'Battlefront II' Gets Massive Game Enhancements Including Backwards Compatibility For Xbox
When it comes to backwards compatibility (the ability to play games of consoles long gone on current generation consoles), Microsoft and Xbox stand way out in front of the rest. Xbox 360 allowed us to play certain games from the original Xbox console. Xbox One allowed us to play games from both previous consoles. Then Game Pass launched and did very much change our outlook on playing old games. Whilst Sony did bring out a version of the PS3 that could play PS2 games, it never really took off the same as it did for Xbox. Fans have loved this ability so much, it has since become an expected element of any new Xbox console.
Also, the library available via the Game Pass was actually pretty impressive. I myself loved having the ability to once again play Banjo-Kazooie, a game first released way back in the 90's for the Nintendo 64. But Xbox wasn't finished there either.
Come 2020, it was announced that EA Play would be merging with the Game Pass, meaning an extra 30 to 40 new titles would become free to download and play for members of Game Pass. Now this is where Xbox seemed to win the fight against their Sony rivals. This library would not only boast more classic fan favorite games, as well as relatively new titles, but it would also grab Star Wars fans by Force! (See what I did there?)
This new library would include Jedi: Fallen Order, Battlefront (2015), and Battlefront II (2017). Despite the highly publicized issues with Battlefront II, it was still an impressive game. But with this and Fallen Order individually costing between £40 and £60, this was a huge deal for one of the worlds biggest fandoms, as it meant people who couldn't afford the games on their own previously, could now access them via a method most already had access to. The Star Wars community was extremely grateful for this.
As mentioned above, Battlefront II received a lot of publicized issues at launch, mostly due to its use of "micro-transactions" within the game in order for players to get new content for characters. However, to give EA their dues, they did listen and eventually scrapped that idea in favor of "milestones." These meant players had to reach certain achievements within the game in order to release new content. Sadly, the last update to the game was in April 2020, as EA stated they had reached the desired number of players and were happy with the improvements since its initial release. This hasn't stopped fans from consistently begging EA for new content, mostly in the form of updated characters, as the current roster is missing a couple of big players from the franchise. New characters did seem like a given considering a lot more were included in the original Battlefront II released in 2005, but it has yet to happen. It's also worth noting that fans themselves have taken to making "mods" for the game, a practice that has seen other characters from the galaxy far, far away appear in the game.
With the launch of the Xbox Series X/S, it was announced that this console would, again, include backwards compatibility as well as the older games getting a little bit of a makeover/update and Battlefront II is now the latest game to receive the same treatment. It will boast frame rates of 120 FPS (frames per second) on Series X. However, it will remain at 60 FPS for Series S.
Now this may not seem like much of an update in itself. However, with there being numerous rumors of a new Battlefront over the last couple of years and EA/Xbox wanting to take another look at the second game, it suggests that further updates are not out of the question later down the line. Could this mean more updates are on the way such as new characters? Or dare I say it, a Battlefront III? Only time will tell.
As always, we will bring any news on this as it develops.
Until next time!
Source(s): The Direct