Star Wars Squadrons
Putting It Bluntly Game Reviews with Cory Showtime
That’s No Moon…
Ok, bad news first: this game is glitchy as hell. I have it on PC thru Steam and I’m honestly thinking of just shelling out another $39.99 to get it on a different platform. I’ve been trying to troubleshoot a lag issue that permeates during Fleet Battles for the first 1–4 min. And I’m not sure if its the V-sync, my Bluetooth controller, or what. That whole process has been a pain in the ass. Also, the storyline isn’t very engaging. Makes for a great, extended tutorial for the game because there’s a STEEP learning curve. And I own an Oculus 1 VR headset so one of the BIG selling points of this game for me was the VR integration. VR just plain does NOT work on this game the way it should. I checked a bunch of forums of people having the same issue, no dice. Its a Steam VR issue.
Now that that’s out of the way, are you ready for the good news? Here it is: ALL of those glitches I just named, are WORTH IT. This game is addictive as sugar. I can honestly say that I have never (“And the Rock means EVER!”) played a more intuitive, responsive, fluid, and FUN dogfighting game. This game reminds me of Crimson Skies on the original Xbox but a much deeper combat system. I find myself spending hours fixing my loadouts and tweaking settings on the 5 different classes of starfighters available. There are 3 game modes: Story, Dogfight, and Fleet Battles; vs AI or p2p. Fleet Battles are by far the meat and potatoes of this game and what really set this game apart from, say, the Ace Combat series.
The Fleet Battles: OOOOH THE FLEET BATTLES! This is truly a treat to play. Here’s how it works: its a 5 on 5, objective based team deathmatch. Both teams start off in a neutral dogfight and the first team to 5 kills starts on offense. Offense consists of destroying the other teams 2 capital ships, which are AI controlled, have their own defenses and weak points, and double as each teams respawn and repair area. On defense, you try to eliminate the opposing team’s ships, along with AI raider ships sent to deal heavy damage to your cap ships. After that, teams must attack or defend the other team’s destroyer; which is a much stronger version of a cap ship.
Even with all the glitches and bugs, this game is awesome. Its a little short on content, but the $39.99 price tag more than makes up for it. Also, this is one of the best EA games in years; void of just about any microtransactions. On top of that, it is an EXCELLENT Star Wars game; allowing you to take control of your favorite starfighters of both the Republic and the Empire. My personal favorite is the A-Wing; super fast, great offensive capabilities, but little to no shields and/or hull integrity. Each ship has their own strengths and weaknesses and you’ll have to find out which ones suit your playstyle best.
THE VERDICT: 89% Chronic on the Bammer Scale. The only thing bringing this game down are the things that don’t work. The things that do are so good that I more than put up with the problems plaguing this game. This game is a great bag of Girl Scout Cookies in a blunt lit from the wrong side with a shit-ton of resin when you hit it. 2 thumbs up, looking forward to hopefully a bigger, better sequel.
