How could a powerful military force like the Empire lose to a scruffy band of rebel scum and a handful of teddy bears? I’m thinking it has something to do with the Imperial dress code.
While I’ve only been playing the release version of Star Wars: Battlefront since yesterday, I’ve played enough to dread the forest moon of Endor. Any round played on the planet of Ewoks reverberates with the sound of exploding grenades and flashes with seemingly random gunfire, that’s the Empire’s shiny white Stormtroopers, tromping through the forest, deperately trying to fight an enemy they can’t see.
Grenades arc vaguely in the direction the mini-map paints red, indicating the presence of the enemy. Troopers aim volleys of laser fire at the origin of the red blasts coming towards them, hoping to score a hit.
“Here comes the Empire!” the Rebels shout. “Don’t shoot until you see the white of…ok, shoot. Shoot a lot.”
Meanwhile, hiding in the trees and killing all of us, we’ve got people dressed like this:
Coupled with the lighting choices for the level, that equates to this:
Those bolts, coming out of seemingly nowhere with unerring accuracy, took my poor Stormtrooper’s life. Somewhere back there is a Rebel. Probably. I don’t know.
These trees are filled with Rebels.
Players on the good side of the good vs. evil battle here have gotten pretty good at using the forest moon’s flora to their advantage. In the short clip below I was reveling in a fresh kill (I got a headshot while aiming at the source of some blaster fire) when my quarry’s vindicator pops out of the woods like a Predator.
There are bastions of hope on Endor for the Imperial forces. Actual bastions, bases where the forest gives way to cold metal corridors and piles of random supplies.
Filled with Stormtroopers huddling together for safety, these are excellent places for Rebels to toss grenades. The Rebels are very aware of this.
This was never a problem in older games that took place on the forest moon, which is a testament to the graphical prowess of today’s high-end computers and video game consoles. Virtual Endor was once just brown and green polygons with a smattering of trees. Now it’s a lush place, filled with foliage, falling trees and an endless swarm of Rebels.
So when I roll up on Endor and wind up on the Imperial side of the conflict, I can’t help but feel anxious. It’s like the very forest is rising up against us, attempting to drive us from these sacred lands. And we don’t even have to deal with tiny bear people. What a nightmare this place must have been for the Empire in Return of the Jedi. You can’t kill what you can’t see.
Hoth, on the other hand, is just dandy.
Comments
12 responses to “Star Wars: Battlefront Helped Me Understand How The Empire Lost On Endor”
Maybe DICE could implement a kind of heat signature that Imperials can pick up on their HUD, showing an outline or something.
Where’s the fun in that?
Hmmm, what about making Imperials more resilient? Caveat: I haven’t played the game so they might already be more resilient for all I know 🙂
It seems only fair, given that imperials would have an advantage on Hoth.
Looking forward to getting this tomorrow. I like having a bit of unbalance to the maps.
Hoth in the beta was excellent as the rebels. It seemed like you were getting pushed back at every turn. Endor looks amazing. I don’t see why this unbalance isn’t celebrated more as you end up swapping each round anyway so you get different experiences each time.
Best thing about the game honestly, replaying those classic battles, Endor is the great victory of the Republic/Rebels, Hoth another crushing victory for the Empire.
totally this. life isn’t fair, why should anything else be?
This article is true. I stumbled into about 5-6 storm troopers and ducked and weaved around trees. They couldn’t see who they were hitting cos i was coming out of the bushes. Killed every one of them. Where as on Hoth or Sullust i wouldn’t have lasted more than 2 seconds before being flayed alive with laser fire.
In the beta I thought it a little unfair on Hoth as it’s all snow, and storm troopers are all white. This is the counter to that I suppose.
It’s totally fair.
Rebels get camo, and the empire get mechs.
I could’ve sworn in the movies the Empire had forest camo…
Played last weekend. Hoth is definitely Pro Imperial and Endor Pro Rebellion. But not to a game breaking degree. As the Imperials we still won a few matches on Endor and Vice-Versa on Hoth.