Welcome to the Outer Rim, you’ll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
In the first expansion for the sought after EA Star Wars Battlefront, players explore the planet of Sullust at an industrial level and get to see Jabba’s iconic palace up close and personal.
There were a ton of changes made when this update was released, for both free users and season pass holders alike. The first of which being the introduction of Hutt Contracts. Players purchase a contract from the famous Hutt. They must then complete a list of tasks in order to acquire a new weapon or star card. Free users are able to get two new weapons, while season pass holders are able to unlock all of the Outer Rim weapons and star cards through this method. It is nice to know that players weren’t immediately handed amazing equipment just by paying for it. Often the contracts require the player to get a ten kill streak in a match with a specific weapon. The specific weapon must first be bought using credits by playing the game. This gives players a reason to go back to the game and try different weapons and abilities that they may not have used before.
The first of four expansions also introduces the hero and villain that everybody wanted most, Nien Nunb and Greedo. These characters may not have had a lot of time in the movies, but they are surprisingly well thought out and fun to play as in the game. Nien Nunb provides tactical abilities such as proximity bombs, a quick charging pulse cannon and a pesky upgradable infantry turret that can cut down imperials like they are nothing. Greedo has his own set of unique abilities as well. The villain has a straight forward punch to him, but can still be used tactfully. The first of his abilities is called Precision Shots, which allows him to target multiple rebels at once and shoot them down. He has a sense ability that allows him to see the outline of both ally and enemy alike, which can be helpful when trying to set up a surprise attack. His final ability is a grenade, but the type of grenade continually switches. Both offensive abilities are modified by his “confidence”. The more kills Greedo gets, the better the abilities become.
Due to the addition of these new heroes, any mode with a hero had to change. Instead of the game randomly selecting which hero you would be, you now get to decide who you want to control. Even in Heroes vs. Villains those that are chosen to be a hero or villain can choose who they want to be. This creates a race to the best heroes and villains in the game. Don’t expect to play as either Luke or Darth Vader ever again, since they are chosen within the first second. I was a fan of the random hero choice, so it is a tad disappointing to see it go, but it is understandable since not everyone has the newest hero and villain in the base game.
Speaking of Heroes vs. Villains, the version for the Outer Rim DLC adds an additional character, meaning that all heroes and villains will be on the battlefield at the same time. It gets pretty hectic, but fun at the same time. It only adds one character to each side, so the map sizes are still functional.
There are four new maps added in the Outer Rim, and none of them support a large number of players. The four maps – two on Sullust and two in Jabba’s Palace – are focused on small winding corridors with one or two main combat zones. On the bright side, there is no question where the shooting is coming from on these maps. If you only play Walker Assault or Supremacy, this DLC is not for you.
There is also no addition to Fighter Squadron in this DLC, which I found the most disappointing part of the expansion. Fighter Squadron does not require any grinding in order to get certain guns or star cards,
it is just about flying a ship. I hope that in later expansions more ships are added, like the B-wing for rebels and the TIE Defender for the empire. It would also be nice to see more maps for Fighter Squadron. Flying beside Cloud City would be pretty spectacular, and space battles could be introduced with the Death Star.
The Outer Rim also introduced a new mode. Extraction sees the rebels attempting to escort key cargo to a shuttle waiting on the other side of the map (naturally), while the empire attempts to stop that cargo. The cargo is moving on a track and can only be controlled as far as either going, stopping, or turning on a squad shield for a brief period of time. This mode is interesting, but can only be played on two maps at the moment, which can grow tiring quickly. This is another mode that will likely be expanded upon in later expansions.
I have to admit, I was reluctant to even purchase the base game after discovering that EA planned to do expansions, but I am glad that I took the risk. This expansion does add some new components to the game, and I hope that they continue down this path and add more relevant content in the future.
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