The two main criticisms levelled at the 2015 reboot of the Star Wars Battlefront series was the lack of variety in the multiplayer, and that there was no single player campaign. Well, EA have obviously got their listening hat on, as both of these issues have been soundly addressed. We’ll get to single player shortly, but from a multiplayer perspective, the game has been roughly tripled in size.

That’s three times the locations, three times the heroes and three times the vehicles – and gameplay has been boosted with more modes and the introduction of class-based gameplay too. In the 40-player Galactic Assault mode you can choose to play in Assault, Heavy, Officer and Specialist disciplines, with load-outs and moves to match your preference. Similarly, in the 24-player Starfighter Assault mode – the dog-fighting bit, basically – you can choose from Fighter, Interceptor and Bomber.

Locations and vehicles from all three eras of the movie franchise are confirmed for the full game, so whether you want to play as a trooper or fighter pilot, or as icons like Luke, Han or Rey, that’s possible. Play as Yoda you can, hmmmmmm? (Yes, you can.) I played as Darth Maul for a few rounds, his double ended lightsabre being a handy example of how well Star Wars Battlefront II plays – with finely balanced controls across the board.

Flying a TIE Fighter was an absolute joy, although shooting at the Millennium Falcon felt morally wrong. I’m so one of the good guys. Every time. That said, this sequel is setting out to make you feel like a hero, no matter which side of the battle you are on, and nowhere is this more evident than in the new single player campaign.

Sadly, there was no playable content from the solo campaign in this beta, but the preview video that is included offers a tantalising glimpse of what to expect. This original story bridges the gap between the end of Return of the Jedi and the events of The Force Awakens – a story spanning around 30 years.

You’ll be playing as an Imperial elite special forces soldier and the campaign features brand new characters to the franchise, as well as putting you in control of major characters like Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren at times too. It has been created with close assistance from the story team at Lucasfilm, and I’m excited to see a well-crafted narrative following the story from the other perspective, which is what EA are hinting at. As impressive as the multiplayer is, this is the part I’m most looking forward to get hands on with.

The multiple locations from across the franchise are jaw-droppingly realised – these are AAA graphics at the cutting edge. From Mos Eisley to Yavin 4 and Starkiller Base, the authenticity is staggering. I wandered around Naboo scarcely paying attention to the troopers shooting at me as I was a little too involved in scanning the architecture and attention to detail – it really felt like I was in this incredible universe. I played on a standard PS4, so I can only imagine what this will look like on PS4 Pro or Xbox One X. Not far short of an actual movie, I’d wager.

For all the good they’ve done – and there was a generous chunk of content included here – there had to be a dark side to all this light. Perks in the game come from assigning Star Cards to your characters with different values, such as gaining a little health for every kill, or increased melee damage. But these Star Cards come from loot crates, which I’m just flat-out not a fan of – certainly not in a full priced title anyway. While you will be awarded a few of these in-game, you’ll also be able to buy them, and across the week that this beta was live for there was a large swelling of online anger aimed at the way the system is set up – basically allowing you to pay to win. Before we get too deep into this, though, EA

While you will be awarded a few of these in-game, you’ll also be able to buy them, and across the week that this beta was live for there was a large swelling of online anger aimed at the way the system is set up – basically allowing you to pay to win. Before we get too deep into this, though, EA have said that the system isn’t yet fully implemented and that they will be making balancing changes before full release. This

This could of course be positive PR to hide some serious back tracking, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. This is what a beta is for, after all, and EA have obviously listened to the fan reaction to this taster. Let’s hope this community worry is suitably acted upon before the game ships for real. Otherwise, well… I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

Star Wars Battlefront II is out on November 17th 2017 for the PS4, Xbox One and Windows (via Origin), with a three-day early access pass with the deluxe edition.

Until then, May The Force Be With Two. (Sorry.)