As a Star Wars fan with a soft spot for the previous Battlefront games, I was excited and nervous for this one’s release. I also didn’t get a chance to take part in the Beta, which only served to up the excitement factor for when that title music kicked in for the first time.

It was a couple minutes past midnight when I had my first Star Wars Battlefront experience and I have to admit it took the top spot in my storied gaming career for best first impression. For starters, if you’re playing on PC and have the hardware to crank the settings up, the game is one of the best looking titles to launch this year no question.

Blaster bolts are constantly flying overhead and fizzling into snowbanks around you, while star fighters do battle amongst the lumbering AT-ATs. It’s an impressive spectacle to behold, especially as a foot soldier on the ground.

Being nowhere near the #1 Star Wars fan out there (but still a big fan in my own right) I can’t imagine the feeling some people got when they took their first steps on Hoth. The feel and atmosphere of the battles have been polished to perfection.

Even with all that glitz and flash the visuals have, somehow the audio comes out as the true king. Clanking AT-ATs, TIE fighters tearing through the sky, and of course the blaster bolts all make an appearance and are excellent, but it was some of the less familiar sounds that made the biggest impression on me.

The implosion grenade is probably one of the scariest sounding and fuctioning devices I’ve encountered in a Star Wars game, and the first time one went off near me, I almost jumped out of my chair. It’s like a regular grenade, only instead of blasting things outward, it explodes and then sucks it all in (not a good way to go). The worst part about it is the terrifying “Thwonggg!” sound it makes when it goes off. The closest comparison to it I’ve ever heard was the seismic charges the Slave I dropped in Episode 2.

After the wow factor had worn off (the next day) I was able to take a more objective look at the game and what it offered. All the things we’ve been hearing about since the beta are true; the combat is simple and seems to be geared to a more casual audience, which of course is fine for a lot of people. There are few maps right now, with the majority being tied up in the horrendously priced seasons pass (not fine). But is it fun?

For me 6 hours later the answer is yes, it’s still fun. No I can’t have a loser sight so precise and powerful I’m looking up the enemies nostrils, but I also never run out of ammo so there’s no real need to be precise anyways. Besides, if you’ve ever watched a Star Wars movie you’ll know that blaster rifles are notoriously inaccurate in the hands of an average joe.

What worries me going forward is seasons pass I haven’t and refuse to purchase because it’s just too dam expensive. No way should 4 map packs cost 90% the retail price of the base game. But being the bandwagon gamer that I am, there was a good chance I will have moved on to another game by the time the first map pack even comes onto the market. Until then, I’ll be ridding the galaxy of rebel scum.