Star Wars: Battlefront

"Don't expect it to be Socom with Stormtroopers"

First off I'll say that this is a decent, above average game. Unfortunately there were just a few minor changes that would have and should have made this game great. For those of us that enjoy the mission/objective based online gameplay of SOCOM and SOCOM II, STAR WARS: Battlefront leaves us thirsting for something more to do than fight armies of AI characters with a few real people sprinkled in. That's the real downfall of this game, the illusion that there is a mission at hand.....a mission you will never actually accomplish yourself, or if you do,in RARE instances. Basically you are playing a game against a clock....since the troop indicators that rise and fall as you play are just a good way to mask the fact that the game was never REALLY finished or well conceived in it's design from the start. It seems like the underachieving little child of Battlefield 1942 & Socom II, with the face of a stormtrooper. Yes it's fun to fly in X-Wings and Tie Fighters. Yes it's amazing to fly in a Snow Speeder with a friend and down some AT-ATs, but what we really wanted was a TEAM based game, with TEAM based objective that we feel we had control over. I now understand what it is to be a grunt on the ground in the fight against the Empire, but I would have liked my actions and the actions of those online with me to be more significant. I don't like to be in the middle of a battle and the VICTORY or DEFEAT screen pops up and ends my fun, when no true outcome of the battle was ever truly represented except by a descending number(Troop Meter). Although this is by far my favorite STAR WARS game of alltime, I do wish the game was modeled after SOCOM II's Team, objective based gameplay. That is where this game falls short, and will have a hard time keeping me from playing SOCOM II online more than Battlefronts. But here's the breakdown....

GRAPHICS 10/10
The visuals in Battlefronts far exceed any expectation I had for this game. The player models, the vehicles and the environments all look spectacular, not to mention the joy of seeing laser blasts scorching the walls next to you. Big ups on the Carbon Chamber on Bespin, and the Sarlac Pit on Tattooine.....it was great to see those places as well as walk through them.

SOUND 10/10
Every sound you imitated as a child playing with your Kenner toys in the backyard are all here, and this time you don't need to make them.

GAMEPLAY 7/10
Better mission based play would have been nice, and more emphasis on teamwork. But overall this game is still very fun and very entertaining to play, especially with a friend.

CONTROL 7/10
Some of the control in Battlefronts feel a little tight, and some feel a little loose. But over all the control is not so bad that it ruins the game. I feel some better control schemes in the options screen would have helped a bit......as some of the options for the vehicles seem a little goofy.

FUN FACTOR 9/10
This is a fun game, meant to be played with a friend.....so team up and relive your childhood fantasy of being a Stormtrooper.....(one with good aim).

REPLAY/RENT-BUY
Replay: 10
Buy this game now!! This is the Star Wars game you always wanted, and speaking as a 28 year old MAN......this is the game that gets me back into my childhood, where I was Bobba Fett and my big wheel was Slave I.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/07/04