade, which essentially stuns players for a couple seconds and they have to mash a button in order to become less stunned quicker. It has its uses, but I’d still rather run around with a Dioxis Grenade+Jump Pack or a Thermal Detonator+Jump Pack in my set-up. Lastly, the new EE-4 gun is a new Blaster Rifle that is short-ranged, which is the opposite of most Blaster Rifles in the game. It also shoots in bursts and seems to be relatively powerful if you get close enough. Having played around with it for just a bit, it may be a gun that stays more constant in my rotation alongside the E-11 and DH-17.
Overall, the Bespin DLC only improves Star Wars Battlefront rather than hindering it. It’s a welcome addition to the game and the maps and the new mode Sabotage are an absolute blast to play. If anything, DICE is steering Battlefront into the right direction, one where we get awesome content that fits right in the Star Wars universe and really makes you feel like you’re there.
