Star Wars: Battlefront

"This more or less, is a Battlefield 1942 mod"

Ahh, Star Wars: Battlefront. You've always dreamed of being just 1 soldier, being involved in massive battles in the Star Wars Universe, haven't you? Well, Battlefront tries to create that, but more or less fails horribly.

Graphics - 5/10

To be honest, the game doesn't look that great. It's probably because there's so much stuff happening, if they made every model look fantastic no system alive would be able to run it. Even with the detail turned up to max, the world looks sub-par, at best.

This game also draws a lot on your video card for those sub-par graphics. There were a lot of things that could be done, such as using low detail models and textures at a distance. I never really noticed that being done. You can see REALLY far though. I kept the default view distance, which is about 1/2, and I could see for near 2 miles.

Sounds - 7/10

Well, there's Star Wars Music! Thats a good touch, because John Williams is a genius. The music does go along well with the battles. The sound however, is not so great. None of the weapons really feel like they have a lot of "Umpf" to them. In fact, they sound a lot like toys. It's a real drawback, and really takes you away from the experience.

Controls - 5/10

In Star Wars: Battlefront, each player has up to 2 guns, and 2 throwables, like Grenades. Unfortunately, the system for switching between them is overly simplified. 1 button changes your weapon, 1 changes your grenade. That may be great for some, but I'd really love it if I could have them bound to 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively.

Also, it takes a LONG time to switch between weapons. It seems kind of stupid to switch to your pistol if you run out of ammo on your main gun, because its just about as fast to reload. Also, after throwing your grenade, there is an unhealthy amount of time your character stands there with his arm sticking out. Yes, I think after the grenade has left your hand, its safe to switch back to a gun.

Gameplay - 6/10

Nothing really fantastic here that hasn't been seen before. As I said, this is more or less a Battlefield 1942 mod. Each side has tickets, and every time you cap command points, you get a place to spawn. There are various vehicles which add a nice touch, but you CAN'T CAP POINTS IN VEHICLES! Argh, that is so annoying. I've got a nice tank sitting right next to the command point, and I actually have to get out and stand next to the darn thing to cap the point. Better hope im not picked off by some stray blaster.

On the subject of blaster, people take a lot of shots to go down. A very large amount considering how many players are in the game. Except to give someone 3 shots to the head before they go down, and about 10 for the chest. Except if you're a sniper, but the blasts from the sniper rifles travel far too slow. Its usually better just to "snipe" with an automatic rifle.

Overall - 6/10

This game really feels like a poorly done Battlefield 1942 mod. It offers nothing new, in fact it offers less, than what we've seen before. I'd only recommend buying it if you're a die-hard Star Wars fan. In which case, be amazed by all the stuff the game designers made up. For example, did you know Darth Vader at one point, led a trooper regiment and attacked Mos Eisley, because it was under Rebel control? And that Kashyyk has been invaded twice? Yeah, neither did I.

+ Excellent Music
+ Small Learning Curve
+ Very cool Menus (seriously, the menus are awesome!)
+ Lots of cut scenes from the movies

- Graphics Hog
- Bad Sound Effects
- Shoddy Controls
- Poor Gameplay
- Offers nothing we haven't seen before
- Battles and events made up that do NOT happen in the Star Wars time-line

Rent or Buy?

Well, neither to be honest. Who the heck rents PC games anyway? And why am I following this cliche that appears at the end of every review?

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/27/04