Star Wars: Battlefront II

"Battlefront II, aka Battlefield: Star Wars"

Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Control: 8

Overall: 8/10
Conclusion: Rent

Star Wars: Battlefront II is a game akin to the Battlefield series, because it offers the same soldier-level combat experience. In Battlefront II's story mode, you get to assume the role of one of the clone troopers in the 501st division, which takes you to all the major battles in the Star Wars saga.

Gameplay

Battlefront II follows in the footsteps of Battlefield 1942 and allows you to fight in wars as one of the many foot soldiers who work as a whole to win battles. Think of it as Battlefield: Star Wars. The game is fast paced, and battles revolve around capturing enemy command posts while defending your own and keeping the battle in your favor. There are several classes for you to choose from, including rifleman (basic infantry), assault (anti tank), sniper, and engineer (medic) classes as well as a few special classes for each army like the Droidekas seen in Episode I. New to the sequel is the ability to assume to role as one of the heroes or villans from the Star Wars universe, and nothing beats going on a rampage as Darth Vader. Heroes will allow you to turn the tide of the battle quickly to your favor, but a timer will slowly count down and you must get kills to add time and keep the character longer. In addition to the last game's ability to let you pilot any vehicle, the developers also added space battle scenarios, where your main objective is to destroy the enemy's fleet ships. The wide range of options in the game provides a flexible gaming experience and will let you try different methods of attack, from rushing into battle with a blaster rifle, or finding a spot to snipe from and picking enemies off. There is definitely a need to balance completing objectives as you often find that even though you have captured most of the command posts, your army has been whittled down to almost nothing. There is an interesting mode that is basically a hero deathmatch where you can battle it out with all the other big Star Wars names. Finally, keep in mind that this is a game that places you in the role of a grunt, so be prepared to die. A lot. I think my average kills per life is something like 6, and I'm pretty good at the game. There is also online play, but I haven't tried that. The game is great for fans of either the Battlefield style of game or the Star Wars universe.

Graphics

Battlefront is no Half-Life 2, but it does have solid graphics. The characters and vehicles all look like they do in the movie, and he worlds offer diverse and pleasing landscapes to do battle on. There also a few worlds that have native creatures and they look good too. It's nothing groundbreaking, but they are definitely up to par.

Controls

The controls are for the most part nothing to complain about. I didn't like the way that there were 3 different control styles for infantry, land vehicles, and spacecraft, but the game allows you to customize your controls so I just adjusted them to all handle the same. Sniping is a little hard, because the analog stick doesn't seem to allow you the precision you would like, and aiming is also a little hard, but enabling the auto aim feature will help you out if you're having too much trouble. There is a targeting system as well, but it gets a little tedious, which can be avoided by enabling the auto targeting feature. The developers definitely put the effort into allowing you to adapt the controls to your preference, something that I appreciate.

Conclusion
-Rent

I enjoyed playing Battlefront II, and I would recommend buying it if you have any like for shooting games and are either a fan of the Star Wars universe, or the Battlefield games. Otherwise, rent it, and see what you think.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/11/06