5 Things We Loved!</h2>

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5. No stupid Card pick-ups

If there's one thing that truly infuriated us in the first Star Wars Battlefront, it's trying to get the floating Card pick-ups to get cool stuff like Heroes or Vehicles, only to have someone else rush in and grab it. Now in Battlefront 2 you build up points by playing objectives, sticking together in your team, and killing opponents, which you spend to use Vehicles or Heroes for a time. Much more fair, and getting that 5000 Points to play Rey or Darth Maul was a goal for me every match.

4. The Range of Modes Available

The Beta boasted Galactic Assault, a massive three-stage battle with different objectives, Starfighter Assault, the same - but in space!, Strike, Hero and Vehicle-less with a single objective, and Arcade, a few single-player practice rounds. And despite only having one map each, it almost felt more modes than the whole of Battlefront 1. And that's just the Beta! Clearly EA and DICE have been listening to the complaints of the first game.

3. Squads

One of the more subtle improvements is the inclusion of Squads, which are assigned every time you respawn for up to four people. These are completely optional and you can go off and leave your Squad at any time, but if you stay with them you earn extra points. It's a lovely way to encourage team-play, something Battlefront 1 sorely lacked, without enforcing it. An icon over your teammates would be nice though...

2. Classes

Oh boy, yes. DICE have brought back character classes from 2005's Battlefront II, so every time you die you can select a different class which completely changes how you play the game. You can get comfortable in a particular class (like I did with the Heavy), or look at it like four completely different games, each with their own flaws and strengths you'll have to get used to. Very welcome.

1. The Star Wars Feel Is Just Right

Of course not everything was wrong about Battlefront 1, and we're relieved to say that the thing they got right in the last game they also seem to have here - Battlefront 2 just feels like Star Wars. Every explosion, every laser blast, every sound effect, every animation, even every texture feels right. The most important thing to get right with a licensed game is to make the experience authentic, and DICE have done it once again.

But it's not all roses and sunshine, on to...

5 Things We HATED!</h2>

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5. Not Being Able To Get Heroes Anyway

That picture illustrates the most annoying thing in the Battlefront 2 Beta - having 5000 Points but being unable to play a Hero because someone else is using them. There is no queuing system so it's whoever's on the respawn screen at the time, and a particularly good player (especially as the overpowered Darth Maul) can stay as Maul for a long, long time. Plenty of times I'd either get the Hero right at the end of a match and play them for six seconds, or worse - I'd just sit on the Respawn screen waiting for them to become available! How many other players will do that?

4. Not Having Any Choice Over Your Game

Sometimes I'd get put into a match halfway through, which wasn't bad but at the same time often left me unable to get enough points to get a Hero, or make a difference. Far too often though I got dumped in right at the very end of the match. At one time I even spawned just as the word "Defeat" came up! It's also annoying we can't choose sides, especially if the other side actually has less players. Hopefully there'll be more choice over side, map, players and how far a game is in progress in the final game.

3. Still Needs Some Sort of Proper Squad System

I praised the subtle Squad system above which I really liked for casual play with random people, but for starters it needs a few more incentives to keep together, or at least keep track of your team - 10 times out of 10 I lost my team within moments of respawning, so an icon above them would be nice. For friends playing though a real, proper Squad system is dearly needed, so you can buddy together and return to them after you die. Essentially co-op within Battlefront 2. If the game wants to compete with the big names like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds it needs to encourage team-play.

2. Classes Need Expanding, Especially the Separatists

While we love the Class system, it's a little disappointing that all the classes kind of look alike. There are differences, but they could've been more striking, with some really odd choices in there. Why Wookiee Warriors for the Clone Army instead of the glorious Republic Commandos, for example? The Separatists are the worst, though. All the Classes are just regular Battle Droids, with two similar-looking Super Battle Droids to unlock. Where are the Droid Commandos, the Magnaguards, or the Droidekas?

And worst of all...

1. Loot Crates

Oh EA, you had to do something stupid didn't you? We realize microtransaction Loot Boxes are all the rage, but making them include more than just cosmetic options means these Crates have raised the spectre of Pay-To-Win, which is not nice. Some of these bonuses include weapons, buffs and Special Powers that can really give players an edge, especially if they buy them the moment the game comes out. Everything in them is attainable for free, but anyone spending money to give themselves an advantage really does equal "Pay To Win", or at least, "Pay To Gain A Big Advantage".

Guess we'll see if any of these get addressed in the final game, but one thing's for sure - we did love our time with the Beta and we're not cancelling our pre-order anytime soon.

Did you play the Beta? Do you agree with our choices, or were there other things you liked or disliked about Star Wars Battlefront 2? Let us know in the comments!