Speaking of rereleases, the two original Star Wars Battlefront games just got rereleased for the PS5. They didn’t get a makeover (besides adding a few things that had been PC and Xbox-specific way back when), they’re just straight-up ported to a modern console. Which means that, once again, this is becoming a blog where a dude in his thirties rambles about old games.
(On that note, I dipped a toe into the game’s online multiplayer mode and had the surreal realization that, were there any teenagers in the game, I’d been playing this Battlefront since before most of them were born)
So it’s been quite a few years since I last played either Battlefront game (for the purposes of this rant essay, Battlefront herein refers to the original 2004 and 2005 games, not the newer 2015 and 2017 games). Probably when I dug out my PS2 and sat down with my brother to play a few games — it’s certainly not been in heavy rotation. But, back in 2005, and for a few years after that, the game was probably the game I played with my brother. And we played a lot of it.
Going back to it has been an absolute joy. The rerelease doesn’t try to make it any prettier or clean up any of the game’s multitude of quirks. It’s just as I remember it and, after loading up a match, I quickly realize that, yes, I do remember it very well and still know my way around these (virtual) halls. And the best part is, I don’t have to dig out a twenty-four-year-old console to do it.
Now, the Battlefront games have never really been gone — they’ve been available in their PC forms this whole time, assuming you have a PC to play them. Unlike, say, Battle For Middle-Earth II, an excellent RTS I loved, that is out of print and unavailable digitally due to rights expiration. I think I’ve got the disk for that game sitting around somewhere at my parents’ place, but all the same, the process of being able to get myself and an old friend set up with it so we can fight against Mordor like we’re teenagers again has several more steps than there should be in 2024.
Being able to play Battlefront again, natively on a PlayStation controller, has got me thinking again about how important game preservation is. Video games are a big part of culture — and they’ve been a big part of my life. I can easily find and reread an old Michael Morpugo book, why is it so darn hard to revisit Crash Bash? My Final Fantasy streak is probably gonna hit XIII soon and the only way to play it is to unearth my PS3 and find a used copy of the game. Which, while doable, but is definitely a few more steps than I’d like. I recognize that emulating games is no mean feat and that they are a medium inextricably tied to advancing technology. All the same, if games are an important cultural artifact, they should be easier to access.
In any case, I can easily play Battlefront again, and for that I am thankful.
Essays, Not Rants! 