Ties and X Wings: Refining Space combat

A review of the brand-new Star Wars: Squadrons

Star Wars is the golden goose, a gift that keeps on giving and Electronic Arts and Disney are going to milk it for all its worth. Last year we had a game, a TV series and a year-end film from the franchise and this year we have got a game in Star Wars: Squadrons and the second season of Mandalorian is just round the corner.

The combined efforts from the film, television and video game divisions to reposition the conventional international holiday season with Star Wars for fans makes the emergence of a possible Star Wars season increasingly likely.

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Star Wars: Squadrons is essentially a game about aerial combat just set in space amidst star destroyers, tie fighters and X wings. This a game about dog fights and firing the inimitable red and green beams of laser accompanied by missiles and ion blasters. The game almost seems like a continuation and refinement from the campaign of Battlefront 2 and there are reminders of Iden Versio’s journey on almost every turn.

The game’s biggest strength though is its combat with a variety of ships and each functioning on three different modes of focus (engine, guns and shields) the game allows you to match the combat style you like. If you like to sortie in quickly repeatedly then the shield mode works best, if you like focused fire then the guns focus and engine for easy maneuverability. The multiplayer mode should help not only find the style that suits you but also refine it.

However, despite the promise of strong aerial combat and the desire to fly iconic planes from the Star Wars universe this game has lots of glitches and early problems. The game is available on PS4 and Xbox One but there is no advanced version for next gen consoles. In my experience on the PC, the inputs were iffy as quick turns opened up unnecessary menus repeatedly and there were repeated crashes in-game even in the single player campaign. The single player campaign is bare bones and almost plays the role of an instruction manual for the multiplayer.

 

I can’t recommend this unless you love aerial combat. As the trend goes there are going to be a lot more interesting stories from “a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away” this sadly is devoid of the force.

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