Of course, what the beta also lacked was the character progression element of the full game, which will hopefully allow players to personalise their avatars with specific skills – perhaps along the traditional lines of medic, sniper and assault – thereby fleshing out the strategic play. Right now, the distribution of power-ups over the map surface, which give access to sentry guns, defence shields and other goodies (replacing the genre’s now conventional “kill streak” style rewards), takes away the usual rhythm and sense of progress within a bout. The four available laser guns, though exhibiting different specs, all look and feel the same, and success seemed hugely reliant on levelling up and grabbing the better items, rather than learning the maps and figuring out how to coordinate attacks with teammates. This brings us to the key complaint coming out of the beta experience: that the combat is too shallow. The whole franchise is enjoyed by so many different types of people – of course we want to give them something to enjoy, we want them to be able to just jump into the game and have fun.”

“One of the main goals of the game is to be a Star Wars experience – that’s a huge thing.

“Star Wars – what’s bigger?” says Niklas Fegraeus, design director at developer Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (Dice), speaking to us on the eve of the Beta’s launch.