Star Wars: Battlefront

"The Force will be with this one... always"

I got PS2 last week, and the first game I rented was Star Wars Battlefront. I have loved the movies ever since I was about six years old. That was probably the first 'non-animated' movie I ever saw. I instantly fell in love with it. The music, the games for the computer and the Super NES and the characters. And when I buy a new system, I always buy a Star Wars game first, or if I'm out of cash, I rent it. I did the same thing with Nintendo 64, Gamecube and now PlayStation 2. So I got it, went upstairs and locked my self in my room only to come out for dinner. It was that addicting.

Storyline- 9/10: The only storyline wrong with Star Wars is episodes I and II. I'll let it slide because the battle scenes in the movie are what kept me in the theater. The way they portrayed the battles in the game are awe inspiring. If you ever wanted to play the Battle of Hoth as an imperial Walker, you gotta love it. If you want to rewrite galactic history and defeat the Alliance at the Battle of Endor, the game is for you. Hell, if you ever wanted to be the Trade Federation just so you can kick Jar Jar's ass for the heck of it, this game is for you! It's simple. Empire vs. Alliance, Republic vs. CIS (Confederacy of Independent Systems).

Gameplay-10/10: There are three types of gameplay. Historical, which is where you control a combination of the Empire and Rebel Alliance in the Galactic Civil War version, and a mix of the CIS and Republic in the Clone Wars version. Then, there is Galactic Conquest, which is a battle for the galaxy. Each faction starts out with a certain number of planets. The idea is to capture all the planets. Once you control four planets, you can use your faction's bonus to capture or "get rid" of a planet. If you are the Empire, you can use your Death Star to obliterate a system. Or, if you are the CIS, initiate a blockade. Or, you could settle it in a peaceful way if you are the Rebellion and Rebel on the planet and take it over. This is helpful, because each plannet has it's own bonus. If you control Naboo, for example, your troops will get health regeneration with bacta serum. There is also an instant action mode where you pick your faction and your planet and fight it out. All of this can also be done over the internet if you have an internet adaptor, or if you have an additional controler.

Controls-9/10: Only a slight bit confusing, but you can get used to it within an hour. The only thing you might get confused with is with the vehicle controls. You could be a pilot, co-pilot, gunner. It's all confusing, and really, unnessiccary.

Graphics-10/10: It's Lucas Arts, and they always have great graphics. This is no different. Everything is flawless, looking just as it did in the films.

Sound/Music-10/10: This should be a 9, but I just love the soundtrack for Star Wars. The great Imperial March is in it, Across the Stars from Episode II, it's all a great arrangement of Star Wars music. The sound could be better. And by sound I mean the character voices. They could find something new to say. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "Grenade! Grenade!" in the past days. Don't let it ruin the game for you though, it's still great.

Final score: 10

Buy or rent: Buy it. I am buying this as soon as I get my funds back into the positive side of the charts. Get a friend and battle him for galactic supremecy, and enjoy it just as I did.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/05/04