Star Wars Battlefront: 8 Big Things It Must Learn From The Older Games
6. There's Still Room For A Story
EA in all their wisdom saw fit for Battlefront to be 'Multiplayer Only' - much in the same way titles like Evolve and Titanfall were. The problem with those two games? Their popularity waned after only a few months of release. Star Wars as a property is unlikely to have the same problem of consistently raking in audiences to take part in Battlefront's carnage, but the novelty of playing the same modes on the same maps is likely to wear thin more than it is endure. Both Evolve and Titanfall showed that no matter how decent a title's gameplay is, DLC-heavy online-only titles fail. They're both universally detested by hard core gamers and are unlikely to reach a wide audience familiar with local experiences - worse still, they're just plain old bad for the industry. Star Wars at its core is a legendary story of redemption and adventure, so why is Battlefront so reluctant to tap into it? All the most fondly remembered Star Wars games all featured a compelling story, from Jedi Knight to Republic Commando and countless more. Though it's true that DICE haven't really accomplished anything as grandiose or as cinematic as the likes of Naughty Dog in the single player department, that's still no excuse for lack of trying.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
