Star Wars: Battlefront

"A Poor-Man's BF: 1942... With lasers..."

You know, I tried to be excited for this game. When I read about it roughly a year ago I thought that this was definitely something to keep my eye on. Granted, it wasn't one of my most anticipated titles, but I still checked in on the development occasionally, mostly due to the fanatic enthusiasm of my roommates. Then, the fateful day of release... and my complete and utter disappointment.

Thankfully, my roommates snapped up the game themselves and let me demo it for a bit. All I can say is, at least I didn't waste my own cash.

Now granted, some things in the game aren't too bad. The sound is probably its strongest point. Good sound effects, good music. At the same time, though, how hard was it to thumb through the Lucas music library, grab your pre-packaged effects and score, copy and paste? This is, sadly, a kind of theme in SW:B; the "Let's use the best ideas and work of others and do nothing inovative" theme.

This game is, in essence, a BF: 1942 clone set in Star Wars land, only with overly simplified flying vehicles that require little to no skill to pilot, generic weapons that feel like toys, annoying server browser interface, low framerates, and some severe balance issues (especially in regard to some of the vehicles vs. infantry).

However, it does have some fun aspects. For example, the speederbikes are fast. Very fast. It's pretty fun to zip around a map doing everything you can to avoid trees and rocks, all the time dodging enemy fire and trying not to explode. The jet-packs can also be fun, but the novelty wears off after a while.

Probably the thing I liked the most was the orbital strike feature, but maneuvering your probe droid around levels can be frustrating, as touching any walls will cause damage, and some levels are obviously not designed with probe droids in mind, as the ramps and terrain sometimes force your droid into the ceiling, blowing it up.

The single-player conquest mode which allows you to strategically capture planets might have been fun, except for the horrible AI.

I could go on and on, but basically what it boils down to is this: Unless you are a die hard Star Wars fan, you'd be better off playing a Battlefield game. The good parts of BattleFRONT are really only their Star Wars appeal, and not the actually gameplay itself.

If you're looking for a way to immerse yourself in Star Wars, this game might be for you. If you're looking for a game that offers quality play, fresh ideas, a user-friendly interface, or doesn't rely heavily on a series of movies to sell itself... you may want to look elsewhere.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/24/04