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Why Star Wars Battlefront II Will Never Die

Despite DICE and EA preparing to release a new Battlefront later this year, gamers refuse to let the classic Battlefront II die. It's truly a beloved game.

I don’t think I’ve ever played a Star Wars game that I have loved as much as Star Wars: Battlefront II. The game was released on November 1st, 2005, for a variety of platforms and it quickly became one of my favorites.

I didn’t have a gaming PC when I first let Star Wars: Battlefront II into my life. I couldn’t even tell you the exact date that it happened but I knew it was something special from the very beginning. The first game in the Star Wars: Battlefront series was one that I somehow missed, but after seeing the game’s box art, the sequel had to be mine.

I spent a lot of time playing the game after school and on weekends as I made my way through the game’s campaign which stretched from the prequel trilogy (the Star Wars I grew up with) to the original trilogy (the Star Wars everyone loves). As I sat in the living room on my neon green bean bag chair, shooting away at the enemy, I realized this was a game that was going to be in my life for a long time.

Battlefront 2

Back in 2005, I wasn’t much of a multiplayer gamer as I lacked a proper social life and people to play with, so a game that had a great single-player story was important to me. The game even had a pretty great bot system, considering the time period, which allowed for instant action anytime.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the game’s space battles at least once. Up to this point, most Star Wars games had been either ground games or flight games. There were few that merged the two together but this game found a way to do it quite well. The space battles contained in the game have you spawning on your team’s carrier, picking a ship, and heading out into a dogfight. Part of destroying the enemy isn’t just how many vehicles you can destroy, though. During these space battles, you have the opportunity to infiltrate the enemy’s carrier ship and destroy it from the inside.

This was the Star Wars game I always wanted.

Mods for Everyone

It’s safe to say that this is the game many other fans of the franchise wanted as well, considering that over a decade later the game still has a large player base. While the console versions of the game will always serve as a great nostalgia point, the PC version of the game is where the fan’s love shines through and through.

A quick trip over to ModDB reveals just how much work players have put into the game over the years, from adding in content from the first Battlefront to reskins and HD graphics mods, you can find it all.

Multiplayer that Defies the Odds

While Star Wars: Battlefront II is a great experience in single-player mode, the game’s multiplayer shines as well and PC gamers found a way to keep that alive too. Utilizing a client called GameRanger, Battlefront II players have been able to have online matches going all these years. And after all this time, a second option has emerged.

On October 2nd, after the official name of the game on Steam changed from Star Wars: Battlefront II to Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (Classic, 2005), it was announced that the multiplayer mode for the game had been reactivated, with support for “up to 64 other players in a heated online battle for control of the galaxy.” and gamers were thrilled.

Needless to say, Disney didn’t anticipate the sheer weight that this game carries and the servers were promptly slammed by both Steam and GOG players who wanted in on the action. It got to the point where the servers were so overloaded that players had issues connecting to games. In a way, it seems kind of fitting for that to occur.

The main reason that Battlefront II’s multiplayer was brought back was due to the impending release of the new Battlefront II later this year and I’m not sure how the game will fare just yet. I do know that when I picked up my copy of the first new Battlefront game on launch night, the servers got slammed just as bad leaving me unable to play the game for the first few hours.

Will the Old Battlefront II Impact the New One

Understanding the love I have for this game, leaves me to then ask “Will I love the new Battlefront II?” and the truth is, I don’t really know if I will. Based on all the footage of the game I’ve seen so far, it looks like it’s going to bring a lot of great elements and characters into the game.

EA and DICE also learned from their mistakes with the previous Battlefront game and are including a single-player campaign in the game, something I view as a welcome addition to the new series.

At the same time, it’s hard not to wonder if the game will be rated on its own merit, or harshly compared to the classic version. Knowing how gamers are in 2017, I think the game will get a little of each.

Regardless, the game is going to sell gangbusters because Disney has managed to get everyone talking about Star Wars again with new films, TV shows, merchandise, and games. It’s important to remember that Star Wars never went away but the public interest has spiked again. I plan to keep playing Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (Classic 2005) for a long time, but you can also expect to see me playing the new Battlefront II in due time as well.

The Force will be with you, always.

What do you think of the classic Star Wars: Battlefront II? Let us know down in the comments.

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