The Exiles Voyage

Description
The Exile's Voyage by AQTOutrider is, in one word, excellent. It is an era mod spanning the Extended Civil War, centering around a character Karag Drakas, a Jedi General and the titular Exile, and the 514th Stormtrooper Legion. It covers five maps- Endor, Naboo, Mustafar, Kashyyyk, and Tantive IV.

There are no new maps in this mod, but that's quite alright- the new units and sides more than make up for it. Each battle has a new set of units to play with and features some of the same units as before. For instance, you may play as the 514th Legion versus the Death Watch, and the next map you may play as a mix of Rebels and 514th against Imperials. This keeps the gameplay fresh enough to not be monotonous and fun each time. The classes each fill a specific role, and while the exact weapons and appearance of the class may change, the purpose fulfilled stays the same.

Gameplay-wise, this mod is one of the most balanced I've played of the new-era mods. Most mods are somewhat unbalanced these days, and this one definitely stands out. It's possible to win as any side on any map, and it is just as hard or easy as it would be were you on the other side. Some units are very powerful, but they all have a weakness other units can exploit. The weaker units still hold their own, as they usually can move much faster and avoid the shots of the more powerful classes. Explosives are much more powerful as well, giving the slower (and more powerful) units a distinct vulnerability. A good number of units also have jetpacks.

From a visual perspective, the mod is bright, colorful, and vibrant. Lasers are easy to spot and bright, and impact effects are everywhere. Usually this annoys me, but I found that it was done right here. It actually serves to enhance the mod without being overbearing. I didn't notice any lag while playing, which is always nice to see. Unit models and skins are well done, and the same applies to weapons.

In addition to the general polish on the mod, there were a couple things that I really enjoyed. For instance, when playing as a droid, the fusion cutter heals you when used. I discovered this completely by accident and thought it was quite ingenious. Also, I really enjoyed playing as the 'juggernaut' units, like the dark trooper and the big red-pink droid (I believe it's technically the B2-RP on Endor). I thought they were very fun to play as they are very powerful, but are still able to be killed by the opposing units.

From a bugs perspective, I didn't notice many- with the exception of one major one. In the readme, it mentions that Kashyyyk Conquest may crash randomly. The map simply would not load for me, which is a pretty major bug. Hopefully, it will be fixed in any potential future versions. Aside from that, there were a few strange weapon choices, like the Orbital Strike Beacon on the Tantive map, but other than that I didn't notice anything else.

In short, I very much enjoyed playing this mod. I thought that it was one of the most fun modifications that I have played in my entire time playing Battlefront, and was extremely well done, despite the showstopper of Kashyyyk crashing. I highly recommend this to everyone, and it is definitely worth a download.

-Jedikiller