It’s Surprising to See How Many Wanted Single Player for Star Wars: Battlefront

OnlySP: As I’ve scanned the internet for news on Star Wars: Battlefront over the past couple days, I’ve noticed one thing. A lot of complaints. People complaining on the internet about a video game is nothing new, obviously, but what they’re complaining about has kind of taken me by surprise.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I don't see how this is shocking... I also don't see how EA felt this was something they could pass over. Pretty much ever MP only shooter that has come out in recent years has had a shorter life cycle. Some kind of single player campaign would have been a good call even if it was just 4 hours long..just give us a nice good storied campaign to go with the big MP experience.

[WellyUK]

why bother though if it's 4 hours long... Why not just spend more time on making the MP better. No point tacking on a terrible SP experience like they have done with Battlefield when no one plays it...

[TheFanboySlayer]

I agree with this comment. Why implement something that reviewers will just tear apart. Alternatively, I hope they figure out a way to implement bots so I can play offline as well.

Edit: Maybe even a horde-like mode where we play with friends split screen.

[Booost]

this is EA your talking about

[FarEastOrient]

This is EA, didn't they learn the lesson from Titanfall? If the crowd moves to different games, the multiplayer dries up fast, especially on the PC lobbies. Another good example is how much hype the media generated for Evolve, which became a barren wasteland after a couple of months.

[Baka-akaB]

I dont think it got much to do with that . It's about wishing a nice star wars solo adventure with that kind of gameplay and technology ...

Personally i can live without it , but it would have been nice

[Spinal]

Yeah..... I'm pretty sure even if BF3/4 or CoD AW launched without a singleplayer they would still be played massively. Just as Destiny proved there's really no singleplayer offline campaign there. People still play it.

I for one had no expectations for a singleplayer campaign as I know what DICE specialise in.

And either way I wouldn't care for a Star Wars singleplayer where I had to play as a Trooper or any gun wielding guy over a force user. And since it's not a Jedi outcast or force unleashed kind of game I don't see where singleplayer would fit here.

At the end of the day we need to see Gameplay anyway. I'll wait to see that before I put up any pre order.

[Nodoze]

Citing Destiny as an example of what to do for a game release is not advisable. There was significant backlash for that release. If anything it is an example of what NOT to do with a big release like this.

As for BF I used to play through the capture the campaign against AI all the time. It was a fun way to capture all of the planets and to practice and have fun without getting super serious.

The lack of a campaign for this is a significant oversight. The sad thing is that just like with Destiny people are going to buy this anyway. So this sends a message to the publisher that it is not needed.

Soon we are going to be paying 150 per game for multiplayer only digital only releases that we don't own. Some will wonder how we got to that point, and it is by buying and supporting titles like these with DLC milking, and no campaigns.

The only thing the publisher cares about is the MONEY. If they get money by making less of an effort, they will keep doing it!!

[DivoJones]

People always want choices like offline/solo play even if they're not as popular as multiplayer. If CoD shipped as multi-only there'd be outrage. Titanfall suffered from being multi-only as well.

Plus once they shut down the servers for these online-only games within a year or two they're worthless.. so that's when single player comes in handy.

[avengers1978]

This Is my problem with mp only games... As much as we all hate it networks still go down, XBL, PSN, and even PC servers still go down. Having SP still lets us play a game we paid good money for, when said network goes down.

All that said..,.. I still pre-ordered mine on PS4.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

the good news there is an offline bot mode supposedly. As for pre-order....I refuse to pre-order games until the day before release. there is no need or fear of it "not being available" since big titles like this have more than enough discs printed. I also don't need to give these companies an interest free 9+ month loan of my money.

[LamerTamer]

I don't understand the preorder thing. Once they get a lot of money for preorders that just incentivizes them to release broken buggy glitch fests to meet a release date to avoid preorder cancellations.

It is not like they will run out anyway and the game could suck. pre-ordering seems kind of dumb.

[assdan]

Why would they do that again? So people would heavily criticize the game having a short campaign like exactly what happened with BF4? No one has ever played battlefront for the campaign, I don't get why people care that it's gone now.

[Captain_TomAN94]

BF4 shouldn't have had MP either, and anyone asking for SP in Battlefront fundamentally doesn't understand the game.

Hell the Previous ones effectively had no SP as well considering the "Campaign" was just a bunch of the MP maps thrown together with Bots.

[3-4-5]

I actually wasn't interested in Single Player for this game because they are making another Star Wars game specifically for that.

* Resources and time to the single player takes away from the mulitplayer.

[LamerTamer]

I am kind of glad they didn't tack on a crappy 4 hour campaign. If they did I would be tempted to buy it and then feel let down that I beat it in one sitting. Now that it is MP only I can easily pass on it and not even think of wasting my money.

It is kind of disappointing that there is no single player Star Wars game coming. I would love a true SP Star Wars campaign. Oh well maybe I will just play Dark Forces on the PS1 emu on my Nvidia Shield portable to scratch the itch, not much of a choice.

[porkChop]

In this case, I think it's a good thing. Dice is honestly shit at making campaigns. Had we gotten a campaign for this game it would have been terrible. If it was any other FPS developer then I would be pissed off because no one else seems to be as incompetent when it comes to singleplayer. Dice should stick to MP only games.

However, if the game is multiplayer only, I hope they don't expect me to spend $80+ CAD for the game.

[stragomccloud]

Is it though? $60 for a multiplayer only game is a pretty good rip off. That's why I waited for the price of TitanFall to come down before buying it.

[Takwin]

I will never pay $60 for a multiplayer only game ever again. I so much prefer single player games - RPGs and action adventures and turn-based strategy.

[stragomccloud]

As do I. As do I.

[Captain_TomAN94]

LOL we won't miss you.

[assdan]

So tacking on a POS campaign with no depth somehow makes the game worth more to you?

[Seafort]

It's a bit more palatable than just having a MP only game with no depth like Titanfall.

Battlefront is just going to be Battlefield with a Star Wars skin anyway.

Personally I'm not too bothered about the game they all play the same way in the end.

[Maul_T_Pass]

Isn't there an option for offline battles or did I miss read that somewhere? The Battlefront series has always had offline battle modes with bots. Are people up in arms because there isn't a story mode based single player campaign? There never has been.

[Wingsfan24]

There's single player / co-op missions, but no actual Campaign mode.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

yeah.... basically its the MP game just filled with bots vs human players. Its a poor/cheap way out to give us a back of the box check mark for single player. It's guaranteed to disappoint.

[bananaboats]

Battlefront has never had a campaign, stop complaining. Battle front is gonna be an amazing game

[OC_MurphysLaw]

@bananboats I never said it had a campaign... just that it should. I can complain about that all I want and will be critical of DICE as their last 2 efforts have been broken messes. You can blindly fall in line if you want... I choose to reserve my enthusiasm for now.

[kamundo]

bananaboats is so eager to shill for EA/DICE that he's willing to outright lie. Battlefront 2 DID have a campaign. It is reasonable to expect that a sequel released 10 years and 2 console generations should have more content and features than its predecessors, not less.

[ion666]

People should do a little research before cracking their knuckles and typing. Someone please explain the premise of battle front 1 and 2. Those games cost about 55 bux when they first came out. Did anyone complain back then......nope. I expect no more no less from the New battlefront .just some awesome battles. I will be enjoying the game while others sulk in confusion.lol

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I think actually a great many people complained back then that it didn't have single player, its just the internet was not what it is today. People just bitched about it in the game store and wrote letters to magazines.

[aliengmr]

Well, a little less at first. Didn't have to wait for "space battle" DLC back then.

To be honest, the cancelled BF3 seemed to offer a much better experience. Going from space to the planet surface, stuff like that. I totally expected that stuff which was kind of the direction the first 2 were taking.

As for the single player, BF2 had a nice package deal. Kind of an "open" single-player thing with a little narrative attached to. Wasn't spectacular, but it felt like good value for the money. This new SWBF looks pretty, but seems more like reskinned Battlefield to me.

[DougLord]

I love single player StarWars RPGs. I have no idea what single player Battle Front would look like. 1 player supported by 19 bots fighting 20 bots? That sounds horrible!

[Allsystemgamer]

Play battlefront 1 and 2. Multiplayer maps with bots. That's about it and it was fun. People are just being entitled

[Toiletsteak]

I am still getting this game because not having a single player doesn't bother me i wouldn't play it if the multiplayer is good but, it does suck for those who enjoy single player so they should have done it that way no one can moan but saying that people always find something to moan about.

[Pastorfuzz]

There is no way I am getting this if a solid single player story mode is not available. This is just stupid considering how well the other Battlefront games on PS2 and Xbox were received. Sounds to me like another Evolve scam is coming!

[WellyUK]

They didn't have campaigns either...

[Spinal]

Looool you just shown your lack of knowledge about the battlefront games you Johnny come lately.

This is the issue with a lot of gamers today new to the genre and no NOTHING about games but shout and complain.

Battlefront 2 did not have a singleplayer campaign and was a clone of Battlefield. So it was a multiplayer focused game. So you shouldn't have been expecting a singleplayer focus game at all.

[WizzroSupreme]

Not really when you think about a little game called Battlefield 4.

[GUYwhoPLAYSvideoGAME]

I recently bought battlefront 2, and there's no single player there, there was never any variation of battlefront that I would consider a single player campaign, just playing multiplayer with bots. Some modes spice it up a bit like galactic conquest, and campaign adds lame objectives but is fun because you're beating levels and whatnot, but your still just are going through playing multiplayer matches with bots, what are people talking about? I'm not going to get this because of no single player? Battlefront 3 has a mission mode they say can be played alone, but is meant for co-op. This in itself means this battlefront has more single player to it than any other battlefront ever did.

(i copied and pasted this comment from a comment i made on another article that came too late and nobody saw it so i get to repost it okay)

[ion666]

Damn ea hater trolls think there was story mode in every battle front game. Silly rabbits.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

Single player and Galactic Conquest were the best parts of BF2! How is this surprising? Playing those battles made a man like a prequel story which is damn hard to do lol

[sarshelyam]

I can kind of see the point. I'm primarily a single-player gamer, with some exceptions. That said, this is Star Wars and many hold this with such intimate regard...it's a part of their youth, it's cherished. The desire to experience anything within the franchise in as many ways as possible is certainly justifiable, though perhaps not as practical as one would think.

I can also agree that $60 for a game that only supports online functionality may be a bit difficult for some to grasp. I'd consider the long-term, however, in that EA is certainly looking at a model that supports new maps, new characters, and more. You're paying for a franchise and its updates that are most certainly in the works post-launch.

That said, I find it humorous that the industry is so pro-multiplayer, and then when a fantastic title like this comes along, the cries are all so incredibly contrary to what we'd expect.

[Allsystemgamer]

There is offline

[sarshelyam]

I understand that, but it's essentially a re-shelled version of the online game...with bots. I wouldn't say that's a sufficient solution to people looking for a campaign. The game is designed as a multiplayer game, and there really is no substitution to having a live player, being able to communicate and coordinate strategies. Bots don't provide that experience.

I chose my words in haste and should have said "multiplayer" as opposed to "online". Regardless, the point above still stands.

[Wingsfan24]

Your last paragraph is exactly what I was thinking. This industry takes 180s so often it's hard to keep up with. Games like Evolve get ragged on for not having a SP campaign, and games like The Order get in trouble for not having MP.

Think people just want equal resources put into both parts of the game. Quite a few burns last generation with games having either tacked on campaigns or tacked on multiplayer.

[Dario_DC]

This game might last a bit longer due to the Star Wars universe and having 20 vs 20 (should be 32vs32 but you know...)
Trying to cash in on the new Star Wars movie hype doesn't give them enough time to do a real Battlefront and get it out by December...
In the end I feel it's gonna last longer than TitanFall or Evolve but way less than Battlefield 3\4.

[LAWSON72]

Star Wars unlike BF is not some generic soldier story (which DICE only pulled off with BC), it is a rich universe that people want to meet new characters and discover new things in not tackling the challenge at all is kind of lazy but I doubt Dice were the right people for it, perhaps EA will let Bioware do something with the rights they have to SW

[hello12]

I don't think they had the time to do it, but i would have loved a single player campaign to mess around with.

Stars wars universe is vast not hard to figure out new stories and plots like hopefully another studio will look at it in the future to do?

[Yetter]

but battlefront has never had a real single player campaign. Just bot matches. Don't know why anyone would expect anything more from this franchise

[Rookie_Monster]

Not buying. I know the the old Battlefront didn't have campaign either but time has changed and it is suppose to be a link from return of the Jedi to the new movie so why not incorporate a campaign on it.

[Enyxodin]

It is just star wars nerds that want a campaign! DICE is known for making good multiplayer games and bad singleplayer so what did you expect From them? You should be glad that DICE is not making a shitty campaign to get a long with it just to attract every kind of people to get those extra bucks! Im glad that they are focusing entirely to get the mp right given how it went last time For bf4.

[danny818]

ummmm I only remember having countless hours of fun with my ps2 playing single player mode with my battlefront game. Its a sad state that they skipped over it. I will wait for the price to drop on battlefront on xboxone. Its unbelievable ea continues to do this. Titanfall is an example of these shortcomings.

[Roccetarius]

It's surprising that people even trust Dice to create a Sp experience being worth it. I mean, they can't even sort out the MP experience without it being in need of major patches to even sort out issues. That's without the missing features as well.

[keegamer80]

No longer a purchase for me. I never play titanfall.Only play destiny on ps4 because my sister wants me to help her out. No single player no purchase!

[Link2DaFutcha]

People are hungry for a solid single player experience set in the star wars universe, not too surprising. I'd love to see a return to the Dark Forces / Jedi Knight style of game. KoTR is obviously awesome, but I can't get into the combat. I want a huge RPG set in the universe where I can control the combat and be some kind of force wielding badass.

[mogwaii]

Its sad cause it had such potential to have a great single player experience, oh well, i dont think i'll be buying it since im more of a solo player.

[DanielGearSolid]

Eh, none of the Star Wars Battlefront games had a real campaign

It was just the multiplayer modes offline.

Which you can do in this one. Whats the big deal?

[Skankinruby]

Surprising? To who? No one wants to pay full price for half of a game, i was excited about this one now I'm not paying a dime for it.

[BudokaiGamer]

You shouldn't be surprised, it's one of the main reasons I'm not buying it now. The main reason is that it's EA.

[jay2]

F multi player, single player please, made a buy a rent for me and obviously outhers

[ironfist92]

Its a game based on movie filled with epic adventures and great stories

of course not having a campaign will piss Star Wars fans off.

Not being a Star Wars fan myself, it did look fun, but hearing its yet another MP only game, Ill borrow it for a weekend when Im bored

[Tdmd]

Really? Is it really that surprising that people want a good plot in a star wars game?

[ThichQuangDuck]

Missed opportunity. Yes we are getting missions,but the ability to play through the whole star wars story and after the new movie play through its story as well would have been a beautiful coop experience. Instead we will be getting random missions they select in which they suggest to replay them on harder difficulties for more gameplay

To each their own