Galactic Assault is basically a more thematic version of the Battlefield series’ Rush game mode (combined with Walker Assault on some maps) and there are 11 maps on offer right now. These maps include everything from the oft-memed droid attack on the Wookiees, to a boarding action on the Death Star II, to staples such as Hoth. Personally, I’ve had the most fun on Kashyyyk. Every time you play it, you’ll feel like you’re right there at the Battle of Kachirho in Revenge of the Sith. It’s an explosive, all-out war throughout the whole thing and the intensity never lets up. The map is especially impressive at night, watching missiles from Republic gunships streak across the night sky.  There’s still some work to be done on some of the maps, Endor, in particular, feels a bit lopsided for the defenders at the moment, but most of what’s on offer is a joy to play through. If I could level one criticism, it would be that DICE has leaned a little too heavily on choke points with many maps. Some choke points are fine, but some maps can feel like a bit of an Operation Metro meat grinder at times.

Heroes vs. Villains is much improved from the version of it we got in Star Wars: Battlefront (2015). You don’t need to worry about troopers or anything. It’s a simple and straightforward 4v4 affair. Each team will have an alternating VIP to attack/defend and 10 tickets. It also helps that hero combat is a lot more fun than it was in BF2015 and the progression system allows you to customize the way your hero plays. Characters like Yoda are dangerous, but also defensive, with the ability to heal or knock multiple people away. But then there’s also Darth Maul, who cannot block blaster fire and must be played aggressively to make the most of him. It feels a lot better to play, less like smashing toys together, and there’s more depth to the characters across the board.

Starfighter Assault is without a doubt what people are going to be talking about for years to come when they talk about what DICE did right with this game. Developed by EA’s Criterion studio (known for its Burnout game series), Starfighter Assault is so good it could be a game of its own. And it should be. Seriously. EA, get Criterion working on a Star Wars starfighter game. Everything about the mode is executed masterfully from top to bottom. The ships all handle well and control intuitively, the maps are beautiful (holy shirt, Kamino) and feature varied objectives split across multiple phases (similar to Galactic Assault) to keep things interesting. Progression feels the most meaningful in Starfighter Assault, as well. Kitting out your ship with Star Cards always feels like having to make hard choices. With only three slots to a hand, you’re going to be faced with tough choices concerning firepower, survivability, and utility. It’s all well designed and addictive as hell. I can see myself coming back to SWBF2 just for Starfighter Assault if I ever get bored of the ground game. It’s that good.

All that said, SWBF2’s multiplayer is not without issues, and it’s not just the loot boxes. I’m glad DICE opted to go with classes this time around, but they still don’t feel very distinct. Each trooper class features Boost upgrade cards and Ability upgrade cards. The Boost cards are basically passives duplicated across all Trooper classes and the Ability cards aren’t always very exciting with many of them being no brainers. If you find yourself using Flash Grenade on an Officer (and you should be), you’re probably going to want Improved Flash Grenade. The real tension comes in trying to balance useful Boost cards against Ability cards in your hand as, again, you only have three slots. The problem is that it feels bad whenever a Boost card wins out on a slot. The more Boost cards you slot, the less you feel like you’re playing a distinct class. For some classes, like the Specialist, this is truly unfortunate, as my most efficient hand seems to be one that consists entirely of passive bonuses. I don’t really end up using anything other than my Macrobinoculars to scout out enemies.

Squad play is still an issue, too. I understand that Battlefront is a different audience and EA made some changes to the Battlefield formula to make the Battlefront games a bit more palatable for the less hardcore among us, but if you’re going to make one concession to core/hardcore gamers in the future with this series, it needs to be with squads. SWBF2 is enjoyable, but my friends and I light up with excitement when we all actually get to spawn together in a wave and coordinate. Everything about the game is improved when you're able to work directly with others. This is something that should be preserved from the Battlefield series.

Finally, the list of weapons on offer at launch feels a bit anemic. There are only four (!) weapons for each class right now. I’m sure DICE will add more over time, but the game is currently lacking in this area. Also, the default weapons need to have attachments added or copycat versions with attachments need to be available as unlocks so that they can be used cross-era.

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably wondering, “Well, that’s all well and good, but what about the pay-to-win lootboxes and credit unlock heroes?” I’ve written extensively about my feelings on SWBF2’s microtransactions over the past month or so, but having now played the game, I can say that the system feels or appears worse than it actually is. I don’t feel that tying progression to loot boxes is an ideal decision and that issue is only exacerbated by the fact that Star Cards are explicit upgrades over the sidegrades you’d find in the Battlefield games, but in practice, you’re not likely to run into many issues when it comes to being competitive. Assuming you don’t acquire any of the cards you’re looking for from boxes, it will take you a grand total of 720 crafting parts right now to assemble an entire hand of Rare cards.  I’ve earned more than that in a day or so of moderate play. With some exceptions, card values have also been flattened, so you don't necessarily need to have a hand full of Epics to compete. They're overall a lot less crazy than they were in the beta. I haven't spent a dime and I haven't felt any pressure to, either. That's a system that's workable for me. That's not to say the current iteration doesn't need tweaks. Bonus credits for performance in matches, an overall look at credit gain rates or crate prices, these should all be considered, but for now, I've not bumped into any issues.

As for the credit locked heroes, I do feel the individual credit prices are fairly high and need to be toned down some. Thankfully, EA just announced a 75% reduction in hero prices across the board (ex. Luke/Vader are now 15K credits instead of 60K). My main gripe with the hero unlocks is that it feels terrible to have to pause your other progression tracks while saving up credits to unlock a hero. As convoluted as the current three currency progression system is, I’d be OK with yet another separate currency used explicitly for hero unlocks (if EA insists on keeping this system) so I don’t need to stop buying crates while I save up for a particular hero.

At the end of the day, you’re going to have to decide for yourself if EA’s business practices with Star Wars: Battlefront II are something you can live with. If you can, you’ll likely find that Star Wars: Battlefront II is every bit the Star Wars game you’ve been looking for.

Overall Score: 8.5

Pros

• Excellent, varied campaign, with great performances given throughout

• A beautiful representation of the Star Wars universe

• Starfighter Assault is so good it could be its own game

• Custom arcade is a welcome surprise

Cons

• Microtransactions tied into progression could be a toxic mix for some

• Not enough weapon variety

• Squad play needs improvement

• Classes could be more distinct