Star Wars: Battlefront – Death Star DLC

Finally, players of Star Wars: Battlefront can get back to work with a new piece of DLC. Death Star does something the fans have wanted for a long time and introduces the devastating station into the game. With a new mode, a number of new maps, heroes, vehicles and upgrades, we can dive back into hours of fun. At least, if you like flying.

Man your Battle Stations

Because flying is omnipresent in Death Star. DICE has done its best to fulfill a wish from fans of the first part. First of all we will fight within one mode on both land and in the air and secondly the dogfights are no longer over land, but in space. In fact, you’ll be fighting over the Death Star, really bringing the feel of the movies to life. All of this happens in the game’s new mode, Battle Station. For the first time, no Walker Assault map will be added, as the spaceship is simply too small for those huge tanks on legs. What you do get is a huge three-step mode. Step one of Battle Station is to weaken a Star Destroyer, at least that’s the Rebels’ job. The Empire simply has to prevent it. Here you will encounter new flying machines for the first time. Of course you can crawl into your old trusty X-Wings, A-Wings, TIE Fighters and TIE Interceptors, but there are also new Hero Pick-Ups. As a rebel you can also control the slightly less well-known B-Wing. This weird vehicle is very well armored, but then again a little slower. The Empire can crawl into a TIE Advanced, which you know from Darth Vader in Episode 4. Also Red Five from Luke Skywalker is present.

The open space combat isn’t entirely new (flying works the same way), but the feel is different. You fly around that huge Destroyer, but also a lot of junk floats by. Pieces of destroyed ships, but also asteroids, in which the cool upgrades can often be found. In the first phase, as in other modes, you often get help from computer-controlled Y-Wings, until you weaken the Destoyer enough to be able to board.

It’s a trip!

Going on board does not happen in one go, there is a loading screen present. But the second stage is actually in this Destroyer. Your mission is to save (or prevent) R2-D2. A game of defense and penetration follows. The interior breathes Star Wars in everything. Large computers that you understand the balls of are interspersed with large pillars of power. This is where the new gadgets come in handy. You can deploy a new droid that supplies the environment with health, but also set traps with the Laser Trip Mine. These are also easy to see, but create even more chaos in an already chaotic mode. If you manage to reach R2-D2 you can actually control him. He has smoke bombs to distract attention and he can shock opponents. Still, you’re not strong like this droid. You must be protected. The new Heroes lend a hand with this. Chewbacca is already super strong with his Bowcaster, but it can also be upgraded during the game. He can also give buffs to friends. Bounty Hunter Bossk, on the other hand, can heal itself with every kill and also has Predator Instinct, which helps you see opponents better. In fact, this makes him a lot more powerful than Han’s helmsman.

Should the Rebels manage to get R2-D2 out of the Destroyer, it’s time for the final stage, aptly named Trench Run. Here you literally recreate the iconic scene from Episode 4. You enter the Trenches of the Death Star with a lot of flying machines and the spaces here are quite small. You can actually hear Luke and Wedge Antilles shouting quotes from the film over the on-board radio. The game selects the three people who are allowed to re-enact the movie and the three people who must stop them. The rest should weaken each other as much as possible. The feel of the film really comes to life.

However, there is a drawback to Battle Station and that is the role of the Empire. Their role is simply to stop the Rebels. If you do well as imperial troopers, you are basically wrecking the game and not going any further. This made it feel very double to play as the villain. That’s besides the fact that the spaceships of the rebels still fly much better. In addition to Battle Station, there are also two levels for Blast and the Destroyer area from the first stage can also be used in Fighter Squadron. The inner area is wonderful for Blast, because large chasms are everywhere and the walls are literally coming at you. Sometimes you don’t know what a door is and what isn’t, what makes the interior really Star Wars.

Conclusion

Death Star really does something new with the basics of Battlefront. A mode where you go through several phases is very cool, although it feels a bit like Empire if you destroy the mode if you win. The new heroes are cool, because who wouldn’t want to play as Chewbacca. Of course you have to like flying, because otherwise this DLC is not for you. If you do, you’ll have the most in-depth and chaotic mode in the game. Now we have to wait for the last DLC, which bears the name of the new film: Rogue One: Scarif. It will appear in early 2017 and will take place on one of the planets from the new film. A nice prospect.