Checking In: Star Wars Battlefront’s Rogue One DLC

EA and DICE recently celebrated the one year anniversary for Star Wars Battlefront. Players that didn't get the season pass were able try out the expansion packs free for a limited time. Plus there's the Complete Edition release with every DLC included last month. However, DICE had one more expansion to launch before the end of the year. In time for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's theatrical release later this week, the last DLC, Rogue One: Scarif, came out last week for season pass owners. Just like Jakku last year, it's cool to see content from the new movies already in games. Is the Rogue One content enough to come back to the battlefront before the sequel comes out next year? Rogue One: Scarif takes place on the jungles and beaches of planet Scarif. The new mode is Infiltration where the Rebels have to extract datatapes on the Empire's plans. The Empire has to prevent them from completing their objective. Just like the Death Star DLC's Battle Station mode, Infiltration is a multi-phase mode where the first phase is at space and the last two on-foot. The space phase has the rebels attempting to escort U-Wings to Scarif's surface. If the rebels get that done, then they have to set up a distraction for the Empire by destroying their cargo ships. The last phase is the extraction of the datatapes where the rebels just have to get one of three datatapes back to the U-Wing. I enjoyed this more than Battle Station because of more on-foot action alone. Plus you can use the jungles to your advantage especially if you're Empire. After the surprisingly disappointing Death Star DLC, the return to bigger scale battles makes this DLC as good as Bespin. Besides Infiltration, Walker Assault and Turning Point are also playable. Walker Assault specifically gets you to live that scene with the AT-ATs from the trailers released so far. Fighter Squadron is also there at the space map from Infiltration and Blast on the planet's surface. The action is still as chaotic and fun like the past expansions. During Infiltration, rubberbanding does occur for the Rebels when they're running out of time in the first two phases to extend the match. More U-Wing ships spawn as the phase keeps on going to give the Rebels more chances. In the second phase, the time to defend the armed charges goes quicker. In the Rogue One maps, the only hero and villain playable there are in the new movie. Jyn has her signature A-180 pistol with multiple configurations. She also has a charged melee attack and a Sonic Imploder to throw that is basically a flash grenade that can also kill. On the Empire side is Director Krennic with his DT-29 revolver. He can change the rate of fire on his gun and power up fellow troopers. His droid is a protective shield that also launches dioxis gas as opponents that go in the shield. Using the A-180 as a normal soldier is interesting because the configurations replace star cards and charges. Jyn and Krennic are also playable in the other modes that have heroes and villains. It's weird at first seeing them fight alongside Luke and Vader respectively, but hey more Star Wars fantasies that's possible in games. The Rogue One DLC wasn't the only release for Star Wars Battlefront last week. The long awaited X-Wing VR Mission also came out for PlayStation VR. You still need Battlefront on PS4 to play this free mission. Out of the VR cockpit experiences released so far, being in the X-Wing is better than Call of Duty's Jackal and Eve: Valkyrie. Pushing all the buttons inside the X-Wing before the mission starts is a neat touch. Also certain moments such as a Star Destroyer looming above your ship is definitely intimidating in VR. The goal is to escort a Rebel transport and escape from an Empire ambush. Sure, shooting down Tie Fighters is similar to all those experiences, but being immersed in the Star Wars universe in VR as good as this is a must play for anyone that has the headset and a showcase for friends to try out. Rogue One: Scarif is the last expansion for Battlefront and DICE fortunately ended it on a high note. The return to bigger scale battles after the disappointing Death Star DLC is what the game needed again. Infiltration's multi-phase modes are worthy additions and it's awesome to already play Rogue One content before the sequel comes out next year. It was a bit frustrating personally trying to get trophies and complete the new Hutt contracts especially dealing with bad teams in Infiltration. Despite that, Star Wars Battlefront is still good old mindless fun compared to the other shooters out now. The X-Wing VR Mission is the best licensed experience to play so far on PlayStation VR. The immersion in the universe alone is something Star Wars fans must try out. I'm curious what DICE has up their sleeve for Battlefront II next year and hope we'll hear more from them soon.