Now, as the reviews start dropping, the diminished hype matches up pretty well with the scores. The hype isn't gone and the praise is still flowing, but the mood has certainly dimmed.
Star Wars: Battlefront is currently pulling down a 77/100 on PS4 and a 73/100 on Xbox One over at Metacritic, while PC reviews have yet to land. User scores are even more brutal (though I always urge readers to take Metacritic user scores with heaping spoonfulls of salt.) Users give the PS4 version a 5.8 and 4.9 score for PS4 and Xbox One respectively.
Briefly, on the nature of Review Scores.
Review scores are odd creatures. A 7 or 7.5 out of 10 isn't a bad score by any means. It generally indicates that a game is decent but not great. A game that's "average" in the same sense that a C grade is "average." Nobody wants to get a C, but hey at least you didn't get a D! Anything in the 6 range is playable but not inspiring, unique, and probably has some serious bugs or other deficiencies. Below that, it's an F. Anything below a 6 is considered a failure. That's just how it works. People complain that a 5 should mean average, but it doesn't. A 5 means failure. A 7 or 7.5 means average. It's not quite the same as movie reviews, which hew to the Rotten Tomatoes formula of "Fresh" or "Rotten" but it's close. A 50% on Rotten Tomatoes isn't "average" either, though it's not as damning as a 50/100 on Metacritic for a video game.
What developers and publishers really want is anything 8 or above. 8 means good. In fact, I'd argue that the difference between an 8 and a 9 is actually fairly insignificant. Only when reviews start drifting into the 9.5 to 10 territory do we see a real indication of true excellence (or at least of a reviewer's belief in a game's excellence.) The times I've handed out a 9.5 are for games I consider truly great, like Bloodborne. Perfect scores are reserved for games that break the mold, do something different or extraordinary. I've never given a game a 10, though I hope to someday.
The Force is Average in this game.
So when we look at the above Metacritic scores, we can very quickly ascertain one simple fact: Star Wars: Battlefront is being met with an "average" verdict. It misses that coveted B grade by just a hair on PS4, and by even more on Xbox One. This is a soft doom; not the dreaded failure of 60-something, or the catastrophe of 4's and 5's, but rather a sort of acknowledgement of mediocrity. Star Wars is such a behemoth of an IP, and the Battlefront franchise has such a huge and passionate fanbase, it's a shame that EA DICE wasn't able to score higher. The question, then, is why? What are critics saying about the game and its failures and successes?
The game is getting docked points for being style over substance---a gorgeous experience with too little depth to keep many fans engaged.
"Star Wars Battlefront is a solid proof-of-concept that should be fully realized in an inevitable sequel," writes Hardcore Gamer's Kevin Dunsmore. "Like Evolve, Titanfall and The Order: 1886 before it, Battlefront chooses style over substance. It’s absolutely beautiful and captures what it’s like to be in a Star Wars film, but style can only take a game so far. Star Cards and Heroes help make battles interesting, but the combat is too simplified to create long-term engagement. There is fun to be had, especially when the spectacle of Star Wars is in full effect. That spectacle, however, soon wears off and what’s left is a game with too few weapons, maps and heroes. In the end, Star Wars Battlefront is all Binks and no Fett." He gives the game 3/5.
Others, like Attack of the Fanboy's William Schwartz, says the game's problems grow more apparent the deeper you dig. "Beautiful but lacking," he writes, "Star Wars: Battlefront will most certainly please Star Wars fans with incredible fan service from DICE. While it stacks up in terms of presentation to other contemporary shooters, Battlefront is an extraordinarily thin offering when it comes to content, making it less enjoyable the more you play it." He gives the game 3.5/5 stars.
GameSpot's Mike Mahardy echoes this critique, praising the game's spectacle but criticizing its depth.
"If nothing else," he writes, "Star Wars Battlefront is an exercise in pure spectacle, laid out in all of its neon glory. I can't help but smile when the Boba Fett guns down three fighters in a row from his Slave I ship, or a snowspeeder careens past with flames trailing in its wake. The first 10 hours are packed with these moments, and it's worth playing just to watch them unfold. But Battlefront doesn't go much deeper than its ambitious surface appeal. It front loads its best content, only to fade in quality as the hours roll by. Star Wars Battlefront's skin is beautiful, but its legs are shaking, and threaten to buckle with time." The verdict? Another 7/10.
Of course, not everyone is on the side of the naysayers. GamesRadar's Andy Hartup calls the game a "triumph."
"Rarely has any video game pushed pure, uncomplicated joy so forcefully to the fore," he gushes. "Sure, as a shooter, this can be rigidly simple at times, and does occasionally leave me yearning for something a little more complex and involving because I'm that guy who spent the rest of 2015 playing Destiny. As a wonderful recreation of some of my most cherished childhood fantasies (and you will feel the same, such is its universal appeal) Star Wars Battlefront is an absolute triumph." A triumph maybe, but still only 8/10.
Perhaps the most enthusiastic review of them all comes from Forbes contributor Todd Kenreck who calls the game his favorite of the year, handing out perhaps its only 10/10. "Epic, beautiful, inspired… this is what Star Wars is all about," he writes. And certainly there will be many gamers who agree with him, and even more who disagree.
Meanwhile, our official Forbes Games review---penned by Jason Evangelho---takes a more critical stance.
"What you get out of Star Wars Battlefront depends entirely on what you expect from it," Jason writes. "If you’re looking to capture that feeling of playing in a beautifully-realized Star Wars sandbox, albeit one lacking variety and depth, EA DICE nails it. If you’re looking for a shooter stacked with substance, engrossing character progression, and endlessly addictive gameplay to sink your teeth into for the months ahead, Star Wars Battlefront misses the mark."
And so there you have it. Star Wars: Battlefront has been widely praised for its tremendous visuals and excellent sound design, all of which helps lend true immersion into the Star Wars universe. However, lack of content and criticism over aspects of the game like the Star Cards and cool-down timers as well as a general feeling that the game lacks depth have tempered much of the game's praise. Is it just an average game? Many seem to think that it shines in its primary mode Walker Assault and fizzles out everywhere else.
Have you played the game yet? What do you think so far?
