When I first booted up the Star Wars: Battlefront Collection, I wasn't expecting much beyond a simple graphical upgrade. Boy, was I wrong. This isn't just a fresh coat of paint on classic games—it's a genuine revitalization that fundamentally enhances how we experience these beloved titles. Having spent considerable time with both the original releases and this new collection, I can confidently say this represents the definitive way to play what many consider the peak of Star Wars gaming. The developers didn't just port these games; they thoughtfully expanded them in ways that address long-standing community requests while introducing smart quality-of-life improvements.
Let's talk about the additional content first, because the numbers here are quite impressive. The collection includes six post-launch maps—one for the original Battlefront and five for Battlefront 2—effectively expanding the battlefield options by approximately 15% compared to the original releases. But what really caught my attention were the two previously Xbox-exclusive heroes now available across all platforms: Kit Fisto and Asajj Ventress. As someone who primarily played on PlayStation back in the day, finally getting hands-on with these characters felt like unlocking secret weapons I'd only read about for years. Ventress's dual lightsabers and acrobatic fighting style particularly stand out, offering a refreshing alternative to the standard hero roster. These additions aren't just cosmetic; they genuinely change the strategic landscape, especially in hero-based game modes.
The most transformative change, in my opinion, involves the Hero Assault mode from Battlefront 2. Remember being limited to dueling on Tatooine's dusty plains? That restriction is now history. The development team has enabled this fan-favorite mode across all ground-based maps, which translates to over 20 different environments where lightsabers can clash. I've personally tested this on maps like Kashyyyk and Endor, and the variety completely revitalizes what had become somewhat predictable encounters. The forest moon of Endor provides fantastic cover for hit-and-run tactics, while the wookiee homeworld's platforms create thrilling vertical combat opportunities. This single change dramatically increases the mode's replay value—I'd estimate it extends the gameplay longevity by at least 40 hours for completionists like myself.
Multiplayer enhancements represent another significant leap forward. The collection introduces cross-gen multiplayer support, allowing players on different console generations to battle together. While I share the community's disappointment about the absence of full cross-play between platforms, the cross-gen functionality does help consolidate the player base during this transitional period between console generations. More importantly, the player count per match has been boosted to 32 versus 32, creating battles that feel genuinely epic in scale. Having 64 players simultaneously fighting on maps like Geonosis or Hoth creates chaos in the best possible way—it finally delivers the large-scale warfare the original games always promised but couldn't quite achieve technically. The framerate holds remarkably steady even during the most intense firefights, which is more than I can say for many modern titles pushing player counts this high.
What surprised me most during my playtime was how these changes interconnect to create a fresh experience. The new maps provide spaces perfectly suited to the increased player counts, while the additional heroes offer more variety in those massive 64-player battles. It feels like a cohesive vision rather than a random assortment of improvements. The audio and visual upgrades deserve mention too—the upscaled textures and enhanced lighting make the classic maps feel new again, while the improved sound design makes every blaster shot and lightsaber hum more immersive. I particularly appreciate that they preserved the original games' visual style while making everything crisper and more detailed.
If I have one criticism, it's that the single-player content remains largely unchanged beyond the graphical improvements. The excellent Galactic Conquest mode would have benefited from incorporating the new maps and heroes, but they're curiously absent from offline play. This feels like a missed opportunity to enhance what many consider the crown jewel of Battlefront 2's offering. That said, the multiplayer improvements are so substantial that they easily justify the collection's existence. After spending roughly 80 hours with the collection across various modes, I'm convinced this represents the ultimate Battlefront experience—one that respects the classics while addressing their limitations in smart, meaningful ways. Whether you're a veteran returning to familiar battlefields or a newcomer experiencing these games for the first time, this collection delivers what few remasters achieve: it makes the old feel new again without losing what made it special in the first place. The force is definitely strong with this one.